TechCrunch reports: “Music licensing marketplace Songtradr this morning announced a $50 million Series D. The oversubscribed round — which features Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo and Greencape — follows a $30 million raise last August, bringing the Los Angeles company’s total funding to north of $100 million.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH), a US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is officially buying 10% of Universal Music Group.”
Social Media Today reports: “The team from Sprout Social have released their latest ‘Social Index’ report, which looks at a range of key trends in social media marketing, and how brands can make best use of social media channels now in order to maximize awareness and connection with consumers.”
The Verge reports: “Spotify has acquired Podz, a startup whose technology generates preview clips of podcasts, the streaming service has announced.”
Variety reports: “Roku says its pickup of the 75-plus shows from Quibi, the short-lived premium mobile entertainment startup that went belly-up last year, has paid off beyond its expectations.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Showtime, HBO Max and Disney+ all had service outages ahead of season finales or live events, but user volume isn’t always to blame.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Everyone knows by now that the independent artist market is big business: self-releasing DIY acts generated $1.2 billion globally last year, according to Midia Research.”
CNBC reports: “Goldman Sachs’ efforts to help hedge funds and other big institutional clients wager on bitcoin have taken a step forward. The bank has begun trading bitcoin futures with Galaxy Digital, the crypto merchant bank founded by Mike Novogratz, CNBC has learned.”
Variety reports: “Toronto-based Mogul Productions, a new decentralized film financing platform, has partnered with blockchain-based content delivery network AIOZ Network to provide content distribution and streaming via the blockchain.”
Hypebot reports: “A new US-based Coalition of Festivals has formed to promote a more equitable, diverse, and sustainable music festival industry.”
