Pokémon and Universal Music Group (UMG) are ready to reveal the complete track list for Pokémon25: The Album,the climax of the yearlong music partnership that the two brands started to celebrate the iconic video game’s 25th anniversary. The album is set for release on October 15th through UMG’s Capitol Records. …
Read More »Neil Jacobson, Head of TMAC the SPAC — Future 25
This story appears in Rolling Stone‘s 2021 Future of Music issue, a special project delving into the next era of the multibillion-dollar hitmaking business. Read the other stories here. Neil Jacobson calls himself the best salesman in the music business. It’s not without reason. Over the course of his two-decade …
Read More »Red Hot Chili Peppers Sell Catalog to Hipgnosis
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are selling their publishing rights to Merck Mercuriadis’s Hipgnosis Songs Fund for around $140 million, a source close to the situation tellsRolling Stone. The transaction marksthe latest catalog sale from a major legacy artist and one of the highest profile acquisitions to date for Mercuriadis. …
Read More »Kurt Cobain's 'The Last Session' Photoshoot Will Be Sold as an NFT
Close your eyes and you can see them: The leopard print jacket, that boyish trapper hat, and those white, Jackie O sunglasses. Together, the items are unmistakable, but their wearer looks a bit different from every angle. Perhaps that’s because Kurt Cobain‘s personality was like a flame — sometimes bold …
Read More »Ozuna Is the Latest Superstar to Join Gaming Company XSET
Latin superstar Ozuna is the latest artist to join esports company XSET, the singer and company tell Rolling Stone on Wednesday — marking another affirmation of the music industry’s rapidly growing appetite for video-game partnerships. XSET and Ozuna’s team declined to give financial details on the new partnership — which …
Read More »Secretly Group: Workers at Indie-Music Company Begin Efforts to Unionize
UPDATE (3/25):Secretly Group Union organizers announced that the indie-music company has agreed to voluntarily recognize the union, with an official announcement set for Friday. “We look forward to working together in the bargaining process for a better future for all at SG and in the music industry at large,” organizers …
Read More »Sony Revamps Its Publishing Company as the Power of Songwriters Rises
The growth of streaming has brushed the dust off a historically overlooked sector in music: Publishing companies are no longer looked at as the awkward stepchildren of the industry. The fight for songwriters’ fair compensation and the now-undeniable popularity of catalog sales have put all eyes on publishers. So, it …
Read More »Did Everyone Buy a Guitar in Quarantine or What?
To some people, guitars are almost as essential as toilet paper. While the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy, seriously hurting and shuttering many businesses, some companies — like Amazon and Procter & Gamble, for example — posted jaw-dropping financials. And in a less predictable turn of events, …
Read More »Shakira Sells Her Music Catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund
Hipgs don’t lie. Shakira has sold the publishing rights to her catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the company announced early Wednesday morning — the latest in CEO Merck Mercuriadis‘s prolific shopping spree for major stars’ music rights. Hipgnosis bought the entirety of Shakira’s publishing rights for her 145-song catalog, which …
Read More »Grand Theft Auto Now Boasts Julian Casablancas and Dr. Dre
Seven years after its launch, Grand Theft Auto, via the game’s new Cayo Perico Heist update, has received its most substantial musical bump to date — reflecting the growing foothold that video games have on a music industry intent on finding digital revenue opportunities. The entire list of musical add-ons …
Read More »