Trailblazers is an MBW interview series that turns the spotlight on music entrepreneurs with the potential to become the global business power players of tomorrow. This time, we meet the leadership team at Cutting Edge Group: CEO Philip Moross, COO Tara Finegan, and Head of M&A Tim Hegarty. Here, they discuss how they built a billion-dollar-plus portfolio in film and TV music, and their plans for what comes next. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore.
Cutting Edge Group has spent nearly two decades building a company dedicated to something it says the wider music industry largely ignored: film and television music.
Founded in 2006, the majority family-owned, UK-headquartered firm has assembled a portfolio of owned and managed media music rights, valued at over $1 billion.
That collection comprises soundtrack albums, publishing assets and royalty income streams from some of the most recognized entertainment properties of the modern film and TV era: John Wick, Severance, Stranger Things, The Crown, Suits, The Walking Dead, Bridgerton, Ted Lasso, Yellowstone, The Office, South Park, and video games including Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
But it was the deal Cutting Edge struck in February last year that signaled its arrival as a prominent institutional player: a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery worth in excess of $1 billion to co-own and co-manage the studio’s vast catalog of film and television music. The collection spans almost a century and contains more than 400,000 compositions.
That JV catalog reads like a history of Hollywood itself: the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, DC Comics movies, plus TV shows including Friends, Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, Succession, The White Lotus, Sex and the City, and The West Wing. Iconic films such as Rebel Without a Cause, The Exorcist, A Star is Born, Blade Runner, and The Shawshank Redemption sit alongside it.
“It signaled to Hollywood that we can compete for, win, and then operationally deliver on large-scale institutional opportunities,” Cutting Edge COO Tara Finegan tells us. “That has fundamentally changed our pipeline.”
The deal followed the company’s announcement of a $500 million debt refinancing in 2024 with a banking syndicate led by Fifth Third Bank and Northleaf Capital Partners, identifying approximately $1.5 billion in potential targets.
Cutting Edge now has $3-4 billion in identified targets.
“Film and television music was underserved, frankly misunderstood, and offered copyright terms that stretched over more than seventy years.”
Philip Moross
Then came the acquisition of AMC Studios’ full portfolio of TV music rights, adding compositions from The Walking Dead franchise and the Anne Rice Immortal Universe adaptations. And last month, Cutting Edge acquired the catalog of award-winning composer John Paesano, including scores from the Maze Runner trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Marvel’s Daredevil, and the Spider-Man video game series. According to the press release issued in January, the deal covers music from franchises that have generated $1.8 billion at the global box office.
“Through our early conviction in this very specific area of the market, Cutting Edge has become a world-leading music partner to the film and TV industries,” says CEO Philip Moross, whose unconventional path, via Arthur Andersen, real estate development, and entertainment licensing, gave him an outsider’s lens on the music rights sector.
“Film and television music was underserved, frankly misunderstood, and offered copyright terms that stretched over more than seventy years,” he adds.
Today, Cutting Edge employs 50 people globally, with 30 specialists focused exclusively on acquisition and exploitation of film, television, and advertising music.
Here, Moross, Finegan, and Head of M&A Tim Hegarty argue that media music remains significantly undervalued relative to pop catalogs. They also discuss the company’s expansion into wellness music alongside the Mayo Clinic, and their predictions for industry consolidation…
Philip, could you give our readers a brief intro into your career leading up to founding Cutting Edge?
Rather unusually for someone working in music investment, I began my career in real estate development and finance, rather than in the music business itself.
I started in audit at Arthur Andersen, then worked in the City, before starting a London-based residential and leisure property development business in ‘87. I ran that through the ‘92 property crash all the way up until 2010, when I sold it to focus exclusively on music. In parallel, between ‘93 and 2000, I also ran an entertainment licensing business working with high-profile film and television stars to promote apparel, which was my first introduction to the very exciting world of entertainment and showbusiness.
Both experiences taught me crucial lessons. The property crash was especially formative – watching a market collapse and interest rates spike by multiple percentage points overnight has left me acutely aware of cyclical risk. I didn’t want to start another business where external factors could devastate value like that. Meanwhile, the work in IP licensing showed me the potential value that one could find in a less cyclically sensitive sector, but it also introduced me to its limitations – celebrity licenses are short-term and pricing becomes prohibitive as the talent gets successful.
I ended up looking for something that combined the best of both – long duration and economically resilient without cyclical risk or pricing volatility. So that’s what led me to media music. Film and television music was underserved, frankly misunderstood, and offered copyright terms that stretched over more than seventy years. Coming into the industry from the outside meant I could look at it differently, analyzing it as an asset class. And that lens turned out to be quite useful. I sold the property business in 2010 to focus exclusively on music, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.
Tell us about the gap that you saw in the market that led you to launch the company?
Philip Moross: When I founded Cutting Edge, the entire music industry was focused on commercial music. To be honest, film and television music were treated as a poor relation.
There were rare exceptions – Saturday Night Fever, The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston’s cover of I Will Always Love You – but tellingly, those successes were driven by the record labels, not the studios. The studios viewed soundtracks as a cost center and had no proper acquisition and exploitation infrastructure around them. Nobody was building a scalable business in this space, and neither the composers nor the studios had the partner they needed.
“When I founded Cutting Edge, the entire music industry was focused on commercial music. To be honest, film and television music were treated as a poor relation.”
Philip Moross
But the value proposition was obvious once you began to look at it properly. The more I looked at film and television music, the more I realized that I was looking at non-correlated, resilient, cash-yielding, low-volatility income streams with inflation protection. The ownership profile was also attractive, in terms of its life of copyright and the lack of reversions or terminations. And there was real scope for active management, particularly heading into what we could see would be an era of digitization and streaming.
That era has been transformative, in and of itself. It has completely altered the shelf life and reach of top-class IP, especially in film and television. Friends is a good example – it’s a 30-year-old show, and yet it was one of the most streamed shows in the world in 2024. Every time an episode is viewed anywhere in the world, we receive a royalty payment related to the public performance of the music in the show. That’s the kind of durability you just don’t get in most other parts of the music business.
How is Cutting Edge positioned in the market today?
Philip: Put simply, we’re the category leader in media music. We actively manage the music to over 5,000 titles either directly or through our joint ventures, such as the one we established with Warner Brothers Discovery [last] year. There’s no comparable specialist operator at our scale – we’ve got 50 people globally, with 30 focused exclusively on acquisition and exploitation of film, television, and advertising music.
Those experts enable us to be an operator first, and an acquirer second. We’re constantly looking for opportunities to enhance other people’s entertainment products with top-class music. That’s strategic, not just philosophical. Premium content needs premium music – proper budgets, creative freedom, partners who understand this niche inside out.
“We actively manage the music to over 5,000 titles either directly or through our joint ventures.”
Philip Moross
Building that collection has been two decades in the making, and we’re continuing to seek out new opportunities. In the past four years alone, we’ve completed roughly 30 acquisitions, predominantly off market, through direct relationships with composers and production companies which we’ve built up over time.
Those two decades of dealmaking have given us a wealth of proprietary performance data across every major streaming platform and territory, which has allowed us to build proprietary valuation models. We understand growth curves, risk factors, and secondary exploitation potential better than generalist buyers coming into this space. That allows us to underwrite more accurately and improve monetization post-acquisition.
Cutting Edge is a family business – how do you balance family dynamics with billion-dollar business decisions?
Tara Finegan: We’ve been very intentional about establishing institutional-grade governance despite being a family business. We have a clear separation of roles, formal investment committees, and a strong non-family senior team.
Overall, the key is maintaining discipline. Every major decision goes through the same rigorous process regardless of who’s advocating for it.
Credit: Faye Thomas
“Media music requires long-term thinking – these are 50, 70-year assets.”
Tara Finegan
But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped being a family, and I believe that in itself is a huge advantage for our business. Media music requires long-term thinking – these are 50, 70-year assets. And when a composer chooses to sell their catalog, it is a personal decision that they are making for their family, and we’ve become adept at partnering in whichever way best fulfills their goals.
