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CMU Digest
CMU Digest 01.08.16: SFX, isoHunt, KickassTorrents, Guvera, Led Zeppelin, SoundCloud
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 1 August 2016
The key stories from the last seven days in the music business…
Dance music company SFX finalised a new plan for working its way out of bankruptcy which will likely see the firm’s two primary creditors taking control of the business. It was widely reported that former AEG Live chief Randy Phillips will be hired to run the post-bankruptcy SFX, meanwhile in legal papers filed with the bankruptcy courts the new owners said that they might take legal action against the company’s former management, including founder Robert FX Sillerman. [READ MORE]
The record industry finally settled with the man behind former file-sharing site isoHunt. The site shut down in 2013 when Gary Fung reached a settlement with the movie industry, but the separate action being pursued by the record industry took another two and half years to settle. Fung will pay the labels a total of $66 million. [READ MORE]
The alleged boss of KickassTorrents hired the services of Ira Rothken, the lawyer who has been advising Kim Dotcom ever since the US authorities shut down MegaUpload. Rothken said he would now try and get Artem Vaulin bail in Poland, where he was arrested last month. Kickass remains down since the US authorities swooped, though various clones of the site are still online. [READ MORE]
Struggling streaming service Guvera announced it was withdrawing from its home territory of Australia. But management insisted they would continue to operate in various emerging markets. The latest cut back followed confirmation that founder Darren Heft had stepped down as CEO at the company, with his fellow founder Claes Loberg now doing that job. [READ MORE]
The Wolfe Trust, which unsuccessfully sued Led Zeppelin over song-theft allegations, filed a notice of appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals in the US. The trust benefits from the estate of the late songwriter Randy Wolfe, and accuses Led Zep of ripping off his song ‘Taurus’ on ‘Stairway To Heaven’. [READ MORE]
Bloomberg reported that the founders and owners of SoundCloud are reviewing their options now that the company has deals in place with most of the labels and many music publishers, and might consider trying to sell the business again, possibly with a billion dollar price tag. Though it’s unclear who would pay that kind of figure for the loss-making company. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Warner Music signed up to Vadio [INFO]
• eBay bought Ticket Utils [INFO]
• Pono allied with 7digital [INFO]
• Sony/ATV signed Lifehouse’s Jason Wade [INFO]
• Sony Music signed Martin Garrix [INFO]
• Interscope signed M.O [INFO]
• BMG signed Labrinth [INFO]
• Sire signed The Lottery Winners [INFO]
