From Blackstone’s Acquisition of Citrin Cooperman to Travis Scott’s Alleged Copyright Infringement: This Week’s Recap from MBW

Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly roundup, where we ensure you stay updated with the five biggest stories from the past week. MBW overview supported

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The Impact of Recent Wildfires

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County have undeniably dominated the music industry headlines this week.

Thoughts go out to all those affected in the music business worldwide.

Amidst the devastation, Harbor Studios in Malibu, a space where many superstars have recorded, was tragically destroyed by the flames.

Owner Zach Brandon shared on Instagram yesterday (January 9): “I cried this morning, but not because the Harbor burned down. I cried because it dawned on me that Harbor had been taken from so many artists who cared so deeply about Harbor. It was a place of musical freedom…a refuge in the most literal sense of the word. I liked it.”

Brandon pledged that his team will “come back stronger from this,” expressing that “thankfully, the magic our customers have given us is something that will never fade. It is in the soil, in the air and in our souls.”

This week has been filled with significant music industry updates, highlighting names like Travis Scott, Daniel Ek, Blackstone, Spotify, and more.

Here are the five major music business news stories from the past few days…

Major Lawsuits and Financial Moves

1) TRAVIS SCOTT, SZA, FUTURE, SUES FOR ALLEGED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF 2023 HIT “TELEKINESIS”

As 2025 draws near, the first blockbuster copyright lawsuit of the year has already been filed in a New York court.

Legal documents obtained by MBW reveal that Travis Scott, SZA, and Future are suing RocNation-signed artist Victory Boyd and her publishing company, Songs of Glory, for allegedly using her song “Like The Way It Sounds” as the basis for their 2023 hit, “Telekinesis.”

“Telekinesis” has already amassed over 413 million streams on Spotify alone, having been released as part of Scott’s successful #1 US album, Utopia (Cactus Jack/Epic Records/Sony Music)…

2) DANIEL EK HAS CASHED OVER HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN SPOTIFY STOCK TO DATE AND RECEIVED ANOTHER $28 BILLION THIS WEEK

Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek started 2025 with another noteworthy financial maneuver.

On Wednesday (January 8), Ek sold an additional $27.8 million worth of shares in the company, maintaining a pattern of substantial stock transactions.

Since cashing out his first tranche of Spotify shares in July 2023, MBW estimates that Ek has gained approximately $568 million from selling SPOT shares (inclusive of the latest transaction).

3) MOST OF BLACKSTONE ACQUIRES CITRIN COOPERMAN, ONE OF THE LARGEST MUSIC VALUATION FIRM

Citrin Cooperman (CC) has become a crucial entity in the valuation and advisory sector regarding mergers and acquisitions within the music industry, now with a compelling new owner and a significant price tag.

A group of investors led by Blackstone has procured a majority stake in the New York-based CC, acquiring it from its former investor, New Mountain Capital.

The Financial Times reports that this deal positions Citrin Cooperman, which claims to be one of the largest professional services firms in the United States, with an enterprise value exceeding $2 billion…

4) UK MUSIC STREAMING SUBSCRIPTION REVENUE JUMPED BY 7.8% CAGR IN 2024 TO $2.58 BILLION – AMAZING PRICE RISE ON SPOTIFY

The expenditure by UK consumers on music subscriptions saw a substantial increase last year, rising by 7.8% year on year.

According to new preliminary data from the British Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), this includes services like Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

A total of £2.018 billion ($2.58 billion) was spent on music streaming subscriptions in 2024, marking an increase from £1.870 billion in 2023, as reported by the ERA.

In financial terms, this translates to a yearly increase of £146.4 million.

(To clarify, ERA figures represent retail values, meaning what consumers paid for subscriptions, excluding wholesale amounts directed to music rights holders, and do not encompass revenue derived from ad-supported tiers.) (MBW)

5) 48-HOUR EXCLUSIVE FILM ABOUT THE BILLIONS CLUB CONCERT ON SPOTIFY NABS.

Spotify is exclusively debuting a concert film featuring superstar The Weeknd on its platform this week, marking a further expansion of its video content strategy.

Beginning Tuesday (January 7), the 45-minute special entitled “Billions Club Live with The Weeknd: A Concert Film” will stream exclusively on Spotify for 48 hours before it becomes available on other platforms.

This 48-hour exclusive period represents Spotify’s first significant experiment with time-limited long-form video content…

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