With over $1 billion of assets under management and $3-4 billion in identified targets, what criteria determine which catalogs/ companies make the cut?
Tim Hegarty: Our deal selection is highly disciplined – we review hundreds of opportunities and execute on a small percentage.
The first criterion is content quality and durability. We’re underwriting based on viewership longevity – is the catalog attached to tentpole franchises, award-winning content, or programming with demonstrable staying power? Is it demonstrating an ability to maintain or grow its market share in the shift to digital distribution? Premium content drives premium, predictable cash flows.
Credit: Faye Thomas
“Our deal selection is highly disciplined – we review hundreds of opportunities and execute on a small percentage.”
Tim Hegarty
But content quality alone isn’t enough. Data quality is equally non-negotiable – our forecasting is sophisticated, but it requires robust inputs. If we can’t get comfortable with the historical performance data or identify where revenue is coming from on a title-by-title basis, we usually pass.
More broadly, diversification is always at the top of our minds. Media music is often highly diversified by nature – a single writer can work across numerous film and TV shows during their career, and a single studio’s catalog will span decades and tens or hundreds of individual composers. But we’re always looking for ways to further this diversification when it comes to portfolio construction, ensuring that we have a full and varied range of genres, content types, territories and distributors in our catalog, to help reduce risk.
The pipeline you mention represents assets that meet most or all of these criteria.
What kind of M&A opportunities are you seeing in the market?
Tim: There’s a very healthy pipeline for future growth, which mostly falls into two buckets: large-scale partnerships and mid-market acquisitions.
On the strategic side, following our deal with Warner Brothers Discovery, other studios are looking at whether similar structures could help optimize their balance sheets and support operations. Those kinds of deals are about creating structured partnerships where we bring operational expertise and capital while they retain the desired creative control and economic participation.
More broadly, the mid-market remains very active. It’s filled with hundreds of individual composers and independent production companies that have reached $1-20 million in annual music royalty revenue but lack the infrastructure to maximize value globally. They need specialist collection capabilities, secondary exploitation teams, and technology platforms they can’t justify building themselves. Where we come in is essentially providing institutionalization and liquidity for assets that have been owner operated.
How did the Warner Bros. Discovery billion-dollar joint venture reshape your business model?
Tara: The Warner Brothers Discovery deal was the culmination of a fifteen-year relationship, during which we had time to study the catalog, devise a specific deal structure that would work for their balance sheet requirements, and build credibility with the existing music team and their creative community. We needed the time to forge a genuine operational partnership, not just a financial transaction.
From a business perspective, it was transformational. We went from a significant independent to a major player overnight. But rather than reshape our business model, what it did was validate our entire approach – our business model, our focus, our investment thesis – at the highest level. It signaled to Hollywood that we can compete for, win, and then operationally deliver on large-scale opportunities. That has fundamentally changed our pipeline and the conversations we are having with other major studios.
Since we closed on the Warner Brothers Discovery deal, the integration has gone very well and has demonstrated that we can execute complex institutional-grade transactions and co-manage one of the largest music catalogs in Hollywood while preserving the operator-first ethos, flexibility, and innovativeness that differentiates us.
Do you anticipate more studios following Warner Bros. Discovery’s model of partnering with music specialists?
Philip: Absolutely! What Warner Brothers Discovery demonstrated is that there’s a middle path between holding assets sub-optimally and selling them outright. Studios are film and television companies, not music publishers.
The partnership model we structured with Warner Brothers Discovery, over many months, allows them to optimize their balance sheet and refocus on core content production while retaining economic participation. Crucially, it also ensures the music team and creative relationships are preserved.
The timing for these kinds of deals is pretty favorable as well. Streaming has created enormous content libraries with valuable music assets attached, but studios are under significant capital allocation pressure – they need to demonstrate returns to their investors. A specialist partnership like ours that delivers immediate value while giving them access to the upside from improved exploitation is increasingly attractive.
Frankly, I expect this to become a standard structure for the industry, though each deal will be bespoke based on catalog composition, existing relationships, strategic objectives, and the like. We’re well-positioned as the partner of choice given our operational capabilities, capital access, and proven track record of delivering at this scale while serving the creative community effectively.
You acquired AMC Studios’ full portfolio of TV music rights last year. What made that deal attractive, and tell us about the value Cutting Edge can add to the catalogs like this post-acquisition?
Tara: AMC Studios’ catalog represents our ideal type of asset: premium content with demonstrated cultural durability and global distribution.
The Walking Dead delivered 48 of the top 50 cable entertainment telecasts of all time! And there are multiple spin-off series from that universe that continue to come out with new seasons. AMC is building a similar fanbase with the Anne Rice Immortal Universe shows – ‘Talamasca: The Secret Order’ just hit screens this quarter and we are extremely excited for ‘The Vampire Lestat’, with its rock n roll storyline, to be released next year. That viewership longevity and reinvigoration via new seasons and spin-offs translates directly into predictable, growing royalty streams.
“AMC Studios’ catalog represents our ideal type of asset: premium content with demonstrated cultural durability and global distribution.”
Tara Finegan
Currently, we’re getting to work on increasing the catalog’s reach, influence, and legacy. We’re plugging the catalog into our global collection infrastructure and secondary exploitation teams. That means a dual strategy of making sure we are collecting all the royalties that we are entitled to by checking registrations, tracking broadcasts, resolving conflicting claims, and the like, while finding new secondary opportunities to generate revenue such as sync licensing, live-to-picture concerts, soundtrack album distribution and DSP marketing.
Would you say media music is undervalued/ misunderstood in the wider market and if so what’s your message to institutional investors about why media music deserves more attention than it gets?
Philip: Definitely. Media music remains significantly undervalued relative to pop catalog, and primarily due to lack of familiarity most investors have with it and the absence of marquee names.
Institutional investors understand Taylor Swift or The Beatles – those deals generate headlines. Film and television music lacks that visibility, despite in many cases offering superior risk-adjusted returns.
But the market is maturing. The Warner Brothers Discovery transaction alone represents a significant, large-scale validation of the asset class. Fundamentally though, the barrier to entry is high unless you find the right partner.
What other trends are you seeing in the market that we should know about?
Philip: There’s a clear flight to quality happening in content. Video streaming services initially pursued volume, but they’ve quickly realized that people feel overwhelmed, so now they’re focused on premium programming that drives and retains subscribers. Shows that win awards, generate cultural conversations, get rewatched – those have dramatically longer shelf lives, and dramatically higher financial value. We’re focusing acquisitions on music attached to that top tier of films and TV shows, because their durability is in a different league.
Beyond traditional media music, we’re seeing real opportunity in adjacent applications of music. Our wellness subsidiary Myndstream just announced a collaboration with Mayo Clinic – they’ve taken an equity stake and we’re researching clinical applications of functional music in healthcare settings together. Most people in music aren’t that familiar with the wellness industry, but it’s absolutely huge – it’s projected to reach $9 trillion by 2028. Functional music is a small but growing part of that industry, and research has shown that it can have a clear therapeutic impact on everything from anxiety to pain management, meaning it can be an incredible tool for healthcare providers, and indeed a new revenue stream for music companies.
Which global territories excite you most for music rights growth?
Philip: They’re all pretty exciting to be honest – geographic expansion is a very significant growth driver for us across the board. India, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East – streaming penetration is accelerating across all of these countries, which represent nearly 3 billion potential subscribers, and the collection infrastructure is also slowly catching up.
As performing rights organizations formalize and streaming platforms expand properly into these markets, catalogs tied to globally distributed content are going to finally see meaningful revenue from markets that were essentially contributing a pittance a decade ago. That’s a massive opportunity.
Tara: We’re also focused on continued growth in established markets that are often overlooked. The UK demonstrates this dynamic – BBC viewership has increased from 77% of British adults to 84% over the past 20 years, primarily through the digital accessibility provided by BBC iPlayer, which shows how even a well-established content provider can reach new audiences.
