Jason Ienner

Deepna Devkar, Ph.D. what a treat having you on the podcast! If you’ve ever wondered what goes into building your personalised experience on Max, this is the episode for you. Tune in to hear from one of the minds leading the build of the platform experience!

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Music Business Association Music Biz 2024 coming up in May. Find out more about Reactional Music and what we are delivering across interactive music, music personalisation, in-game economies, generative composable music and the possibilities for creators, composers, artists and developers

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🎶 In a record-setting year for the music industry, sales of recorded music in the U.S. soared to $17.1 billion in 2023. Streaming led the charge with 84%, while vinyl saw double-digit growth. Discover more about the music boom and the changing landscape from the latest RIAA report. https://lnkd.in/ghEaTMYY #MusicIndustry

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The UPROXX newco is a smart media M&A rollup. Music and culture focus + a strong leadership team. I'm bullish on them doing well by *brands and fans*, and getting immediate revenue traction based on their WMG YouTube media sales partnership. In my newsletter tomorrow, I explain my insights on the deal, key questions I'm asking, why I think UPROXX STUDIOS is setup for success. For now, let's review the key deal details... UPROXX STUDIOS OVERVIEW • A new “brand solutions studio” that “connects brands with talent, cultural arenas, and audiences”  • Founded by media veterans Jarret Myer (CEO), Rich Antoniello (Exec Chairman), and will.i.am (Chief Visionary Officer) • Result of acquisitions of Uproxx, HipHopDX, Dime Magazine, and other Warner Music Group media assets • Reaches 170M+ monthly US visitors and generates 12B+ monthly US video views POST DEAL OPS • “Expect significant investments in our brands, team, and the experiences we offer” • Includes the excl license to represent WMG’s YouTube inventory for all US media sales  • Will integrate will.i.am’s FYI AI tech and FYI radio into ops UPROXX DIVISIONS • Uproxx – Millennial-focused culture media brand and production co (acquired by WMG in 2018) • HipHopDX – Digital mag of hip hop music criticism and news (acquired by WMG in 2020) • Dime Magazine – Digital mag of American basketball lifestyle (acquired by Uproxx in 2015) • FYI – productivity tool designed to serve Creatives. Combines messaging and collab tools with file mgmt and content pub features NEWCO VALUE PROP  • Access to A-list stars via WMG YouTube inventory + UPROXX superfan communities gives brands and advertisers new ways to participate in music culture • FYI AI tech will enable creation of AI StoryLabs, a new branded content and social media mgmt unit within UPROXX Studios  • "Merging the agility and freedom of an independent entity with the reach and resources of a major music label.” UPROXX HISTORY • f/k/a as Uproxx • Founded 2008 by Jarrett Meyer and Brian Bater (also co-founded Rawkus Records in 1996) • Acquired by male-focused media ad network Woven Digital in 2015 • Rebranded to Uproxx Media, Jarrett became GM • Bought by WMG in 2018 • Price undisclosed, but previous Uproxx Media investment was ~$43M • Value prop of acquisition was to “create engaging new experiences for young consumers, global promotional possibilities for brands, and innovative marketing opportunities for artists” • WMG exec Max Lousada and Uproxx co-founder Jarrett Myer used to work together at Rawkus Records WMG RELATED HISTORY • Announced 600 layoffs in Feb 2024, incl potential sale of Uproxx and HipHopDX • Also wound down its podcasting brand Interval Presents and social media publisher IMGN • Overall faced challenges in its O&O and digital brand sales biz -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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Like most FAST services, such as Paramount’s Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Xumo and smart TV OEM platforms Samsung TV Plus, Vizio WatchFree+ and others, Tubi offers a mix of live linear-style streaming channels as well as on-demand content. Murdoch on Wednesday’s earnings call said that across content available on the platform, 90% of viewing happens in the on-demand environment. “This is very important because when the viewing comes on-demand and it’s proactively on-demand, as opposed to passively sort of sitting back and watching a FAST channel, that’s much more valuable to advertisers,” Other FASTs are leaning into on-demand as well. Samsung TV Plus, for example, initially focused more on linear FAST channels but during this year’s NewFronts presentation said it plans to double the amount of VOD content available, after having already done so last year. “money will continue to flow from linear entertain television, particularly cable entertainment networks, into streaming” including AVOD, SVOD, and ad-supported SVODs, Murdoch said. “That trend… will not slow" #FAST #AVOD #streaming #on-demand #content #TV

