{"id":224482,"date":"2025-02-21T19:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T19:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=224482"},"modified":"2025-02-21T19:27:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T19:27:27","slug":"from-ole-obermann-leaving-tiktok-to-daniel-eks-666m-its-mbws-weekly-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/from-ole-obermann-leaving-tiktok-to-daniel-eks-666m-its-mbws-weekly-round-up\/","title":{"rendered":"From Ole Obermann leaving TikTok to Daniel Ek’s $666m… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Music Business Worldwide<\/a>\u2019s weekly round-up \u2013 where we make sure\u00a0you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW\u2019s round-up is supported by\u00a0<\/i>Centtrip<\/i><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

There was a big shakeup at TikTok<\/strong> parent ByteDance <\/strong>this week. MBW broke the news that Ole Obermann<\/strong> is departing as the company’s Global Head of Music Business Development after more than five years. Tracy Gardner<\/strong> will take over the role at the end of March. Our sources tell us that Obermann is headed to Apple Music<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Warner Records<\/strong> inked a partnership with\u00a0hip-hop and R&B executive Tim Hinshaw<\/strong> to launch a new label, Free Lunch Records<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also this week, Sony Music Entertainment asked the court to dismiss a copyright lawsuit filed by Patrick Moxey\u2019s independent publisher, Ultra International Music Publishing.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div> <\/div> \n

Meanwhile, Spotify<\/strong> CEO Daniel Ek<\/strong> cashed out another $31.5 million<\/strong> in company shares this week, bringing his total cash-out to $666 million<\/strong> over the past year and a half. Spotify stock hit another fresh record high on February 13, at $648.32 per share<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Spotify, we got a glimpse this week into its long-awaited “super-premium<\/strong>” tier, which apparently will be branded ‘Music Pro<\/strong>‘ and will cost an additional $5.99 per month<\/strong> in the US. Among the potential perks: concert tickets, AI-powered remix tools, and high-fidelity audio.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened this week…<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>1) OLE OBERMANN LEAVING TIKTOK FOR MAJOR ROLE AT APPLE; TRACY GARDNER MOVES INTO NEW ROLE AT BYTEDANCE<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

There has been a gigantic leadership shakeup in TikTok<\/strong>\/ByteDance<\/strong>\u2018s music team.<\/p>\n

After five and a half years as Global Head of Music Business Development at ByteDance, Ole Obermann<\/strong> will be leaving the company next month for a new opportunity, still in music.<\/p>\n

Following Obermann\u2019s departure at the end of March, Tracy Gardner<\/strong> will be the new Global Head of Music Business Development at ByteDance.<\/p>\n

TikTok has declined to comment, but our sources tell us that Obermann has lined up a big role at Apple Music<\/strong>, which likely has a business development element to it…<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a>
Photo: Rashida Zagon<\/figcaption><\/figure>2) WARNER RECORDS STRIKES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH HIP-HOP & R&B EXEC TIM HINSHAW TO LAUNCH FREE LUNCH RECORDS<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Warner Records<\/strong> has entered into a strategic partnership with prominent hip-hop and R&B executive Tim Hinshaw<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The deal marks the expansion of Hinshaw\u2019s Free Lunch Agency<\/strong> \u2014 a creative and touring company \u2014 into the label space with the launch of Free Lunch Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to an official announcement Wednesday (February 19), the collaboration allows Warner Records artists to leverage Free Lunch\u2019s \u201cextensive creative, touring, and sync services while establishing a new home for emerging talent.”<\/p>\n

As part of this expansion, respected A&R executive Ericka Coulter<\/strong> has been named General Manager of Free Lunch Records in addition to her role as SVP, A&R at Warner Records…<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a>
T. Schneider \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>3) SONY MUSIC ASKS COURT TO DISMISS COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT FILED BY PATRICK MOXEY\u2019S ULTRA MUSIC PUBLISHING<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Sony Music Entertainment<\/strong> has asked a court in New York to dismiss a lawsuit filed at the end of 2024 by Patrick Moxey<\/strong>\u2019s independent publisher, Ultra International Music Publishing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in November on behalf of Ultra International Music Publishing LLC (UIMP) and Ultra Music Publishing Europe AG, accused SME of copyright infringement over Sony and its affiliates\u2019 alleged use of Ultra\u2019s compositions without a license.<\/p>\n

A number of Sony\u2018s subsidiaries, including Ultra Records<\/strong> and AWAL<\/strong>, were named as defendants.<\/p>\n

In a legal document filed by Sony Music\u2018s lawyers, the music company called the copyright action \u201can ill-conceived effort\u201d to \u201cretaliate against\u201d Sony Music \u201cfor pursuing claims based on Moxey\u2019s unauthorized use of the ULTRA trademark after SME bought Moxey\u2019s share of Ultra Records from him in 2021…\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>4) DANIEL EK HAS NOW CASHED OUT $666M IN SPOTIFY STOCK, WITH HIS LATEST TRANSACTION BANKING $31.5M<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Spotify<\/strong> CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek<\/strong> continues to sell off portions of his stake in the streaming giant, capitalizing on the company\u2019s soaring stock price.<\/p>\n

Ek sold another 50,000 shares<\/strong> on Wednesday (February 19) for USD $31.5 million<\/strong>, or $630.56 apiece<\/strong>, based on the company\u2019s closing price on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The sale, disclosed in an SEC filing, came just days after Spotify\u2019s stock hit a new all-time high of $648.32 on<\/strong> February 13.<\/p>\n

The latest sale marks Ek\u2019s 14th since July 2023, and brings his total earnings from share sales to $666.1 million<\/strong>, with $376 million of that coming in 2024 alone…<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/i><\/a>
SOPA\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>5) SPOTIFY TO LAUNCH \u2018MUSIC PRO\u2019 SERVICE WITH SUPERFAN PERKS LIKE EARLY-ACCESS TICKETS AND AI REMIX TOOL\u2026 FOR UP TO $5.99 MORE PER MONTH (REPORT)<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Spotify<\/strong>\u2018s long-touted superfan tier<\/strong> appears to be taking shape \u2013 and could be launched this year.<\/p>\n

Citing sources, Bloomberg<\/em> reported last weekend that the streaming company is considering charging up to $5.99 more per month<\/strong> on top of a Premium subscription for access to a so-called \u2018Music Pro<\/strong>\u2019 tier, which would include various \u2018superfan\u2018 perks.<\/p>\n

An individual Premium subscription is currently priced at $11.99<\/strong> in the US, following the most recent price rise in June 2024. This would bring the combined cost of a Premium subscription plus the Super Pro add-on to around $18 per month<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That price range correlates with what Spotify CEO Daniel Ek<\/strong> told analysts in July last year when he confirmed that the company was working on a pricier tier…<\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/i><\/a><\/figure>MBW\u2019s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest stories from the past week \u2013 all in one place\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":111195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[481,133690,2433,3077,3351,108,5874,133689,71914],"class_list":["post-224482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-news","tag-daniel-ek","tag-free-lunch-records","tag-ole-obermann","tag-patrick-moxey","tag-sony-music-entertainment","tag-spotify","tag-tiktok","tag-tim-hinshaw","tag-warner-records"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}