In an initiative to change the way artists and music rights holders are paid from Facebook, Meta announced that it will be moving to a revenue-sharing model for user-generated video content. Facebook videos over 60 seconds long containing licensed music will pay out a 20% share of advertising revenue to video creators.

In its Q2 2022 financial results, Spotify reported its user base grew to 188 million premium subscribers and 256 million free (ad-supported) users, with total monthly active users now hitting the 433 million mark. Total revenue in the second quarter was up 23% year over year.

Apple services, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, brought in $19.6 billion in revenue for Q2 2022, a decline in growth compared to its previous quarter. The category now has more than 860 million paid subscribers, stated Apple CFO Luca Maestri during the company’s earnings call.

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Exploration Weekly - July 29, 2022

Facebook to Share Ad Revenue with Creators, Music Rights Holders on UGC

Meta announced on Monday that it will be changing the way artists and music rights holders are paid from Facebook, moving to a revenue-sharing model for user-generated video content. Video creators who use licensed music in videos over 60 seconds long on Facebook will receive a 20% share of any advertising revenue generated by their videos. “A separate share” — presumably the remaining 80% of that advertising revenue — will then be split between the music’s rights holders and Meta, although how and how much that revenue will be split has not been confirmed. The company says the program is powered by Rights Manager, “a video, audio and image-matching tool we developed to help content owners protect their rights and manage their content at scale.”

Spotify Reports $3B in Quarterly Revenue as It Adds 6M Subscribers, Parks “Car Thing”

Spotify announced in its second quarter earnings that it will no longer be manufacturing Car Thing, its standalone smart player for cars. The rest of Spotify’s earnings results, for the quarter ended June 30, were genuinely positive, with the company announcing that its user base grew to 188 million premium subscribers and 256 million free (ad-supported) users during Q2, with total monthly active users (MAUs) now hitting the 433 million mark. Total revenue in the second quarter was 2.86 billion euros (USD $3 billion), up 23% year over year. Most of Q2 revenue came from subscriber income, boosted by continued strength in family plans, promotional campaigns and growth in Europe and Latin America.

Apple Services’ Growth Slows to $19.6B in Revenue

Apple’s services category, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, brought in $19.6 billion in revenue for the third fiscal quarter ending in June — a decline in growth compared to its previous quarter, which saw a record $19.8 billion in sales for the category. Apple now has more than 860 million paid subscribers for its services category, compared to the 825 million reported last quarter, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said during the company’s earnings call. The tech giant reported a total $83 billion in revenue for the quarter, representing a 2% increase year over year. Like previous quarters, iPhone sales represented the bulk of Apple’s revenue. This year, Apple has made major investments into live sports programming. The company has also continued to pick up feature films for its subscription service.

US Campaign for a Direct Artist Streaming Royalty Steps Up

Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib has announced plans to push for the creation of a new streaming royalty to be paid directly to artists. In a letter to Congress, she wrote, “While the music industry has experienced an economic revival with the success of streaming music services like Spotify and Apple Music, the current lack of regulation or codified streaming music royalty program has driven a race to the bottom…Streaming music platforms’ payouts per stream are miniscule, and declining each year — leaving working musicians with little of the income generated by these platforms.” Tlaib has been working with the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) in order to address and find solutions to these concerns.

YouTube’s Q2 2022 Ad Revenues Were Up by 4.8% to $7.34 Billion

YouTube’s parent company Alphabet released its Q2 financial results this week, announcing revenues grew by 12.6% year-on-year to $69.69bn, and within that YouTube’s advertising revenues increased by 4.8% to $7.34bn. But as Variety pointed out, the 4.8% growth for YouTube missed analyst predictions (of 7%) and represented its slowest increase in more than two years. And Alphabet’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat reportedly told analysts about a “pullback in spend by some advertisers” last quarter, pointing to a potential brand-spending slump.

Megan Thee Stallion and Big Sean Sued for Alleged Song-Theft

Megan Thee Stallion and Big Sean have been hit with a song-theft lawsuit by Detroit-based rappers Duawn Payne and Harrell James, accused of ripping off an earlier 2012 track “Krazy” on their 2020 collaboration “Go Crazy”. Payne and James say that their track was distributed and played widely in their hometown and that it topped a Detroit chart on the ReverbNation platform.

SiriusXM Adds 23,000 Self-Pay Subs in Second Quarter Amid “Uncertain Economic Environment”

Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM said Thursday that it added 23,000 self-pay subscribers in its satellite radio unit in the first quarter, while paid promotional subscribers increased by 54,000. Total subscribers stood at 34 million at the end of the latest financial quarter on June 30, with self-pay subscribers coming in at 32 million. Revenue in the second quarter rose 4% to $2.25 billion as SiriusXM pointed to headwinds from an “uncertain economic environment” threatening consumer spending, especially around new and used car sales. Advertising revenue in the Pandora and off-platform segment rose 5% to $403 million. Off-platform advertising, including the company’s podcast business, increased 50% year over year to $119 million in the second quarter of 2022.

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