What are your predictions for the music rights M&A space over the next five years?
Tim: Consolidation will be the dominant theme. The market is currently fragmented with hundreds of smaller catalogs and publishers, but the economics of this market increasingly favor scale. Sophisticated tracking technology, global collection infrastructure, platform relationships – these all require substantial fixed investment, which can be tricky for smaller players. As a result, I think we’ll see roll-up activity accelerating across the board, as smaller players struggle to compete on both pricing and operational efficiency.
“The market is currently fragmented with hundreds of smaller catalogs and publishers, but the economics of this market increasingly favor scale.”
Tim Hegarty
I also think that the transactions themselves will evolve beyond simple acquisitions. The Warner Brothers Discovery model demonstrates that JVs and structured partnerships can work at scale, so I would expect more studios to consider partnerships along those lines.
More broadly, valuation methodologies will probably become more sophisticated as the data that feeds into them improves. We expect to see increased focus on viewership data, pricing, churn, geographic diversification, and durability, at the very least.
How will AI-generated music impact film/TV music rights?
Tara: It’s a good question. I don’t think AI is going to replace composers creating music for high-quality film and television; that human creative process remains essential.
“I don’t think AI is going to replace composers creating music for high-quality film and television; that human creative process remains essential.”
Tara Finegan
The main opportunity for us is on the operational side: put simply, AI will allow us to collect royalties more effectively. Actively claiming misassigned royalties across millions of individual broadcasts and performances is no small task, and AI can assist us with that. If we feed it the right information – the correct cue sheets, the proper publishing data, the actual music – it can identify misattributions and registration errors much more quickly and comprehensively than humans can.
That translates directly into higher revenues for everyone involved.
If you could change one thing about the global music business, what would it be and why?
Philip: It would be ensuring transparency of earnings throughout the entire royalty chain – from broadcasters and streaming platforms through to PROs, CMOs, publishers, record labels, and everyone in between.
Coming from real estate, where it’s fairly straightforward to ensure you get paid what you’re owed, the opacity in music royalties genuinely shocked me. Even now in 2025, we still receive generic rolled-up income statements that span entire TV series rather than breaking out the royalties composition by composition. Some international statements even fail to attribute income to specific streaming services.
“Composers and publishers can’t properly value their work or understand their income sources without transparent, detailed statements.”
Philip Moross
The lack of audit rights in many cases compounds the problem. When you often can’t properly audit what you’re being paid, and the statements don’t provide granular detail on usage, you’re essentially trusting that everyone in the chain is calculating and paying correctly.
Digitization has made detailed reporting technically possible – platforms know exactly what’s being streamed, when, where, and by whom. The infrastructure exists. What’s missing is the mandate and the resources for everyone in the chain to report it properly.
This isn’t just about us as operators – it’s about creators getting fair remuneration. Composers and publishers can’t properly value their work or understand their income sources without transparent, detailed statements. AI and other technologies should alleviate the resources issue in the future, but it will be up to all of us in the music community to insist on the mandate.
Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore. TuneCore provides self-releasing artists with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration, and a range of promotional services. TuneCore is part of Believe.
Apple Music is close to launching an artificial intelligence-powered playlist generator that would let users create playlists through text prompts, joining streaming rivals that have rolled out similar tools in recent months.
The feature, called Playlist Playground, appeared in the beta version of iOS 26.4 released to developers Monday (February 16), according to Apple-focused news website MacRumors and Macworld.
Apple Music suggests prompts such as “morning coffee music,” “hip-hop party songs,” and “disco songs that defined the 1970s,” although users can enter any description. They can type prompts describing moods, artists or musical styles, and the tech creates a 25-song playlist with a custom title. The tool also allows editing of existing playlists through additional text prompts, and users can select a cover and description of their AI-generated playlists.
Developers that signed up to the iOS 26.4 beta can access Playlist Playground by opening up Apple Music, tapping into the Library, and selecting the “+” button to create a new playlist, according to MacRumors.
Playlist Playground appears to be powered by Apple Intelligence, Apple’s proprietary AI system — the feature is labelled as such and requires Apple Intelligence models to download in the background before it becomes available. Apple has not detailed the specific model architecture behind it. The company already offers playlist generation through ChatGPTintegration in Apple Music.
Macworld reports that the beta also includesinterface updates for album and playlist pages, which now display backgrounds matching artwork colors instead of solid white. Apple redesigned the Music app’s interface with iOS 26 last year.
Another addition shows upcoming concerts near users’ locations. Macworld said the feature appears similar to the tool that already exists in Shazam, which Apple owns. Shazam displays tour dates, venue information and ticket details with options to set reminders for performances.
With the latest update, Apple Music joins competitors that introduced AI playlist generation in recent years, including YouTube Musicwhich rolled out its own AI-powered playlist generator last week.
Spotifylaunched text-based playlist creation in December after testing the feature in beta for more than a year. AmazonMusic and Deezerwere the earliest DSPs to introduce the feature in April 2024 and July 2024, respectively.
Apple has yet to announce a timeline for the release of iOS 26.4.
Also recently, 9to5Mac reported that Apple Music has teamed up with TikTok to beta-test a feature called “Play Full Song,” which would allow TikTok users to stream full songs through Apple Music without having to leave the app; and a “Listening Party” feature that would allow groups of users to stream music at the same time within TikTok.
As part of a Valentine’s Day gift to his wife, Jeff Tweedy covered Cameron Winter’s “Love Takes Miles” over the weekend. The Wilco frontman said he chose to put his spin on the Heavy Metal song because it seems “very true to me about how love kind of actually works.” He elaborated further in his newsletter, writing, “I think you can feel the immediate feeling of love over and over and over again. But the real love takes a lot of miles, a lot of time. That’s the kind of love that makes ground harder under your feet and colors stronger.” Listen to the cover at Tweedy’s Substack.
The short essay that accompanies the “Love Takes Miles” cover continues, with Tweedy writing, “It’s a poignant song for such a young person to put out into the world. I hope you check out the rest of Cameron’s songs, and Geese. A lot of people have opinions about them. I’ll just say what Susie said when she saw Geese on Saturday Night Live, that she would have loved to have booked them at Lounge Ax. They totally would have fit in at Lounge Ax. Happy Valentine’s Day. I know it’s a made-up holiday, but love ain’t so bad, especially right now. It could be worse, and it often is. Carry on.”
Tweedy is currently in the early stages of a months-long headlining tour. Once he finishes this European leg, he will head back to North America to play shows in all three countries, with support from Liam Kazar and Finom’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, before concluding with a special set at the annual Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Labi Siffre, the 80-year-old British folk musician, is back after spending decades out of the spotlight. He just announced his first new album in 28 years; the appropriately titled Unfinished Business is out later this year on Demon Music Group. He’s also shared the new song “Far Away,” a piano ballad that leans into Siffre’s soul influences, with a music video. Check it out below.
Siffre took a sporadic approach to releasing music over the years, dropping six albums in a five-year span during the ’70s, including his standout LP Crying Laughing Loving Lying, before retiring. However, he returned for brief stints in the ’80s and ’90s. His last records, the full-length album The Last Songs and the spoken-word poetry collection Monument, both came out in 1998.
Still, Siffre hasn’t been totally silent this decade: he released the single “(Love Is Love Is Love) Why Isn’t Love Enough?” in 2020, and the 2022 BBC documentary Labi Siffre: This Is My Song featured a version of “Far Away,” but the song was never officially released before today. What’s more, Siffre made a rare live appearance in the BBC Radio 2 Piano room to promote his upcoming album, tapping the BBC Radio Orchestra to accompany him for live renditions of “My Song,” “Far Away,” and a cover of the Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving.” Watch those clips below.
It seems the recent surge of renewed interest in Siffre’s music, including licensing syncs in films like The Holdovers and Sentimental Value, may be to thank for his big comeback. In 2024, official YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok channels were finally launched for Siffre’s music, as were new interviews and restored videos, as Stereogum points out. That following year, Demon Music Group released a Best Of collection gathering Siffre’s work.
