As expected, Warner Music Group has acquired 300 Entertainment, home to Megan Thee Stallion – who won Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards — Young Thug and his label Young Stoner Life, Gunna, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect, the newly signed “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige, and others.Since its launch nearly a decade ago, 300 has been distributed by Atlantic Records, and the acquisition "represents the expansion of an already successful partnership," the announcement states. Terms of...
YouTube, LLC
Lyor
Cohen
Global Head, Music
In September, YouTube reached a milestone, updating its count of Music and Premium subscribers, including trials, to 50 million, echoing MIDiA analyst Mark Mulligan’s observation that YouTube Music is the standout music subscription story of the last two years. That followed Cohen’s June announcement that the platform generated $4 billion in revenue for the music industry from April 2020 through March 2021, a billion more than it reported for 2019. More than 30% of that was user-generated content, and that sector could grow thanks to YouTube Shorts, a TikTok-like experience rolled out to more than 100 countries with help from BTS’ “Permission to Dance” challenge. Aside from delivering superstars, YouTube also develops talent, through its Artist on the Rise, Foundry and #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund programs.