Investments to get monthly income

Neil Young has sold 50 percent of the worldwide copyright and income interests in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, the U.K. investment firm founded by manager-turned-investor Merck Mercuriadis. The move comes days after Hipgnosis, which has spent the last year snapping up music catalogs left and right, announced it had acquired 100% of Lindsey Buckingham’s publishings rights as well as Jimmy Iovine’s producing royalties. “I bought my first Neil Young album aged seven,” Mercuriadis said in a statement. “Harvest was my companion and I know every note, every word, every pause and silence intimately. Neil Young, or at least his music, has been my friend and constant ever since. Over the last 50 years that friendship took me back to Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After The Gold Rush, and guided me forward to On the Beach, Tonight’s the Night, Zuma, Comes a Time, Rust Never … [Read more...] about Neil Young Sells Catalog Rights to Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis

With its film line-up previously announced , the SXSW Film Festival has unveiled its keynote and a very robust second round of featured speakers. This year’s online edition of SXSW kicks off on March 16 and continues through March 20. SXSW will feature Nobel Peace Prize-nominated political leader Stacey Abrams in a Keynote conversation with author N.K. Jemisin. As for the new round of featured speakers, the roster includes  Elizabeth Banks, Mayim Bialik, Mary J. Blige, James Cameron, Bill Hader, Noah Hawley, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Demi Lovato, Desus Nice and the Kid Mero, Amber Ruffin, The Russo Brothers, Jennifer Salke, Cliff “Method Man” Smith among others. “We’re truly excited about the remarkable range of creative talent and innovators that we’ve announced today as part of SXSW Online,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In the 30 plus years of SXSW, we’ve showcased so many incredible voices who have shown tremendous courage and leadership, … [Read more...] about SXSW Sets Stacey Abrams As Keynote, Unveils New Round Of Featured Speakers Including Elizabeth Banks, Mary J. Blige, The Russo Brothers And More

As controversial as it is to talk about in the music industry , major record labels of the world still own sizable chunks in Spotify . But there’s a case to be made about why they should sell their billions of dollars’ worth in shares — and specifically now. It started in 2008 when, according to documented evidence , the major record companies plus indie body Merlin each received equity stakes in Spotify as a result of their licensing agreements with the upstart streaming company. Sony BMG (now Sony Music) got the biggest stake of at 6%; Universal Music Group got 5%; Warner Music Group got 4%; EMI Music got 2%; Merlin got 1%. Prior to Spotify going public on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2018, a couple of things happened to change this ratio: First, Universal acquired EMI Music , including the latter firm’s Spotify holding, taking its stake up to 7%; second, due to years of additional investment and share issues in Spotify, by the time the streaming service went … [Read more...] about If Universal Music Sells Its Spotify Stock Right Now, Artists Get $500 Million

C ue the credits: the era of financial thuggery is officially over. Three hellish years of panic, all done and gone – the mass bankruptcies, midnight bailouts, shotgun mergers of dying megabanks, high-stakes SEC investigations, all capped by a legislative orgy in which industry lobbyists hurled more than $600 million at Congress. It all supposedly came to an end one Wednesday morning a few weeks back, when President Obama, flanked by hundreds of party flacks and congressional bigwigs, stepped up to the lectern at an extravagant ceremony to sign into law his sweeping new bill to clean up Wall Street. Obama’s speech introducing the massive law brimmed with celebratory finality. He threw around lofty phrases like “never again” and “no more.” He proclaimed the end of unfair credit-card-rate hikes and issued a fatwa on abusive mortgage practices and the shady loans that helped fuel the debt bubble. The message was clear: The sheriff was padlocking the Wall Street casino, and the … [Read more...] about Wall Street’s Big Win

Roku continues to ride the streaming wave. The company reported fourth-quarter results ahead of Wall Street expectations as revenue shot up 58% from a year ago to just shy of $650 million. Income from operations swung from a loss of $17.4 million in the year-earlier quarter to a profit of $65.2 million, or 13 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had expected a net loss of 5 cents a share and revenue of $619 million, according to FactSet. Users streamed 17 billion hours in the quarter, Roku said, and more than 58 billion hours in 2020, with both numbers representing a 55% year-over-year increase. The company’s interface is in 38% of all smart-TVs made in the U.S., Roku has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of lockdowns due to Covid-19. The company added some 14 million active users in 2020, ending the year with 51 million active accounts. Its stock is up 37% in 2021 to date and has rocketed almost 300% over the past year. Related Story WarnerMedia Names … [Read more...] about Roku Glides Past Wall Street Q4 Expectations As Streaming Continues Its March