Now Triller says he’s exploring revenue-sharing deals with major labels (while being sued by Sony)
Social media video sharing service Trillerthe American TikTok challenger, says he is exploring revenue-sharing deals with major labels.
According to a spokesperson for Triller, the platform is currently “evaluating” what it calls a “Spotify-like model,” which they add would include “revenue sharing versus large cash payments as our agreements mature.”
Such a move by Triller would follow similar steps taken by the likes of Meta, who announcement a “revenue share” model for user-generated video content in July.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg recently reported that the three majors are currently asking Triller’s rival, TikTok, for a share of advertising revenue generated on its platform as part of their deal negotiations.
News of Triller’s rev-share plans comes the same day (Friday, Dec. 2) it was reported that Triller removed the catalogs for Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainmentand Universal Music Groupalso for Merlinwhich represents leading independent labels and distributors.
Today’s news also comes three months later Sony Music Entertainment hit Triller with a court case claiming that the platform used its recordings without a license, as well as “fail[ing] and refuse[ing] paying millions of dollars in contractual license fees”.
In a statement to MBW on Friday, Dec. 2, a spokesperson for Triller confirmed “we are removing music from Merlin,” but claimed that “of the three major labels, sony is the only one with which we do not have an agreement in progress and which we have not renewed”.
“We have a dispute with Sony over $2 million, a dispute that will be decided by the legal system,” they added.
Commenting specifically on Merlin, they claimed that: “Most of Merlin’s music is indie rock and dance; the two kinds that [have] less interest on the Triller app. So it makes no sense for Triller to keep spending tens of millions of dollars a year on music that hardly anyone uses on Triller.
Triller’s spokesperson continued, “The accusation that we are removing music because of millions in unpaid royalties is simply not true. We currently have active deals with Universal and Warner Music, which account for over 65% of popular music used.
“We hope and are optimistic that when these agreements expire, we will be able to reach agreements that do not involve tens of millions in annual payments, but rather a distribution of income.
Triller’s spokesperson’s statement on Friday, however, confirmed that “we have been actively removing some music from major labels, as our deals come along, and are evaluating each renewal as it comes, each as it comes.” case by case.
They added, “As we approach public company status, this move saves Triller tens of millions of dollars a year, without taking anything away from the user experience or hurting our numbers.”
In October, Triller confirmed that he had obtained a commitment US$310 million investment from GEM (Global Emerging Markets), an alternative investment group based in Luxembourg.
Confirming the deal, US-based Triller reiterated that it plans to execute a public listing on the stock exchange in Q4 2022 and said it is on track to deliver $100 million in revenue this year.
In June, Triller announced that he had filed an S-1 form with the SEC for an IPO on the Nasdaq. At the time, he said his list was “should be approved by Q3″.
This June announcement itself came shortly after Triller announced he was quitting. another one planned IPO – this time via a merger with Seachange – which was initially “to close in the first quarter of 2022”.
You can read Triller’s statement in full below:
The article seems to rehash a lot of old stuff that has already been ironed out and resolved and is 90% old news with no relevance whatsoever. If you would like to comment on these as well, please let us know, but we find it interesting/curious that each of the issues raised has been fully resolved and addressed, and yet it’s not entirely clear in the Billboard story. The only news being that we’re removing Merlin’s music.
The accusation that we delete music because of millions in unpaid royalties is simply not true. We currently have active deals with Universal and Warner Music, which account for over 65% of popular music used. We hope and are optimistic that when these deals expire, we can make deals that don’t involve tens of millions in annual payments, but rather a revenue split.
In regards to Triller removing music in general, we can confirm that we’ve evaluated app usage and that a very small percentage of our users use music from the major label, as most of our users like to create their own content with OG sounds and upload them themselves. .
Most of Merlin’s music is indie rock and dance; the two genres that have less interest on the Triller app.
So it makes no sense for Triller to keep spending tens of millions of dollars a year on music that hardly anyone uses on Triller. Of the three major labels, Sony is the only one with which we do not have a current agreement and which we have not renewed. We have a dispute with Sony over $2 million, a dispute that will be decided by the court system.
We’ve been actively removing some major label music as our deals come along, and are evaluating each renewal as it comes along, each on a case-by-case basis. It didn’t change our use of the app. The numbers speak for themselves.
As we approach public company status, this move saves tens of millions of dollars a year, without taking anything away from the user experience or hurting our numbers. On the contrary, it increases our bottom line by more than $30 million per year.
We are evaluating a “Spotify-like model”, which would include revenue sharing versus large cash payments as our agreements are renewed.
This model would give our users the ability to have the music if they want, outside of OG Sounds, without us paying for music that the majority of users don’t use. Without our users having specified that the value of this music does not justify the tens of millions of dollars per year in cost. “
Early October, Triller colonized a separate trial with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz; the producing duo alleged they were owed missed payments after Triller acquired their song-fighting platform Verzuz in 2021.The music industry around the world
