I. Music & Tech

Spotify Spotlight

Spotify Facing A Wicked $1.6 Billion Dollar Lawsuit

While legal issues regarding publishing and recording rights are nothing new for Spotify, the $1.6 Billion lawsuit brought against the company about two weeks ago is nothing to sneeze at. The lawsuit was filed by California based music publisher Wixen Music Publishing. The firm who represents names ranging from Tom Petty, to Weezer, to Neil Young, alleges that Spotify “does not adequately compensate Wixen or the songwriters it represents.” Read more about Spotify’s most recent legal troubles here.

Spotify’s IPO is Here 

Shortly after being hit with their heaviest lawsuit in company history Spotify delivered the highly anticipated news that they would be going public. While this comes at no surprise, the filing is very unique because it was done confidentially allowing for a direct listing, allow them to circumvent the traditional IPO process. This decision gives Spotify the ability to opt out of raising funds from new investors and gives existing investors the opportunity to cash out their shares. Assuming positive results, the atypical nature of the filing is intended to encourage other private companies to go public. Read more here.

Iovine Staying Planted at Apple

Last week there was a brief stint where a rumor had surfaced that Jimmy Iovine’s shared of Apple stock had recently vest and that he would soon be parting ways with the music and tech giant. However, shortly after the news began circulating Iovine swiftly put the rumors to rest issuing a statement denying the rumors and pledging his loyalty to Apple. As the music streaming arms race continues read more about what Iovine had to say here.

Dropbox Shares Filing with the Public

Following Spotify’s lead, file sharing service Dropbox filed for IPO earlier this week. This seems to be a very promising deal as Dropbox is a private company valued at $10 billion and one of the most prized tech unicorns built in San Francisco. The deal is yet another confidential listing, giving Dropbox the ability to speak with potential investment banks without disclosing particular info to the public. Leading the potential listing will most likely be J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, two institutions that have worked closely with the firm in the past. Read more about Dropbox’s IPO here.

A Minor Detail is a major Deal for Lil Pump

It seems that 17 year old Lil Pump was too young to ink his deal with Warner thus voiding his contract. Pump who was 16 when he signed his deal for a $345k advance was technically a minor and after his legal team brought this to light he was rendered a free agent. The SoundCloud rapper turned Gucci Ganger was one of the most talked about names in 2017, with his single “Gucci Gang” hitting 3rd on top 100 and 2nd on the hot R&B / Hip Hop. With this momentum carrying him into 2018 and the strength of his following sources say pump could be look at new labels offers ranging between $8-12 million. Read more about Pump’s contract and potential deal here.

Courtesy of LineForLine. Artists get started here.