Global Entertainment Industry Revenue Rebounds From Pandemic, Thanks to Streaming Boom

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe battlegrounds in the streaming wars are shifting fast, just as real-life battle lines are being dug out in Eastern Europe.Russia has drawn near-universal condemnation because of its unprovoked attack on its neighbor Ukraine, launching a war with the country. The conflict has also rattled world markets and made investors nervous about geopolitical instability as the entertainment industry is banking more than ever before on the value of building platforms with global reach.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Promising Young Woman” and “Arrival” production company FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners have set a partnership to co-produce, co-finance, develop and sell a broad-ranging slate of feature films across a variety of genres and budget-sizes, the companies said Thursday.Under the co-production pact, FilmNation Entertainment and Range Media Partners expect to produce four to six films per year, “with the capacity for more as needed.”The deal will offer Range Media’s talent “the platform and tools needed to get their films made via both independent and worldwide buyers, while driving greater ownership in their own projects – both creatively and financially.” In turn, FilmNation “will further expand its production, sales and financing slates as the leading independent studio continues to serve as a global destination for the world’s best storytellers.” FilmNation and Range expect to give the green light to multiple projects “imminently.” Per the two companies, “The combination of FilmNation’s top tier production capabilities and world class distribution platform with Range Media’s access to high-end material and world-renowned talent, underpinned by both companies’ deep financial resources, will bring to market some of the most compelling, highly anticipated film projects available to an array of buyers.”“We at FilmNation are always looking for inventive ways to give the world’s most talented creators an avenue to use our powerful production, sales and finance platform, particularly as a tool to make their creative visions come to life,” FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner said.

Oak View Group, the global venue developer/investor co-founded by Irving Azoff and run by Tim Leiweke, is building a new $3 billion entertainment district in Las Vegas on 25 acres including an 850,000 square foot arena, amphitheater, casino and hotel.

EXCLUSIVE: Actors Gianni Paolo and Michael Rainey Jr., who star together in the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost, have launched Twenty Two Entertainment which will produce films, TV series, and multimedia ventures.

EXCLUSIVE: Aubrey Peeples is expanding her relationship with Stagecoach Entertainment. The management company, which currently represents Peeples for theatrical, has added literary representation with a focus on building out her work in writing and directing.

Billie Eilish, Radiohead and The Weeknd will all participate in a social media rally next weekend in a bid to urge governments and institutions to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and beyond.The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ rally has been organised by Global Citizen and is due to take place on April 8.It comes ahead of a pledging summit organised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen which will be held the following day (April 9).As Global Citizen outlined in a recent article, the upcoming event “aims to mobilise significant funding to help vulnerable civilians impacted by the conflict and to support refugees everywhere”.Funds will also be directed to aiding those in other conflict zones, including Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan.“On April 8, the biggest online event Social Media Rally will support people who were forced to flee Ukraine,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.“I’m inviting everybody: musicians, actors, athletes, businessmen, politicians, everybody.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPophouse Entertainment has acquired the master recordings and publishing of electronic music titans Swedish House Mafia, the company has announced. The Stockholm-based entertainment company, which was cofounded by ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and is best known for endeavors such as the forthcoming “ABBA Voyage” show, virtual experiences and gaming, has acquired the masters and publishing (including their writer’s shares) of the trio’s back catalog, and will form a joint venture with its members to develop and amplify the Swedish House Mafia brand worldwide, according to the announcement.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the latest stats from the IFPI showing that global recorded music revenues grew 18.5% in 2021, plus a whole load more stats from Spotify aiming to fend of criticism about the money artists and songwriters earn from the platform (although possibly not doing that good a job of it).SECTION TIMES01: IFPI stats (00:05:50)02: Spotify stats (00:31:13)(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Global record industry revenues grew 18.5% to $25.9 billion in 2021• Spotify paid $7 billion to the music industry last year – and other fun stat bragsALSO MENTIONED• Shape Of You song-theft court case concludesMORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