A so-called ‘activist’ investor based in London called Independent Franchise Partners (IFP) has built a 3.01% stake in Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, according to a filing published by the Dutch financial markets regulator, the AFM.
The filing shows that IFP held 55,155,646 ordinary shares in UMG as of last Monday (February 9), carrying equivalent capital interest and voting rights of 3.01%.
Based on UMG’s closing share price of €19.73 on that date, the stake was worth approximately €1.09 billion (USD $1.29bn).
As reported by Reuters, the holding makes IFP the sixth-largest shareholder in Universal Music Group, according to LSEG data.
Founded in 2009, Reuters noted that IFP describes its investment focus as targeting exceptionally high-quality companies whose competitive advantage is supported by dominant intangible assets. The firm has not publicly commented on its intentions regarding UMG.
IFP also holds a 5.37% stake in Vivendi and a 5.86% stake in British property platform Rightmove.
IFP also appears to be a significant shareholder in Warner Music Group (see below), holding a 9.1% stake in the company’s Class A common stock as of March 2025, according to SEC filings, suggesting a broader bet on the music rights sector.
The Vivendi position is notable: Vivendi’s controlling shareholder, the Bolloré family, held an 18.5% stake in UMG and a 29.3% stake in Vivendi at the close of 2024, according to the Bolloré Group’s website.
The relationship between those entities is currently the subject of a high-profile legal battle in France.
UMG’s biggest stockholders as per the music company’s latest annual report for 2024
IFP’s arrival on UMG’s shareholder register comes during a period of upheaval among the company’s major investors.
In March last year, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square raised approximately $1.4 billion from the sale of around 50 million UMG shares — a 2.7% stake — at €26.60 per share, reducing its holding to approximately 4.8%. That sale followed Pershing’s distribution of a further 47 million shares (2.6% of UMG) to its PSVII fund investors in January 2025.
In July, Cyrille Bolloré — son of French media mogul Vincent Bolloré, and Chairman and CEO of the Bolloré Group — stepped down from UMG’s board to focus on the Bolloré Group’s fight with France’s AMF, which had ordered the group to make a mandatory tender offer for Vivendi shares it does not own.
However, in late November, France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, overturned the Paris Court of Appeal ruling that had found Vincent Bolloré to be in de facto control of Vivendi — referring the question of control back to a freshly composed panel of the Court of Appeal.
The AMF has said it cannot rule again on the mandatory tender offer until the new Court of Appeal decision is handed down.
UMG also filed a confidential draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in July for a proposed secondary listing on a US stock exchange, but the timing of that listing remains uncertain.
While the Tencent-led consortium’s approximately 20% stake has remained steady through this period, UMG’s share price has declined approximately 10% year-to-date in 2026, and is down around 30% over the past 12 months.
That decline has come despite continued growth in UMG’s underlying business.
The company’s most recent quarterly results showed Q3 2025 revenues of €3.02 billion, up 10.2% YoY at constant currency, with adjusted EBITDA of €664 million — a margin of 22%.
UMG is due to report its Q4 and full-year 2025 results on March 5.
In an investor presentation published on February 11 — two days after IFP’s filing date — Pershing Square made a bullish case for UMG, describing the company as “a high-quality, capital-light, rapidly growing royalty on greater music consumption”.
Pershing argued that UMG’s growth is set to accelerate, driven by ‘Streaming 2.0’ deals incorporating wholesale price increases that should lead to higher subscription revenue growth, and new partners and product tiers that should allow for better customer segmentation.
On AI, Pershing said UMG is beginning to monetize the technology by partnering with new digital service providers creating tools for music discovery and creation, and argued that AI will lower the costs of creating music and allow UMG to operate more efficiently.
Despite that optimism, Pershing noted that UMG trades at its lowest-ever valuation — 18x earnings, or 17x excluding its ownership stake in Spotify — citing the overhang created by uncertainty around the Bolloré situation and UMG’s delayed US listing as key factors depressing the share price.
“Given its market position and decades-long runway for sustained earnings growth, we believe UMG’s current valuation represents a very substantial discount to its intrinsic value,” Pershing concluded.
MBW reached out to Universal Music Group for comment.Music Business Worldwide
In a now-deleted photo on Instagram, Korn guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer was pictured with producer NickRaskulinecz – known for his previous work with Korn on The Nothing in 2019 – and mixing engineer ChrisLord–Alge – known for his work with GreenDay and MyChemicalRomance – in a studio, with the caption, “What a blast with Nick Raskulinecz and Munkey mixing Korn!! Heavy badass rock!!!”
While the photo was originally uploaded to Lord-Alge‘s personal Instagram account, it has since been removed, presumably because according to Brian “Head” Welch just last week when talking to Loudwire [as transcribed by thePRP], “We’re a fortunate band, we’ve been around for awhile and we’ve got an extensive catalogue with a lot of well-known songs. We’re focusing right now on our live show… it feels like we don’t even need a new album. Everything’s just going so well, but that’s not to say we’re not going to find some time to go in again. I feel like it’s not priority right now.”
Welch went as far to say, “I really love the fact that it’s taking a long time. I always told management that I wish that we would wait a little bit between albums. We’re just so addicted to the studio that we get in there and we’re putting albums out every two or three years, ever since I rejoined. And so, I love that there’s been delays.”
So, there’s really no telling what they were working on, if it was this album that Welch mentioned in his Loudwire interview, or something different entirely. Either way, Lord-Alge may have unknowingly broke the news of a new Korn record.
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HYBE’s latest earnings call offered a clear signal of where the K-pop giant’s priorities lie in 2026: the return of BTS.
All seven members have completed their mandatory military service, and will release their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, on March 20 – followed by what HYBE is billing as the largest tour ever by a K-pop artist. CEO Jason Jaesang Lee told analysts the first confirmed schedule alone includes “82 shows in 34 cities around the world, which is the most ever for a single tour by a K-Pop artist.” BTS has also signed a deal with Netflix to livestream the opening concert and produce a documentary about the making of the album.
The comeback comes at an important time for the South Korea-headquartered entertainment giant. HYBE posted record annual revenues of KRW 2.65 trillion (USD $1.86 billion) in 2025, up 17.5% year-over-year, but operating profit fell 73% to just KRW 49.9 billion (USD $35.1 million) as the company spent heavily on launching new artists and restructuring its US business.
The earnings call covered far more than BTS, though. Here are three things you might have missed…
1. HYBE America is being restructured – at a cost of approximately KRW 200 billion in impairment losses
Perhaps the most sobering disclosure on the call concerned HYBE’s North American operations. CFO Lee Kyung-Jun confirmed that approximately KRW 200 billion (roughly USD $140 million) in impairment losses were recognized in Q4, resulting from what he called “a more conservative and strict revaluation of HYBE America currently in the middle of business restructuring.”
The CFO noted that these are “accounting losses with no actual cash outflow.”
Borchetta had served as CEO of Big Machine Label Group since the Ithaca acquisition, and will continue to use the Big Machine Records brand for future ventures. HYBE will retain BMLG’s distribution deal, publishing company, and key artists including Thomas Rhett, Carly Pearce, and Jackson Dean, operating under a new label name.
CFO Lee said the company has “been transitioning from the management-centered business structure to a label-based integrated IP business model to reduce volatility in business performance and generate more stable profit.”
He acknowledged that “one-off costs incurred during this process were recognized in the second half of 2025,” but said these “were necessary measures aimed at improving mid-to-long-term profitability of the North American business through business restructuring, which in turn, will start to produce visible financial impact in 2026.”
Credit: PressKATSEYE are a priority act for HYBE’s US division
Despite the writedown, HYBE expressed confidence in the value of its US operations. “The value chain that HYBE has established in the US, including talent development, production and marketing, is proven to be competitive as demonstrated by the global success of KATSEYE,” CFO Lee said.
