Tencent Talking with Potential Co-Investors for Universal Music Group Bid

Tencent is reportedly looking to find co-investors for its bid to purchase a 10% interest of Universal Music Group (UMG) from Vivendi. According to Bloomberg, Tencent is approaching a number of companies to join it. This includes both Hillhouse Capital…

Chamillionaire and E-40 To Invest $100,000 in a Minority- or Women-Owned Startup

Rapper Chamillionaire announced on CNBC that he and hip-hop artist E-40 are staging a contest that will provide $100,000 to a startup founded by either a woman or a minority. This is not the first investment for Chamillionaire, whose real name is Hakee…

Now You Can Smoke Weed Like Drake, Thanks to a Partnership With Canopy Growth Corp.

Hip-hop superstar Drake will soon have his own marijuana line, in partnership with pot producer Canopy Growth Corp. The new venture will be fully licensed to grow marijuana. It will be called the More Life Growth Company and will be based in the rapper…

What $300 Million Lawsuit? Peloton Introduces Classes Featuring Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Paul McCartney, More

Exercise company Peloton revealed its latest quarterly financial information. It gives us a peek at where the company is headed after facing massive lawsuits from labels. Peloton will introduce several new ‘Artist Series’ classes in partner…

Audio Editing Startup Accusonus Raises a $3.3 Million Series A

Audio editing start-up Accusonus has raised $3.3 million in Series A funding. The company is based in Greece and the U.S. ⁠— Venture Friends led this funding round. Accusonus was launched in 2014 to find new and novel ways to use AI and machine learnin…

Triller Raises $28 Million to Take Down TikTok — With Major Label Deals In Place

AI-powered music video app Triller just completed a $28 million Series B funding round led by Proxima Media. Triller is aiming to replace the Chinese-based music app, TikTok. Triller allows users to create and share short music videos using its library…

Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith Lead $11 Million Round for Sandbox VR

Sandbox VR, a startup that offers retail locations where people can play virtual reality games with each other, is raising some serious cash. Earlier, they raised nearly $70 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital titan Andreessen Ho…

For Sale: 10% of Universal Music Group. Price: $3.3 Billion O.B.O.

Universal Music Group is having a very good year, and it might just get better. For those warning of an industry slowdown, Universal Music Group would beg to differ.   The mega-label just released its year-to-date earnings for the first 9 months of 201…

Music-Focused Gaming Upstart Five Vectors Raises a $1M Seed Round

Music start-up Five Vectors has raised $1 million in seed funding. The round was led by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures. Five Vectors was established in 2019 and has signed several artists and producers. It has produced over 80 audio tracks to date. Andrés L…

SESAC Successfully Sells $560 Million In Bonds Backed by Music Royalties and Licensing Deals

SESAC, which is the third largest performance rights organization in America after ASCAP and BMI, has announced that it has refinanced its capital structure by selling $530 million in corporate bonds. SESAC further received an additional $30 million in…