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We've shared a ton of info on our clients Chipotle Mexican Grill ongoing campaign with the fighting game community. With year 2 in full swing and Evolution Championship Series quickly approaching, we're dropping some great results from year 1. From YouGov: -- Chipotle Purchase Intent doubled among US Esports Fans, Age 18-44. After the campaign, 1-in-5 (20%) reported they intended to eat at Chipotle within the next month (1.3x higher than Nat Rep 18-44; 1.8x higher than All US 18+)  -- Consideration of Chipotle among US Esports Fans, age18-44, rose from 28% to 38% (1.2x higher than national average among US 18-44-year-olds;1.6x higher than All US 18+) -- Chipotle’s Overall Brand Impression (sentiment) score among US Esports Fans, age 18-44, rose from 29% to 41% (1.5x higher than national average among US 18-44-year-olds) The results are in, the achievement is unlocked.... Sound strategy, industry expertise, great insights, a client who thrives to find whitespace while focused on adding true value will deliver results. Shout out to all our partners RTS, PlayStation, Capcom, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. and of course our team rEvolution. EVO is right around the corner and we're ready for round 2...see you in Vegas. #gaming #esports #sportsbiz #partnerships

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The Trade Desk just unveiled their inaugural Sellers and Publishers Report, revealing the top 100 publishers of the Open Internet, with Spotify claiming the impressive #5 spot 📈. This ranking evaluates various criteria like advertising quality, reach, programmatic inventory, and more 🚀. Surprisingly, Spotify and National Geographic are the only non-TV/CTV publishers in the top 10 🎧. The report's top prediction highlights the rise of Digital Audio, surpassing Social Media in time spent, yet not reflected in total US ad investment 💡. Discover how the digital landscape is evolving rapidly and the implications for marketers today in the full report.

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“Apple Music is rolling out a new ‘premium’ data analytics toolkit for its record label and distributor partners. The new ‘Apple Music Partner Program’ features various tools for Apple Music’s partners to track trends on its streaming service as well as global radio plays using Shazam technology. According to the landing page for the platform, it offers “access [to] more tools to break the next talent, spot emerging trends, and uncover new insights about your content”. “Apple Music already runs another analytics platform in Apple Music For Artists, which was made available for every artist on Apple Music in August 2019. Apple Music For Artists allows artists to monitor the volume of their streaming plays on Apple Music, all within a data set that updates daily. Spotify launched its own Spotify For Artists app in 2017 (an evolution of the ‘Fan Insights’ tool it introduced two years earlier) to provide artists and their teams with information pertaining to their popularity on the service. Like Spotify for Artists, the Apple Music For Artists service is available as both a desktop interface and a standalone mobile app.” #Apple #AppleMusic #Artists #RecordLabels #Spotify #Fans #Fandom #Streaming #StreamingRoyalties #Royalties #RecordedMusic #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #MusicTracks #MusicStreams #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

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Seven years ago this past weekend, on May 18, 2017, TRUSTX opened its doors to trading. We sold 2,093 viewable ad impressions and paid publishers a whopping 55 cents. Paul Wyrembak, John Vilade and I spent more celebrating over cocktails that evening than TRUSTX earned for the entire rest of the month! By May 22, we were up to $15, then $20, and we paid out our first $100 on May 30, doubling to over $200 on May 31. We’ve come a long way, my friends. I was motivated to build TRUSTX for the talented content creators who enrich us everyday with independent journalism, engaging entertainment and valuable lifestyle content. Unfortunately, programmatic markets have commoditized premium inventory by trading on audiences without regard to context. Fueled by ubiquitous online identity—cookies, MAIDs and otherwise—programmatic makes it easy for advertisers to reach their target consumers for cheap. We created TRUSTX to demonstrate that premium inventory is worth the price. But programmatic’s foundation of audience data is changing. And the change creates a unique and fleeting opportunity for all of us that care about the future of the open Internet. Content publishers have learned that shared identity leaks audience data into the ecosystem, transferring value from publishers to the rest of the supply chain. Here’s the conundrum: if publishers lock down audience data, brands will shift their spending to data-rich walled gardens where targeting and measurement are easy. If audiences remain accessible, publishers will simply recreate the status quo. Neither extreme—strict data protection nor easy accessibility—is the right answer. Solving for this narrow balance was the catalyst for creating Symitri, which my colleagues and I are proud to announce today. Symitri is the world’s first fully integrated privacy firewall and real-time data cleanroom for the open web. Symitri gives programmatic buyers and sellers an EZ-button for deterministic campaign targeting, measurement and attribution … all without exposing any personal data—pseudonymous or otherwise—in the bidstream. Creating Symitri is the next step in our mission to sustain the economic vibrancy of the premium open Internet. For seven years, TRUSTX has championed trust, transparency and safety. Now, we're adding a privacy and data protection layer that balances the commercial needs of open-web publishers and advertisers with every individual’s fundamental right to privacy. Please join us at www.symitri.com for the next chapter in our journey to sustain the future of a privacy-safe open web. #Privacy #Identity #DataSecurity #Compliance