click here. So, to the books. This best audiobooks list is a combination of some of our favourite books around, matched with the best narrators.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe global recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by growth in paid subscription streaming, according to IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released Tuesday in IFPI’s Global Music Report show total revenues for 2021 were $25.9 billion.While the free version of the report does not attach numbers to all of the rankings, they’re pretty fascinating anyway:The top 10 global artists, based on “consumption across all formats and all countries, weighted based on the value of each method of consumption,” are:The top 10 global digital singles were: The top 10 all-format albums were:And, for good measure, the top-selling vinyl titles across the world were:Digging into the data, the report notes that paid subscription streaming revenues increased by 21.9% to $12.3 billion, with 523 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2021.

Oorbit, the emerging technology company making high-quality interactive entertainment for the metaverse available to everyone, has closed a $5 million (£3.8m) seed round of funding.

William Earl Variety announced today that Emilio and Gloria Estefan will be honored with the Variety Legends and Groundbreakers award at the inaugural Miami Entertainment Town breakfast held on Thursday, April 7. The event will celebrate those featured in the Miami Entertainment Impact Report, which profiles media, music and entertainment individuals based out of Miami who have made a great impact in their respective fields this year.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and theme-park corp Merlin Entertainments are teaming to extend the Jumanji brand through a range of exclusive rides, lands, retail outlets, and themed hotel rooms across the latter’s global network of theme parks and waterparks in Europe, UK, and North America.

Fremantle Boosts Revenue By 25% For RTL Group

Naman Ramachandran Germany’s Leonine Studios has rebranded its television subsidiary Odeon Entertainment as Madame Zheng Production to reflect its primary focus of “equality and diversity in every aspect of the production business, both in front of and behind the camera.” Tina Wagner, previously producer and executive producer at RedSeven Entertainment, and Nina Etspüler, co-head of entertainment at Leonine Studios, are joining the management team and will lead the company under Wagner’s direction along with Martin Schneider, Odeon Entertainment’s long-standing managing director.Fred Kogel, CEO and co-head of entertainment at Leonine Studios, said: “Ever since Nina Etspüler joined Leonine in Jan. 2021, we have jointly pursued the goal of establishing a production brand that advocates for equality and diversity in front of and behind the camera, in order to firmly anchor these themes, which are essential for Leonine Studios, in the production market.

JYP Entertainment has revealed it is launching a “full-scale” expansion into the US market.On March 14, Billboard reported that the South Korean label, home to artists like TWICE, ITZY, Stray Kids and more, has launched its new North American subsidiary. Named JYP USA, the new arm is part of the agency’s plans for “full-scale North American market development and global expansion”.JYP USA also shared its intentions to “discover and foster local US artists” in addition to furthering the development of its current roster.

NEW YORK -- Before the pandemic, the theatrical and digital markets for entertainment were roughly similar in size. Last year, however, digital revenue was more than three times that of global box office, according to a new report by the Motion Picture Association.The MPA's annual study of theatrical and home entertainment, published Monday, crystalized just how much streaming has come to dominate the media landscape. In 2021, the digital market accounted for 72% of the combined theatrical and home market.

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Factory has promoted longtime senior executive Melissa Boag to Executive Vice President of Kids & Family Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has tapped Good Deed Entertainment’s Kristin Harris for the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Production and Development.

Taskmaster has launched its own worldwide streaming service, bringing together episodes of the British comedy show alongside international versions.Taskmaster Supermax+ is available now for £5.99 a month. Subscribers will eventually get every episode of Taskmaster ever made, ad free. As of today though (March 5) only the first 3 series of the British version of the show are available, with series 4 joining the service on March 11.“As I’ve been told quite a few times that not everyone everywhere can watch Taskmaster, we wanted to create a channel where fans can watch all episodes ad-free; the complete global home for all things Taskmaster,” reads a welcome message from creator Alex Horne.”Season 9 will premiere soon so people in the US can finally see me dressed up as a mermaid.