HYBE also highlighted the continued performance of its country music roster, noting that Riley Green had “made history by becoming the first artist since Taylor Swift in 2013 to top Billboard‘s Country Airplay with two consecutive self-written songs,” and won three awards at the 2025 CMAs. The company also confirmed it has signed a management contract with Tyla.
Elsewhere at HYBE America, last month, the company appointed veteran music exec Ethiopia Habtemariam as its new President of Music.
2. Weverse has turned profitable –
CEO Lee confirmed that Weverse, HYBE’s superfan platform, had achieved profitability on an annual basis in 2025.
He attributed the turnaround to growth in digital business lines – including digital membership and Weverse DM – which he said are “independent profit models that continue to generate profit regardless of artist activities.” That digital business, he revealed, “has been growing at an annual rate of 30%, and is accounting for more than 10% of the total revenue of Weverse.”
Weverse hit a peak of 12 million monthly active users in June last year – a milestone driven by BTS’s full-group reunion following the completion of all seven members’ military service. However, that figure dipped to 11.2 million MAUs by Q4 2025. CEO Lee said that number had already increased by 15% in January – likely reflecting growing anticipation around BTS’s album and tour.
However, Lee indicated that HYBE is willing to sacrifice some of that profitability in the near term to expand the platform into new markets.
“We don’t really want to continue to maintain this profit structure as is because we want to grow this platform to be a truly global platform,” he said.
He described a cycle in which established markets generate profits, while new markets require investment that may temporarily reduce earnings.
“In some of the established markets, we will continue to generate profits. But in the new markets where we enter, we have to make investments for future growth, which may lead to some decline in profits to a certain extent.”
3. HYBE’s concert revenues nearly matched its recorded music revenues – a shift that would have been unthinkable two years ago
HYBE’s concert business was the standout growth driver in 2025.
The company held 250 concerts and 29 fan meetings over the year, generating what executives confirmed was the highest concert revenue in the company’s history.
Photo Courtesy: PLEDIS EntertainmentK-pop stars SEVENTEEN officially launched the US leg of their SEVENTEEN WORLD TOUR at the Tacoma Dome, in October.
CEO Lee revealed that HYBE’s global ranking in Billboard’s Top Promoter category rose five places from the prior year to fourth place, “making HYBE one of the Big Four.”
He added: “In the Top Tour category, three out of four K-Pop teams belong to HYBE, reaffirming the strong ticket power of HYBE artists.”
According to HYBE’s earnings report, the company’s concert revenues (KRW 763.9 billion) were just KRW 9 billion short of its recorded music revenues (KRW 773.0 billion).
That is a dramatic shift from 2023, when recorded music generated nearly three times as much revenue as concerts.
With the BTS World Tour ARIRANG set to launch in April, concerts could overtake recorded music as HYBE’s largest revenue line in 2026.
Reservoir (Nasdaq: RSVR) is a publicly traded, global independent music company with operations across music publishing, recorded music, and artist management.Music Business Worldwide
When Alex Honnold free soloed Taipei 101 last month, the world watched with collective clenched buttholes as it was streamed live on Netflix. What nobody quite expected was that the soundtrack to the whole thing would lean so heavily on Tool.
Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer frontman Maynard JamesKeenan has now weighed in on his indirect role in Honnold‘s death-defying climb, after the climber revealed he’d powered through the skyscraper ascent with a carefully curated playlist — one dominated by Tool‘s catalog.
That playlist, since shared publicly, includes eight Tool tracks: “Forty Six & 2,” “Ænema,” “The Grudge,” “Lateralus,” “Schism,” “Parabola,” “Invincible” and “Pneuma.” Other artists on the playlist included Linkin Park, NOTHING MORE,The Used, Chevelle, The Offspring and Senses Fail, but yeah – lotta Tool.
Speaking to ABC about Honnold‘s accomplishment — and his own unintentional contribution to the moment — Keenan leaned into the absurdity. “Not everybody and their mother texted me every three seconds telling me about it or anything,” he joked.
The awe, though, was real. “What the heck were you thinking, dude?” Keenan continued. “It’s impressive! It’s extremely impressive, but, I mean, I wouldn’t make it past the first floor. I would fall to my death.”
Asked whether he’d ever be tempted to get more directly involved if Honnold attempts another high-profile climb, Keenan was quick to shut that down. “I’ll be the guy down below eating french fries making fun of him,” he said, firmly positioning himself as moral support only.
The timing of the comments is fitting. Just yesterday, February 6, Puscifer released their latest studio album, Normal Isn’t, adding another chapter to Keenan‘s ever-expanding musical universe. One that apparently now doubles as extreme-sports fuel.
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Behemoth is having a rough go in Europe and Asia at the moment – from having their scheduled tour dates in Turkey cancelled by Turkish authorities because of “incompatibility with our societal values,” and now being on the receiving end of threats from “religious Christian groups” that could potentially cause “arrest or physical danger,” to the band, according to a statement from Behemoth made on social media a few hours ago.
The band posted a lengthy statement in which they describe the situation they’ve been in regarding their March 3rd show in Bangalore, India while on their ‘Chant Of The Eastern Lands’ tour, saying:
“Over the past few weeks, we and our team have received numerous credible threats stemming from religious Christian groups who have been applying pressure to authorities and to the promoter in an effort to stop the show from taking place. These threats have raised serious concerns regarding the band’s safety and security, including the possibility of arrest or physical danger.
“We have been in close contact with the local promoter throughout this process. We want to make it clear that this cancellation is not the fault of the promoter, who has acted in good faith at every stage. Despite genuine efforts, it was not possible to obtain sufficient assurances that the band would be protected from legal consequences or security risks. On that basis, we have made the decision to cancel the show.
“This is another example of religious fanaticism attempting to impose itself on artistic expression, something the band has recently faced in Turkey. It is deeply concerning to see what feels like a growing movement toward censorship around the world. In this modern age, artists should not face intimidation, threats, or the risk of imprisonment for performing their art.
“Regardless of religion, race, or culture, freedom of expression must remain a fundamental principle. We believe it is important that people stand together in support of liberal values and creative freedom.
“To our legions in India, we are deeply disappointed that we will not be able to perform for you on this occasion. We appreciate your support and hope to return soon.
Well, folks – Metal Injection noted later last week that it appeared that previous frontwoman of ArchEnemy, AngelaGossow, had ignited rumours that she had rejoined the Swedish melodic death metal band, and Gossow has just come out and poured water over the flame, commenting on the original post that started it all, “It’s not ME! But thank you for all the love! I am really excited to be involved in this new chapter as the manager. This is gonna crush!”
The rumours started when Gossow both ArchEnemy and Gossow posted the same cryptic teaser to their respective Instagram accounts. After posting the teaser, both accounts blacked out their profile pictures and wiped their social media feeds. Fans started connecting the dots between the posts and a comment that Gossow had made back in 2018, saying “I want to make a new extreme metal project, but this will happen after Arch Enemy and work with Alissa [White-Gluz] will be concluded and the whole world will sail in calmer waters. I suppose this will be in 2018, when we concluded the first series of tours and all the rest. I will do so when the time comes” – and that’s really all it took before fans started wondering about Gossow‘s involvement with ArchEnemy now, considering she has been involved as the band’s business manager.
“I took over management in 2008 already, after I noticed our previous manager was making a nice chunk of money, but we — the artist — did not at all,” she said back in 2016 to Roppongi Rocks back, “We hardly managed to get by. That couldn’t be right. A lot of things changed for us since then. I think most managers take way too much out of the artist’s pocket. Like 20% of the gross income, then they waste away what’s left, no regards for the budget and the fact the artist should really make the most out of it. I’ve changed that. I take a lot less commission and I always make sure the artist makes more money than me at the end of the day!”
So, it looks like AngelaGossow is still the band’s manager. Time will tell who is the new vocalist.
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Casey Wasserman is selling the talent agency he founded in 2002, giving up day-to-day operations after documents linking him to Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell triggered significant backlash from his company’s clients and staff.
