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Hi guys,
Anyone interested in publishing needs to read this, it is probably one of the most significant articles on the subject in the recent past and paints a complete picture of the publishing industry as it stands today.
This is a paid-for article from Music Week, but I am hoping that it's cool to post it here considering that it is for academic purposes.
Enjoy,
Lucky 13 for EMI with narrow victory in 2007 publishing battle
Monday April 14, 2008
By Hannah Emanuel
EMI hangs on to secure a 13th successive victory despite a strong challenge
from Universal which, bolstered by its 2007 aquisition of BMG, begins 2008 full
of optimism. Elsewhere, Leona Lewis and Sugababes inspire Kobalt to a runaway
share of the independent market.
As Eric Nicoli would surely testify, EMI has not had much to thank the European
Commission for over the years, but for once the major may have a reason to sing
the ECÂ’s praises.
Back in May last year the Commission ruled in favour of EMIÂ’s arch publishing
rival Universal’s €1.63bn (£1.2bn) deal to buy BMG Music Publishing, the
same Commission, of course, that had previously rebuffed NicoliÂ’s attempts to
merge EMI and Warner.
While approval of the BMG deal meant EMI Music PublishingÂ’s days as the
worldÂ’s biggest music publisher were over, the timing of the approval has
played a crucial part in ensuring the company has emerged for a lucky 13th
consecutive year as the UKÂ’s biggest music publisher.
In the closest battle since 2000, EMI Publishing claimed 25.0% of the combined
market across singles and albums in 2007, putting it just 1.2 percentage points
ahead of Universal Publishing on 23.8%, but the result would have looked very
different if the EC had given its approval to the BMG deal earlier in the year.
The fact it only happened in May meant for the first two quarters of 2007
UniversalÂ’s market share did not include any BMG repertoire, so resulting in
an overall lower score for Universal for the entire year. To perhaps
counterbalance this, though, UniversalÂ’s figures for the second half of the
year do still take into account repertoire from catalogues it has had to sell
off as part of the EC approving the BMG deal. These catalogues include Rondor
UK, which exclusively handled the second Kaiser Chiefs album Yours Truly, Angry
Mob, the ninth biggest seller of the year.
The part that the timing of the BMG deal being approved has played in 2007Â’s
battle for the music publishing crown is somewhat reminiscent of EMIÂ’s win in
2000, which was helped by the fact that UniversalÂ’s deal to buy Rondor did not
get approval until August of that year. That year, EMI finished only
0.7 percentage points ahead of Universal, but it could have been a very
different result if the Rondor deal had happened sooner.
But even with its main rival now being in possession of a greatly-expanded
portfolio, EMI is proving it can still give Universal a battle. In the closing
quarter of 2007, for example, EMIÂ’s combined market share was 21.0%, fewer
than two percentage points behind Universal on 22.7%.
For the second successive year, the Arctic Monkeys were among EMIÂ’s biggest
stars as the publisher took a 27.5% share of 2007Â’s albums market, just half
a percentage point down on what had been a record-breaking share of the sector
the previous year. A year after the bandÂ’s debut Whatever People Think I Am,
ThatÂ’s What IÂ’m Not ranked as the fourth top-seller of 2006, its follow-up
Favourite Worst Nightmare – also 100% controlled by EMI – finished as the
yearÂ’s 10th biggest album.
In another repeat performance, EMIÂ’s Take That signings Howard Donald and
Jason Orange were back in the frame 12 months on from Beautiful World only
being outsold across the year by Snow PatrolÂ’s Eyes Open. The same Take That
album finished in fifth place for 2007, with EMI claiming a 37% share of the
set as another company favourite – James Blunt – returned to finish 17th of
the year with second album All The Lost Souls.
Guy MootÂ’s company also had a lot to thank Mark Ronson for during the year,
as he helped them to accumulate leading shares on two of 2007Â’s 20 biggest
albums. He co-wrote several tracks on fellow EMI signing Amy WinehouseÂ’s Back
To Black album to help the publisher to a 94.7% share of the yearÂ’s
top-selling release, while EMI also claimed a 40% stake in his own album
Version, the 16th top seller. Although only three of VersionÂ’s 14 tracks were
Ronson originals, EMIÂ’s interest in the album was swelled by covers from its
back catalogue, including the Winehouse-sung take on The ZutonsÂ’
Valerie, which in its own right became the yearÂ’s ninth biggest-selling
single.
Although there were plenty of other big-selling singles besides Valerie for EMI
to get excited about during the year, it found itself overtaken in this market
by Universal as its annual share dropped from 25.8% to 21.1%.
Conversely, Paul ConnollyÂ’s company more than doubled its share on singles,
going from a fourth-placed 10.9% in 2006 to an unrivalled and personal annual
best of 24.2%.
The two rivals shared in the fortunes of Take ThatÂ’s Rule The World, which
ranked as 2007Â’s fifth biggest seller, while five places below Universal
claimed exclusive control of Kaiser ChiefsÂ’ first singles chart-topper Ruby.
Unquestionably, UniversalÂ’s big new star was Mika, who delivered both the
yearÂ’s third biggest-selling single and album with Grace Kelly and Life In
Cartoon Motion respectively. In the two cases Universal controlled around 90%,
with Life In Cartoon Motion one of 16 albums in the yearÂ’s Top 20 which the
publisher had some interest in. As with singles, it achieved a new company best
in this market, having in 2006 found itself behind EMI, Warner/Chappell and
Sony/ATV. A year on only EMI could better it, finishing 3.9 points clear of
Universal.
In this close battle for supremacy, the focus very easily falls upon the top
two, but third-placed Warner/Chappell certainly deserves to take some of the
spotlight after claiming its highest annual market share in four years.
