From UMG’s €1B bond sale to Warner Music’s Sureel AI acquisition… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up

This week, Universal Music Group confirmed a EUR €1 billion bond sale.

Separately, UMG agreed to sell royalty platform Curve Royalty Systems to Merlin and Matt Spetzler‘s Jamen Capital.

Meanwhile, Warner Music Group acquired Sureel AI, the attribution startup that traces how AI models use artists’ work.

Elsewhere, the National Music Publishers’ Association struck landmark AI licensing deals with Udio and KLAY.

Also this week, Spotify was reported to be seeking the rights to show live video of music festivals.

Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…

1. UNIVERSAL MUSIC CONFIRMS €1 BILLION BOND SALE

Universal Music Group has successfully priced a EUR €1 billion (USD $1.15 billion) bond offering. The bond sale is split into two tranches of €500 million each, UMG said on Tuesday (June 9). UMG, which trades on the Euronext Amsterdam, confirmed on Tuesday (June 9) that it “has successfully priced €500m of 3.375% senior unsecured notes due 2030 and €500m of 4.125% senior unsecured notes due 2036″… (MBW)

2. WARNER MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES SUREEL AI, THE ATTRIBUTION STARTUP THAT TRACES HOW AI MODELS USE ARTISTS’ WORK

Warner Music Group has agreed to acquire Sureel AI. Sureel is the attribution startup whose technology tracks how AI models use artists’ work in training and generation. The acquisition “advances WMG‘s mission to ensure that artists, songwriters, and rightsholders benefit wherever and whenever their work is referenced in AI-generated works or in the training of AI models,” according to the company… (MBW)

3. MUSIC PUBLISHERS STRIKE AI LICENSING DEALS WITH UDIO AND KLAY AS NMPA REVEALS ‘LANDMARK’ INDUSTRY-WIDE PACTS

The National Music Publishers’ Association has agreed an industry-wide AI licensing deal with the AI music platform Udio. NMPA President and CEO David Israelite announced the deal on Wednesday (June 10) at the trade body’s annual meeting in New York, where he also unveiled an agreement in principle with a second AI music platform, KLAY. Israelite said the Udio agreement is the first industry-wide licensing deal struck with a major AI music company, and the first to “value songs and sound recordings equally” when it comes to AI training… (MBW)

4. UNIVERSAL SELLS CURVE ROYALTY SYSTEMS TO MERLIN AND MATT SPETZLER’S JAMEN CAPITAL

Universal Music Group and its subsidiary Virgin Music Group have agreed to sell Curve Royalty Systems to Jamen Capital and Merlin. The sale is the divestment that the European Commission required as a condition of clearing Universal Music Group’s $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings in February. It paves the way for Curve, the royalty processing platform used by thousands of record labels, distributors and publishers, to operate as an independent business again… (MBW)

5. SPOTIFY SEEKING RIGHTS TO SHOW LIVE VIDEO OF MUSIC FESTIVALS (REPORT)

Spotify has held talks with festival promoters over rights to carry live concert video on its platform. That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported on Monday (June 8) that the plans had been described to it by people familiar with the talks. It would be Spotify‘s first push into live video; the company has so far only tried live audio… (MBW)