The sale was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday (February 13), citing a memo to staff.
Wasserman, grandson of entertainment mogul LewWasserman, built Wasserman Agency into one of Hollywood’s largest sports-marketing and talent-management firms with roughly 4,000 employees, according to the WSJ.
Wasserman told employees in the memo that he had “become a distraction” and would hand over control to longtime executive MikeWatts. He apologized for “past personal mistakes” and emphasized his focus on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Backer Providence Equity Partners also said it is committed to keeping the company afloat while it assesses options. Providence first made a strategic investment in Wasserman Agency in 2022.
A spokesman for Providence toldVariety, which reports that Providence has since become the majority owner of the agency,“we believe deeply in the strength of the company and have full confidence in Mike and the leadership team, as well as in the exceptional employees across the organization.”
“We remain fully committed to investing in its growth, expanding its capabilities across sports, music, and entertainment, and supporting the extraordinary talent, brands and properties the company is proud to represent.”
Providence Equity (via variety)
The statement continued: “We remain fully committed to investing in its growth, expanding its capabilities across sports, music, and entertainment, and supporting the extraordinary talent, brands and properties the company is proud to represent.”
The controversy stemmed from the recent release of US Department of Justice documents that revealed correspondence between Wasserman and Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to abuse minors. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019, one month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The documents also reveal that Wasserman and his then-wife flew on Epstein’s jet in 2002 to Africa, where they were joined by former President Bill Clinton. Wasserman acknowledged the 2002 flight, but said he had “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” according to the WSJ. In the memo, Wasserman said the trip occurred “years before their criminal conduct came to light.”
The executive told employees that he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”
Wasserman also serves as chairman of the LA28 organising committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The WSJ said the LA28 board hired outside counsel to review Wasserman’s interactions and found they “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.” The board voted unanimously this week to keep him as chairman.
A number of prominent clients have already left Wasserman Agency in recent days, including Grammy-winning pop artist Chappell Roan. Roan said: “Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity. This decision reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”
Wasserman Music launched in April 2021 with the acquisition of Paradigm’s North American live music representation business.
Other acts to speak out against Wasserman include DropkickMurphys, indie rock band Beach Bunny, singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino, alt-pop singer Chelsea Cutler, country artist Orville Peck, EDM producer Salute, alt band Water From Your Eyes, indie rock band Wednesday, and indie pop artist Weyes Blood.
Variety said the situation puts pressure on high-profile clients at Wasserman-owned Brillstein Entertainment Partners, which recently added Emma Stone and SydneySweeney.
Wasserman has not been accused of any illegal activity in connection with the Epstein documents.
A top Hollywood dealmaker told Variety: “He hasn’t violated any law that we know of. But when you couple this with the scandal from a year ago, you see a pattern of behavior. The sleaze factor is too high, and no client wants to be near that.”
In 2024, Billie Eilishleft Wasserman Music for rival agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) in the wake of a tabloid scandal surrounding Casey Wasserman. An August 1, 2024 report in the Daily Mail described Casey Wasserman as a “serial cheater”. The Mail said it had 11 unnamed sources for the report, “including some of [Wasserman’s] mistresses.”
Sony Music Group‘s parent company, Japan-headquartered Sony Group, has reportedly developed technology to identify copyrighted music embedded in AI-generated tracks.
That’s according tothe financial news outlet Nikkei Asia, which reported on Monday (February 16) that the tech has opened a path for songwriters to claim compensation when their work is used without authorization.
The newspaper explained that the technology operates through two methods. When AI developers cooperate for analysis, Sony connects directly to their base model systems to extract training data. Without cooperation, the system compares AI-generated output against existing music catalogs to estimate which original works were used.
The development comes as AI companies come under increasing pressure over training their models on copyrighted material without permission. Sony MusicEntertainment was among the major music companies that sued AI music generators Suno and Udio for “mass infringement” of copyrighted material.
Nikkei said Sony envisions the technology will form the basis of a revenue-sharing framework that would compensate original creators based on their contribution to AI-generated music.
Sony AI, part of Sony Group’s research and development division, developed the system, and a related paper has been accepted at an international conference, according to the report. Sony AI has also developed methods to stop AI systems from copying anime styles, including those of StudioGhibli.
Under Japanese copyright law, music rights split into two categories: copyrights held by songwriters, composers and publishers, and neighboring rights held by performers and record producers, the report said. Sony Group controls major music labels and a publisher, including half of Michael Jackson‘s catalog. These entities typically collect royalties when songs appear in films, TV shows, or streaming services, then distribute payments to rights holders.
Sony has not announced when the system will enter commercial use. The company expects AI developers to integrate the technology into their models and content companies to use it during license negotiations.
Sony’s move follows related AI initiatives in the music industry. In October, Sony Music Group joinedSpotify in developing what the streaming platform called “responsible” AI music products. Spotify announced it was building a generative AI research lab and product team, pledging “significant investments in AI research and product development.”
Two months earlier, in September 2025, Universal Music Group and Sony Music partnered with SoundPatrol, a StanfordUniversity-affiliated research lab. SoundPatrol developed what it describes as “groundbreaking neural fingerprinting technologies” to detect copyright infringement in AI music.
The lab’s patent-pending “forensic AI model for audio-video fingerprinting” claims to represent “a step change from existing detection methods.” SoundPatrol was co-founded by MichaelOvitz, who co-founded Creative Artists Agency, and Walter De Brouwer, who has a PhD in computational linguistics.
In March 2025, Sony Music challenged proposed UK copyright reforms, revealing it had requested the removal of more than 75,000 AI-generated deepfakes of its artists’ content.
Maynard James Keenan has never been one to mince words, and in a recent interview on Kyle Meredith With…, the Puscifer frontman spoke candidly about politics, extremism, and the mindset behind Puscifer‘s new album, Normal Isn’t.
While much of Puscifer‘s past catalog leaned heavily into absurdist satire, theatrical lore, and tongue-in-cheek humor, Keenan says the new record is more directly shaped by the moment we’re living in. When the album was announced last October, he made its intent clear: “Normal Isn’t reflects this time we are living in… what we see around us does not appear normal. Not by a long shot.”
That doesn’t mean the album is a blunt political manifesto. Keenan has still embraced a deliberately campy persona for this cycle, layering humor and irony over the darker themes.
But when asked about the rise of tribalism and ideological absolutism, he was unambiguous — especially regarding fundamentalist extremism: “I’m always going to be on the side of fuck fundamentalist extremists in any way. Left, right, center—I don’t care… fundamentalist extremists can go fucking suck a bag of dicks. And you can quote me on that.”
Later in the conversation, Keenan also addressed the long-standing perception of Puscifer as the “lesser” Keenan project compared to Tool or A Perfect Circle. Despite being his most prolific creative outlet, Puscifer‘s dense mythology, characters, and theatrical framing have often alienated parts of his broader audience.
Discussing the track “Impetuous,” the final single from Normal Isn’t, Keenan framed the band’s outsider status as a strength: “Puscifer‘s definitely been marginalized and relegated to the third side project category… I’ve always been on the side of the underdog. The marginalized underdog is always going to get my vote.”
He added that the song embraces the idea of being different — and being comfortable with that difference: “It’s okay to not think like everybody else… If you feel like an island, then lean into it. Don’t think of it as a flaw.”
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Tool drummer DannyCarey has gone on the record to say that “the goal” is for Tool to have a brand new record in the public’s hands by 2027. He’s even gone a step further to say that the progressive metal band would also ideally like to do a stint in Las Vegas at the Sphere after the release of said record.
When talking to Spiral Outin an interview uploaded two days ago (15th February), Carey said that the band is “working on a lot of new Tool songs right now” [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. This comes about seven years after the release of their last endeavour, Fear Inoculum, back in 2019; the cinematic nature of Tool that they’ve come to be known for then supposedly isn’t amiss on the newer material. In fact, they’re “very much into” live performances and the cinematic nature of it all: “We’re hoping when we release the new record, maybe do a stint at the Sphere [in Las Vegas] ’cause I think we’re the perfect band for that. We’ve been talking to those guys.”
