From Suno’s latest legal opponent to Influence Media’s $650M+ Anthem bid… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up

This week, Suno and Udio picked up a new adversary in their copyright fight with independent musicians: Hagens Berman, the law firm that took on the tobacco industry and won a $260 billion settlement.

Meanwhile, the music business mourned Clive Davis, the legendary Arista Records founder, who died this week aged 94, with tributes pouring in from Rob Stringer, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Patti Smith, and more.

Elsewhere, Billboard reported that Influence Media Partners has emerged as the winning bidder for Anthem Entertainment’s music assets with an offer of more than $650 million.

Also this week, Suno unveiled its Spark incubator program for independent artists, offering grants and marketing support — but with fine-print terms barring participants from ever portraying the company in “a negative light”.

Plus, ex-Blackstone executive Vlado Spasov launched alternative asset manager Trimontium with $1.5 billion in assets under management, naming music rights among its target assets.

Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…

1. SUNO’S LATEST LEGAL OPPONENT FOUGHT THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY – AND WON A QUARTER OF A TRILLION DOLLARS

Suno and Udio have a new adversary in their copyright fight with independent musicians: Hagens Berman, the law firm that took on the tobacco industry.

The firm has joined forces with Delgado Entertainment Law to represent independent artists whose recordings were allegedly copied without permission to train the two companies’ AI music-generation models.

Hagens Berman announced the move on Monday (June 22), the same day it filed an amended complaint against Udio in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York… (MBW)

2. MUSIC INDUSTRY LEADERS, MEGASTARS PAY TRIBUTE TO CLIVE DAVIS

Clive Davis has been remembered by music industry leaders and the artists he signed, following the executive’s death at the age of 94. Davis, who founded Arista Records and most recently served as Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, died at his home in Manhattan on Monday (June 22).

Sony Music, where Davis held that title until his death, paid tribute through Rob Stringer, Chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment… (MBW)

3. INFLUENCE MEDIA EMERGES AS WINNING BIDDER FOR ANTHEM’S MUSIC ASSETS WITH $650M+ OFFER (REPORT)

Influence Media Partners has emerged as the winning bidder for Anthem Entertainment‘s music assets.

That’s according to Billboard, which reported this week that the BlackRock-backed firm offered a little over USD $650 million for the catalog, though the transaction remains unclosed.

Anthem, a Canada-based music rights company, holds recorded masters and publishing royalties from artists including Rush and Timbaland… (MBW)

4. SUNO IS PAYING GRANTS TO INDEPENDENT ARTISTS… SO LONG AS THEY AGREE NOT TO CRITICIZE SUNO

Suno has launched an incubator program for independent artists, offering grants, mentorship, and marketing support to a selected group of unsigned musicians.

The program, called Spark, was unveiled on Thursday (June 25) in a blog post co-authored by Suno Chief Music Officer Paul Sinclair and the company’s Head of Creative Economy and Monetization, Rosie Nguyen.

“Making it as an independent artist isn’t easy,” Sinclair and Nguyen wrote, noting that indie artists often lack “the resources or connections to take the next step.”… (MBW)

5. EX-BLACKSTONE EXEC VLADO SPASOV LAUNCHES $1.5B ALTERNATIVE ASSET MANAGER TRIMONTIUM – MUSIC RIGHTS AMONG TARGET ASSETS

Trimontium, an alternative asset manager founded by former Blackstone executive Vlado Spasov, has launched with $1.5 billion in assets under management, the firm announced last week.

The London-headquartered firm has named music rights among the types of assets it is targeting, although it did not name any specific deal.

According to a press release, since its debut, “Trimontium has executed and now manages multiple complex, bespoke, cross-border transactions across the US and Europe, demonstrating the breadth of the Firm’s platform across corporate capital solutions (blending debt, hybrid, and equity), structured and asset-backed credit, and alternative investments, including music rights…” (MBW)