5 things you need to know in the entertainment business: Soundcloud rival Mixcloud signs Warner Music deal and more

Live Nation acquires United Concerts

Live Nation Entertainment has announced the acquisition of United Concerts, a promoter based out of Utah. United Concerts produces more than 170 live events each year and has produced more than 6,000 events over the last 50 years. Live Nation and United Concerts have promoted shows together in the past, but with the acquisition, the two entities now plan to bring even more events to the Utah community. United Concerts CEO Jim McNeil will take on the position of President, US Concerts, Salt Lake City at Live Nation Entertainment and will continue to lead the division as it merges with its new parent company.

Mixcloud signs licensing deal with Warner Music

London-based streaming startup Mixcloud has signed a licensing agreement with Warner Music. The SoundCloud rival, which was founded in 2008, says it is currently negotiating with Universal and Sony Music in a bid to sign licensing deals with all three major record labels. The expectation is that the deals will allow Mixcloud to offer more on-demand music to listeners. The platform attracts around 17 million users each month and hosts nearly 12 million podcasts, radio shows, and artists’ playlists.

Nineteen nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This year, nineteen acts have been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In order to be eligible for nomination, acts must have released their first commercial recording no later than the year 1992. Some of the bands/artists eligible for the first time are Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, The Moody Blues, Radiohead, and Rage Against Machine. Ballots will soon be sent to the Hall of Fame’s voting body, which includes more than 900 artists and respected members of the music industry. The selected inductees will be announced in December.

English heavy metal band Judas Priest is one of the musical acts nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Photo by MrPanyGoff via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0)

MonoKrome Music launches new rights platform

MonoKrome Music has launched a new digital rights platform, which they are calling “The Hub.” The Hub is described as an all-in-one platform for the storage and management of publishing and master rights. The new platform will provide data transparency across the music industry for artists, publishers, labels, and distributors. MonoKrome’s directors are confident that their technology “can eliminate a lot of the problems associated with different rights holders today.”

West One Music Group launching new label

West One Music Group is launching a new record label, which they have named Little Assembly. The Los Angeles-based label was announced by the President of West One Music Group, Edwin Cox. Little Assembly, which will also operate as a publisher, will focus on progressive and experimental pop artists. The label says it will avoid locking artists into exclusive recording contracts by operating on a release-by-release basis for specific singles, EPs,  or albums.

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DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.

(Featured image by John via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0)