On albums its share rose across 12 months from 15.3% to 17.1% with no release
making a bigger contribution than the EaglesÂ’ comeback album Long Road Out Of
Eden. Despite WarnerÂ’s record company no longer having the group on its books,
the majorÂ’s publishing operation handsomely cashed in on the bandÂ’s first
new studio album in 28 years by claiming nearly 58% of a release that ranked
seventh for the year.
On singles, Warner/Chappell could also stake a claim in the yearÂ’s biggest
seller for a fourth successive year. In 2004 it had exclusive control of the
Band Aid 20 revival Do They Know ItÂ’s Christmas?, repeating the trick a year
later with another charity single, a reissue of Tony ChristieÂ’s (Is This The
Way To) Amarillo? In 2006 it claimed a 35% share of Gnarls BarkleyÂ’s Crazy,
and it has now added to that record by taking a one-third stake in Leona
LewisÂ’ runaway Bleeding Love. Two-thirds controlled by independent Kobalt,
the single sold 787,000 units in 2007, knocking into second place Rihanna feat.
Jay-ZÂ’s Umbrella, in which Warner/Chappell shared majority control with
Peermusic of 40% each.
After a record-breaking 2006 in which it finished third overall thanks to a run
that included Take That, Razorlight, Oasis and James Morrison, Sony/ATV was
always going to struggle to keep up the pace in 2007. It is no great surprise,
then, to report the company went into reverse during the year, dropping on
combined share over 2007 from 12.3% to 9.3%. But, if 2006 can be treated as an
exceptional year, then Rak SanghviÂ’s company had a pretty solid 2007 with its
annual share more than a match for those achieved between 2000 and 2005 when its
respective totals were 7.7%, 9.3%, 7.7%, 5.5% and 8.0%.
In the first year since Marty Bandier took over as global chairman/CEO,
Sony/ATV also enjoyed its highest share of the singles market in five years to
take it to 8.9%. Highlights included minor shares in Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, Mika
and Take ThatÂ’s various hits plus exclusive control of the Timbaland presents
One Republic hit Apologize, which ranked 16th of the year.
It was on albums, however, where the going proved to be far tougher compared to
the prior year with no albums proving such a runaway success for Sony/ATV as
several had in 2006.
With BMG now out of the picture, it meant Sony/ATV only dropping down from
third to fourth place on the overall table where the gap between the major and
independent publishers narrowed to just 4.2 percentage points, thanks to a
best-yet year by Kobalt.
Right at the top it was the same old story of EMI being the yearÂ’s number
one. But it faced one of its hardest battles to date to finish as leading
publisher for an incredible 13th successive year and that fight will prove
tougher in 2008 against a Universal that, for the first time, will have a full
year to benefit from its BMG purchase.
Kobalt performs heroics in the indie sector Kobalt has only been in existence
since 2000, but such has been its rapid rise that last year it took control of
more than a quarter of the UKÂ’s independent publishing sector.
The company, which was formed by CEO Willard Ahdritz, finished as the runaway
number one indie publisher of 2007 as it outscored its three nearest rivals
combined with a 25.9% share of the independent market. Only a year earlier its
share of the independent market had been just 4.0%, putting it in eighth
position.
Billing what it offers as “music publishing for the 21st Century”, the
company markets what it calls its “unique, transparent” systems, which it
says take the guesswork out of global royalty collections and reporting, so
enabling songwriters to get more money, more quickly.
That approach has built up a roster that includes the likes of Gwen Stefani,
Interpol, Richard Ashcroft, Badly Drawn Boy and Barry Manilow and helped it
last year to become the top UK independent publisher of the year for the first
time in its history.
Its domination of the indie publishing sector in 2007 is without question in
regards market share, but it is also pushing hard at the major publishers. On
singles, for example, it finished just 1.8 percentage points behind Sony/ATV as
it claimed two-thirds of the yearÂ’s biggest-selling single, the Leona
Lewis-performed Bleeding Love. It also grabbed a 50% share of the Sugababes hit
About You Now, the yearÂ’s sixth top seller, and half of the 13th-placed The
Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani feat. Akon.
Although its performance on albums was less pronounced, it could point to an
18.5% share of the Leona Lewis album Spirit, which finished as the yearÂ’s
second top seller, and more than a quarter of WestlifeÂ’s Back Home in sixth
place.
Although one of the most successful independents around, the long-established
Peermusic was unable to claim a place in 2006Â’s year-end Top 10, but stormed
back last year to grab the second spot with a 9.4% share across singles and
albums thanks in no small part to RihannaÂ’s mega-hit Umbrella. Peermusic
claimed a 40% share of the 10-week chart-topper, which finished as the yearÂ’s
second-biggest single, while it also saw its signing Newton Faulkner top the
albums chart in the year with debut offering Hand Built By Robots, which
finished as 2007Â’s 24th-biggest seller.
The previous year Big Life had finished as the top independent after its act
Snow Patrol claimed the yearÂ’s top seller with Eyes Open. So enduring is the
album that it ranked in 15th place the following year, helping Big Life to
become the third highest-ranked indie with a 9.4% share.
Largely thanks to the Black Eyed Peas, Catalyst was placed as 2003Â’s top
independent. Last year the publisher finished in its highest position since
then, with a 100% share of X Factor winner Leon JacksonÂ’s single pushing it
to fourth place with a 6.5% share. JacksonÂ’s single When You Believe was the
yearÂ’s fourth top-seller.
Now subject to takeover bids, Chrysalis had a quiet year by its own high
standards, finishing in fifth place with 4.8%.
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