Carey then shares that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, trying to score time in the Sphere, a 336-feet tall and 516-feet wide ball that hosts a variety of entertainment residencies (reports surfaced last year that Metallica may also be having discussions about a residency of their own). Carey elaborated that it was an expensive process and that it would cost a fair bit of money before they even started making it: “It’s a very expensive endeavor, and it takes a while to get into the black. I think [you need to play] quite a few shows before you make any money.”
The discussions of the residency have included a tour of the Sphere, with Carey sharing that he had just taken a tour of it. “I haven’t actually seen a full-on show, but they took [us around the venue] to show it off. It’s incredible, man.”
You can watch the entire interview above.
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Manchester Orchestra drummer Tim Very has died. The Atlanta rock band announced the loss on social media on Saturday (February 14), writing: “We’ve all been dreading sharing this news as we are all still in absolute disbelief.” No cause of death has been reported. Very was 42.
The son of a drummer father, Very picked up his own sticks for the first time as a teenager in Pensacola, Florida. Dave Grohl was an early influence, and some of the first songs Very learned to play came from Nirvana’s catalog. “I wasn’t one of those guys that got to start playing when I was like six years old, got lessons out the gate,” he told the podcast Drummers On Drumming in 2022. “It took me a little while to kind of find my identity. I instantly knew that this was something I was going to be doing for a long time.”
Very joined Manchester Orchestra in 2011, taking over for Jeremiah Edmond. Very played his first show with the band in London, during the UK leg of an international tour in support of Simple Math. “I threw up during it,” he told Alter The Press the day after the performance. “I can talk about it for hours, but I’ll just say this is what I’ve always wanted to do and these are guys I’ve known for a long time. It’s the best.”
Very would go on to become Manchester Orchestra’s longest-serving drummer, appearing on the group’s past three studio albums: 2014’s Cope, 2017’s A Black Mile to the Surface, and 2021’s The Million Masks of God. The band shared their most recent EP, The Valley of Vision, in 2023, and are set to release a live album, Union Chapel (London, England), this March. Outside of his work with Manchester Orchestra, Very was also a seasoned session musician, producer, and co-founder of the Georgia production company Super Canoe.
“Tim was instantly likable and interacted with everyone he met with kindness and warmth. His laugh was infectious and he immediately made people feel invited and encouraged,” Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, Robert McDowell, and Andy Price said in a statement. “He had an undeniable light that was only matched by his dedication and love for the craft that he was clearly put on earth to do. No words can ever do him justice. Please know, if you are someone who loved Tim, he loved you too.”
The Los Angeles-based death metal band SkeletalRemains have landed themselves in some hot water after reports surfaced from both 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise staff and the cruise’s patrons that the frontman and guitarist, Chris Monroy, was intoxicated and sexually assaulted numerous women while on board.
The original reports surfaced in the 70,000 Tons Of Metal 2027 unofficial Facebook group in which an anonymous user and another woman posted about their experiences. These details were then shared to Reddit, where others shared their own encounters with Monroy.
The anonymous user on Facebook said that: “I’d like to give a big sarcastic shout out to the guitar player of Skeletal Remains for being a total drunk piece of shit who was groping women on the boat. Learn some consent before we ass fuck you next time you come around. Fuck you and your band.” This post is not available to view as the Facebook group is private, however in the details shared to Reddit, the original poster included a screenshot of the original post.
The Reddit user then links a public Facebook post from a woman on board, with a photo saying, “You are cordially invited to fight me,” and the caption reading, “Oh and BTW fuck ChrisMonroy. He’s a fucking predator and a wasted piece of shit. First hand account. Stop listening to SkeletalRemains period.”
A Reddit user in the Facebook group claims that other women were commenting on the above posts, confirming the reports with incidents of their own, before another Reddit user comments with their own experience while on board as a staff member of 70,000 Tons Of Metal.
“Posting here bc privacy versus other social media outlets. I was the one who reported him on the ship. He would not leave me alone after I got off of my volunteer shift and went to the casino bar with one of my best friends. Chris continued to approach me and grab me by the waist on my bare skin. I told him to fuck off multiple times. He would then continue to walk by me and grab me as he was walking by several times.
“I then sat at the bar with my friend, and he grabbed my cigarette out of my hand and my drink, and began to smoke my cigarette and drink my drink and grab me by the waist at the same time. I was telling him to fuck off extremely loud and he simply would not get the point. People sitting next to us started to notice and asked if we needed security and I said yes I told the bartender also to call security and they never showed up. I then decided to take action the next day and reported it to the higher ups of 70 K because I knew action needed to be taken.
“It is really upsetting to then hear that his behavior was happening in other instances on the ship and in previous events. Why no one has come forward before me? I’m not sure but there’s tons of video footage of what happened that entire ship has cameras everywhere. As per the security/police team and the information that they told me when they were reviewing my statement, not to mention, that ship also has 75% audio accompanying that footage so if anyone questions this decision made by 70000Tons Of Metal and their decision believe me that it’s official.”
The Epstein files have been a plague that the United States, and honestly, the rest of the world can’t seem to shake. As we’re fed dribs and drabs of what the FBI and DOJ have compiled during their investigations, more names have come to light, and as is the nature of the entertainment industry, one of the biggest executives was named in the Epstein files.
After exchanging flirtatious emails with GhislaineMaxwell and riding on JeffreyEpstein‘s jet, Wasserman Media Group’s CEO, Casey Wasserman, was implicated in one of the most troubling issues of our time. And the actual influence and impact of Wasserman‘s media corporation is extensive as the names of artists that use Wasserman Media Group reach the top of our scene.
While many of these artists would not have had direct contact with Wasserman himself as the CEO, artists started jumping ship anyway, making sure it was known they would in no way be associated with one of the world’s most famous sex traffickers now that Wasserman was implicated in the files.
Now, the CEO wrote to his team that he will be selling his talent agency, saying:
“Team:
“I wanted to write to you all directly to share a few important updates. Over the past couple of weeks, I have spoken to many of you directly – and I wish I could have spoken with each and every one of you because you all have put your hearts and souls into this incredible organization.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to you. I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort. It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.
“The pain experienced by the victims of JeffreyEpstein and GhislaineMaxwell is unimaginable – and I’m glad, as I’m sure you all are, that those who helped them commit their crimes are rightly being held accountable.
“Hopefully by now you know the facts about my limited interactions with those two individuals. It was years before their criminal conduct came to light, and, in its entirety, consisted of one humanitarian trip to Africa and a handful of emails that I deeply regret sending. And I’m heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.
“Other than my children and my fiancée, there are two things that matter most to me in this world: this company that I founded 24 years ago, and the dream I’ve pursued for more than a decade of bringing the Olympic Games back to the city I love.
“This organization, its leadership and the entire team mean the world to me. Our 4,000 employees are the absolute best in the business. I see you put it all on the line for your clients every day. Our clients expect – and deserve – world-class representation. And that’s exactly what they get because of all of you.
“At this moment, I believe that I have become a distraction to those efforts. That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway. During this time, MikeWatts will assume day-to-day control of the business while I devote my full attention to delivering Los Angeles an Olympic Games in 2028 that is worthy of this outstanding city.
“I so appreciate the passion and fight you bring to your jobs. It’s why you succeed.
“I’m beyond proud of what this company has accomplished to date and excited to watch its next chapter.
“All my best, Casey”
Several alternative, rock, and metal artists have made statements about separating themselves from the agency before Wasserman‘s announcement of departure, with almost 100 artists represented by WMG. You can find what DropkickMurphys, DyingWish, HotMulligan, and SplitChain had to say about their departure from the media group, and a non-complete list of alternative, rock, and metal artists that were represented by WMG before new files came to light.
Dropkick Murphys
“DropkickMurphys have parted ways with the Wasserman Music agency.