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A class action lawsuit claims SiriusXM misleads consumers by adding a "US Music Royalty" fee to its advertised subscription prices, increasing costs by 21.4%. The suit argues that no other music services charge separate royalty fees and that these should be included in the advertised prices. This fee, shown as "plus fees and taxes," adds $5.13 to the $23.99 Sirius Platinum plan, generating significant revenue. Plaintiffs contend the fee is a core business expense misrepresented as a government-mandated charge. They seek to include this fee in advertised prices and seek over $5 million in damages. Similar lawsuits are ongoing in Oregon and New York. https://lnkd.in/g_Wxf_Cn #SiriusXM #musicbusiness #musicindustry

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Another round of excitement and rebirths to emerge from #Hollywood as #Paramount, the original producer of #thegodfather seeks to re-create itself as a creative-tech hybrid. I am curious to see what the meat on those bones, given the tendency for large companies to use technology at its edges rather than making it a core operational focus. The fact they have now referenced #directoconsumer, #AI, and even #layoffs suggests that they are looking at the right things and understand the difficult challenges for legacy companies to compete in the new era. The fact that David Ellison's father is CEO of Oracle and is part of the deal makes these claims a little more credible. Expect to see more of these #spins as those left reeling from the #streamingwars find their next footing. #innovation

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📈 Streamflation Alert: Subscription prices are rising again! In 2024, platforms are boosting prices for the second time in two years. Streaming services like Peacock, Max, and Spotify are increasing costs, often coinciding with major events or new content launches. 💡 Why the price hikes? Streaming platforms are adding more content and employing strategic moves to drive users towards ad-supported tiers, which generate higher revenue. For example, Peacock raised prices right before the Paris Olympics, and Max did so ahead of the new season of House of the Dragon. Bundling services are also on the rise, with companies like Disney and Verizon offering attractive package deals to reduce subscriber churn and enhance value. 📊 What's next? Analysts believe these price hikes are just the beginning, expecting more increases by the end of the year. The goal is to boost margins and gently push consumers towards ads and bundles, supporting the company's larger financial objectives. #TV #svod #streaming #bundle https://lnkd.in/e8-uYitV

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Some interesting reading in the new BPI All About the Music 2024 report that came out today. Most notably, independent record labels in 2023 increased for a sixth consecutive year. This can only be good news. Also its a nice breath of fresh air as the TikTok/UMG saga continues to roll on, that has been the most damaging to the actual up and coming artists. Check out some of the facts and figures from the report through the link in the comments. #music #musicreport #musicindustry

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PPL, the UK’s music licensing company for recorded music, distributed over £103.7 million ($131.5 million) to more than 133,000 performers and recording rightsholders in Q2 2024, marking a 6% year-on-year increase and its first distribution surpassing £100 million. The growth is attributed to increased public performance licensing revenue and improved global data exchange. Notably, 1,200 members received their first-ever payment. PPL’s new Specially Featured Entertainment (SFE) tariff, implemented in 2023, boosted distributions by 20%. Additionally, international collections rose by 13%, with the first payouts from Guatemala included. https://lnkd.in/gpZsfxm8 #PPL #musicbiz

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