Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.
Taylor Swift broke the internet today (May 30) with the news that she’s bought back the master rights to her first six albums from investment firm Shamrock Capital.
Elsewhere this week, HYBE dominated the news cycle. On Tuesday (May 27), we learned that it’s selling its entire 9.38% stake in rival K-Pop firm SM Entertainment to Tencent Music for nearly $180 million. The next day, HYBE America sold Big Machine Rock.
On Thursday, news broke that HYBE’s HQ had been raided as part of a probe into alleged insider trading. In a separate story, South Korea’s financial regulator was reported to be ramping up an investigation into HYBE’s Chairman. Meanwhile, HYBE also confirmed its expansion into China.
In other global expansion news, Live Nation boosted its presence in Latin America via the acquisition of Dominican Republic-based promoter SD Concerts. Meanwhile, Downtown Music Publishing rebranded Johannesburg-based Sheer Publishing Africa as Downtown Music Publishing Africa.
And finally, Spotify has hit 100 million paying subscribers in Europe…
Here’s what happened this week…
Credit: Martha Asencio-Rhine/ZUMA/Alamy
1) TAYLOR SWIFT BUYS BACK MASTER RIGHTS TO FIRST SIX ALBUMS FROM SHAMROCK CAPITAL
Taylor Swift has successfully acquired the master recordings of her first six studio albums from investment firm Shamrock Capital.
The deal brings to a close one of the music industry’s most high-profile ownership disputes. Swift confirmed the news on Friday (May 30) in a handwritten letter to her fans.
The transaction involves the master rights to Swift’s albums Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation – recordings that have been at the center of a six-year battle over artist ownership rights. (MBW)
Credit: Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
2) HYBE LAUNCHES SUBSIDIARY IN CHINA, AS K-POP GIANT’S GLOBAL EXPANSION CONTINUES
HYBE has officially launched a subsidiary in China, the world’s fifth-largest recorded music market.
A HYBE spokesperson has confirmed that the South Korea-born entertainment giant set up an office in Beijing last month.
HYBE is behind superstar acts including BTS, ENHYPEN, Seventeen, and others.
The launch of an office in Beijing marks HYBE’s fourth global market presence outside of South Korea, having expanded into Japan, followed by the United States and, most recently, LatinAmerica over the past few years.
3) Live Nation expands presence in Latin America, via acquisition of Dominican Republic Promoter SD Concerts
Live Nation is expanding its presence in Latin America via the acquisition of SD Concerts, a live entertainment company in the Dominican Republic.
Founded in 2001, SD Concerts is behind many of the region’s most prominent live events, promoting Latin and international talent across the Dominican Republic, as well as supporting shows in Aruba, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Puerto Rico.
Live Nation said on May 29 that the concert industry is seeing continued momentum across Latin America, with the company seeing fan attendance in the region up over 25% in the first quarter of 2025.
The company added that “growing demand for live experiences is supported by the global rise of non-English language artists”, who, according to Live Nation, now represent twice as many of its top 50 tours compared to 2019.
4) Downtown Music Publishing expands presence in Africa, as Sheer rebrands to Downtown Music Publishing Africa
Downtown Music Publishing has unveiled a division based in and dedicated to Africa.
The Johannesburg-headquartered unit, Downtown Music Publishing Africa, has launched following the rebrand of Sheer Publishing Africa.
Sheer was acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2020, formally expanding the company’s geographic footprint to the African continent.
DMP said that the rebrand signals “more than a visual refresh” and marks “a deeper alignment with the global vision” of Downtown Music Publishing.
Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock
5) Spotify has reached 100m paying subscribers in Europe, Daniel Ek confirms
Spotify has officially reached 100million paying subscribers in Europe.
That’s according to a LinkedIn post from co-founder and CEO DanielEk, who said he shared news of the milestone at an event in Stockholm this week.
Spotify reported on April 29 that it grew its global Premium Subscriber base to 268 million paying users in Q1 (the three months ended March 31).
That was up 12% YoY, and up by 5 million net subscribers on the 263 million that SPOT counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q4 2024).
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.Music Business Worldwide