“We love our agents. They are great partners. We signed with them years before they merged with Wasserman.
It saddens us to part ways with them, but the namesake of the agency is in the Epstein files so… we GONE.”
Dying Wish
“Recently we have been made aware of some staggering connections between the CEO of Wasserman and JeffreyEpstein. From the moment we heard these sickening allegations we knew without a doubt that we were going to remove ourselves from any association to the Wasserman name.
“The only person who has represented us since 2019 is JakeZimmerman. Jake has believed in this band when nobody else did and he is someone we are proud to call our friend. We trust Jake and our team to make the right decisions moving forward. This process has taken time and that has been uncomfortable but we believe it will honour our demands, what we stand for, and the community we share.
“We are horrified at this situation and our hearts go out to all survivors as we navigate this together. Music belongs to us, not the executives.”
Hot Mulligan
“The founder of our booking agency, CaseyWasserman, has been implicated in the Epstein files. We would like to make it clear that we stand with the victims of Epstein‘s abuse and trafficking and have no personal ties to CaseyWasserman himself.
“At this time, we are allowing our booking agents–who also do not have personal relations with CaseyWasserman–to figure out their next moves. Rest assured that we will no longer be affiliated with the company if Casey is still in the picture.”
Split Chain
“Everyone deserves the right to know. None of this stands within music as a whole or this scene.
“Since the information that CaseyWasserman has been involved in the Epstein Files we have been trying to figure out what that means for us as a band. For those who don’t know, we are represented by Wasserman, the agency, for our show bookings. However, we have never had any interaction with the CEO (CaseyWasserman) or any higher ups in the company and we signed with our respective agents solely (who don’t have any relationship with C.W either). We don’t want to be under any person that contributes and is a part of something we as people would never tolerate. We stand with any and all survivors and victims within the Epstein files and we want to give our agents time to figure out the next steps. We hope other artists, especially within our scene, will understand the severity of this and stick together to make sure this scene is a safe place for all. We will keep everyone updated as soon as we know anything further. Thank you for your time and patience.”
A non-complete list of alternative, metal, and rock artists signed to Wasserman is as follows – the original roster list is no longer available on the Wasserman website, but you can find it archived here.
Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct.
Casey Wasserman is selling his eponymous talent agency, per the Wall Street Journal. The move arrives after the Wasserman Group founder and CEO’s name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files, prompting calls for his resignation and the departure of artists including Chappell Roan, Wednesday, and Weyes Blood from his firm.
Wasserman reportedly announced the sale on Friday (February 13) in a memo to staff, noting that he had “become a distraction” to Wasserman Group’s work. Longtime agency executive Mike Watts will lead day-to-day operations going forward, while Wasserman, who is the chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, focuses on planning the games.
“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” the memo, reviewed by the New York Times, read. “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.” Pitchfork has reached out to Wasserman and the agency for comment.
The Department of Justice released the files containing Casey Wasserman’s name on January 30, after which he issued an initial apology. The documents revealed flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell and details of a 2002 flight Wasserman took to Africa on Epstein’s private plane, as part of a humanitarian trip organized by former President Bill Clinton. Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minor girls; Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 after he was convicted of sex trafficking.
The revelation of Wasserman’s association with Epstein and Maxwell has triggered significant fallout at his company, with Wasserman-represented artists Bethany Cosentino, Beach Bunny, Water From Your Eyes, and Salute demanding he step down as CEO. “I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation,” Cosentino wrote. Since the release of the files, Odesza, Orville Peck, Local Natives, Bully’s Alicia Bognanno, Dropkick Murphys, and Chelsea Cutler have all cut ties with the firm.
Wasserman founded his agency in 2002; the talent management group oversees hundreds of high-profile musicians and sports players, including Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Skrillex, and Animal Collective. Last weekend, an artist roster was removed from Wasserman’s website.
If you or someone you know has been affected by inappropriate sexual behavior, we encourage you to reach out for support:
Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s origins date back to the 6th millennium BC – and the ancient city is hosting a metal festival as a part of their heritage programme. Meet Hills Of Rock. Mainland Europe has always had an extensive love and history of metal music, but it feels in recent years, these festivals have been welcoming a larger selection of diverse metal acts in a way that celebrates that country’s alternative scene while also showcasing the larger artists that may have inspired aspects of that country’s metal culture.
Hills Of Rock 2026 promises a wide selection of local metal artists while also boasting some of the biggest names in metal at the same time. The full lineup for the 2026 lineup of Hills Of Rock features Marilyn Manson, Godsmack, Electric Callboy, Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter, Black Label Society, Lamb of God, P.O.D., Nothing More, Nevermore, Paradise Lost, Of Mice & Men, House of Protection, Vended, Deafheaven, Karen Dió, The Toy Dolls, Last Train, Northlane, Orbit Culture, Odd Crew, Khanъ, Vrani Volosa, Tsar Plah, Hellion Stone, Black Tooth, Engineer of Death, Overhook, Django Ze, Neshto Tsvetno, Velian, H09909, P.I.F., Innerglow, Almost Green, Rusita, Koza Mostra, Bazzookas, Lek City Case, Karma Scale, Da Seed, Kontrol, GOTRA feat. VEL, Gigashadow, Lavina, low-key, and Sunblinds.
The festival will kick off on the 23rd of July with a separate festival day titled, ‘BE4 HILLS,’ featuring performances from Savatage, Epica, Sevi, and none other than Sabaton, before the official festival kicks off on the 24th of July.
P.O.D. were most recently announced as headliners, and completes the full line-up, which you can find again below. You can also find tickets to Hills Of Rock here.
Almost Green
Bazzookas
Black Label Society
Black Tooth
Electric Callboy
Da Seed
Deafheaven
Django Ze
Engineer of Death
Gigashadow
Godsmack
GOTRA feat. VEL
H09909
Hellion Stone
House of Protection
Innerglow
Karen Dió
Karma Scale
Khanъ
Kontrol
Koza Mostra
Lamb of God
Last Trai
Lavina
Lek City Case
low-key
Marilyn Manson
Neshto Tsvetno
Nevermore
Northlane
Nothing More
Odd Crew
Of Mice & Men
Orbit Culture
Overhook
Paradise Lost
P.I.F.
P.O.D.
Rusita
Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter
Sunblinds
The Toy Dolls
Tsar Plah
Velian
Vended
Vrani Volosa
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With a dreary January and February under the UK and Ireland’s belt, all that’s keeping the seasonal depression at bay is the thought of festival season approach in the next few months. And as that angelic time of the year draws closer, we’re on the receiving end of more and more festival announcements.
The most recent announcement from UK’s 2000trees is of a brand new headliner – Funeral For A Friend, responsible for Friday’s headlining festivities – was accompanied by a statement from RyanRichards of the band themselves, saying: “Headlining 2000trees feels incredibly special for us. As we head into the 25th anniversary year of the band, we’re very conscious that at this stage in our career we only want to do things that genuinely mean something – things we’ve not done before – and this is absolutely one of them. 2000trees is one of our favourite festivals in the UK. It’s always carefully curated, surrounded by like-minded bands and peers, and set in beautiful surroundings that makes the whole experience feel unique. To be part of it in this way is something we’re hugely proud of.”
The independent festival’s booker and organiser, JamesScarlett, also commented that “having Funeral For A Friend return to 2000trees for the first time since 2013, after growing to a legendary status – and fronted by Lucas from HoldingAbsence, an absolute staple of 2000trees – feels like the perfect summary of what this festival is about. As their only show of 2026 and guaranteed to be jammed full of the hits, this is not to be missed for any FuneralForAFriend fan! I’m also over the moon to be adding even more quality to the festival bill with this announcement. So many 2000trees favourites like ArcaneRoots (festival exclusive), Marmozets and TheBronx, as well as some long overdue legends. MariachiElBronx. Playing the festival for the first time, on the Main Stage, in the sunshine, with a pint in hand – say no more!”
