Megan Thee Stallion
FilmMagic300 Entertainment has sold to Warner Music Group, the latest blockbuster deal in the music industry’s unprecedented shopping spree for music assets.
The deal, which WMG announced Thursday, closes months of speculation and industry murmur over a potential 300 sale. The financial details of the deal aren’t immediately clear, but Bloomberg reported in October that 300 was seeking $400 million from a potential buyer for the label, while Billboard reported earlier this month that WMG was closing on the deal citing a similar figure. Warner, for its part, announced it had raised $535 million for acquisitions in November.
Since Lyor Cohen — now YouTube’s Global Head of music — founded 300 alongside current CEO Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz and Roger Gold in 2012, it quickly established itself as one of most successful indie labels in the business, signing artists like Young Thug and Fetty Wap in its earlier days and finding further success more recently with Megan Thee Stallion.
“It’s the perfect home for 300 artists and our team, as we invest in our independent vision and grow our global impact,” Liles said of WMG in a statement. “[Warner Recorded Music CEO] Max [Lousada], Julie [Greenwald, chairman and COO of Atlantic Records], [Elektra co-presidents] Mike [Easterlin] and Gregg [Nadel] – these are leaders we know and trust. They understand the value we place on independence, individuality, and creativity. We’re going to accomplish amazing things together and take our artists and labels to a whole new global level.”
As 300 joins WMG, Liles will take on the role of chairman and CEO for 300 and Elektra Music Group, where he will oversee several labels including Fueled by Ramen, Roadrunner Records Low Country Sound, DTA Records and Public Consumption. Easterlin and Nadel will continue to run Elektra and report to Liles, WMG said.
“The 300 team has built an extraordinary brand, attracted a dynamic community of artists, and led the way for a new generation of labels,” Lousada said in a statement. “We’ll bring their artists and team a whole universe of opportunities to ignite passionate fanbases and develop long-term careers. We’re very happy to welcome 300 fully into the Warner community of labels, and Kevin to his new role on our senior management team.”
A sale to WMG isn’t surprising given the label’s longstanding relationship with Warner. 300’s founders have all held leadership roles at WMG or one of Warner’s labels, and WMG’s marquee label Atlantic has been 300’s distributor since launching.
“Wonderful to see a good idea realized,” Cohen said in a statement. “300 is a way of life and is in very good hands.”
Warner, the smallest of the big three record companies, went public last year as the music business has enjoyed a resurgence, with company valuations steadily rising during the streaming era. The company has been active in increasing its reach and digital footprint, making investments in song catalogs along with participating in a major funding round for video game Roblox and digital avatar company Genies, with WMG looking to be active in music’s place in the buzzy concept of metaverses.
The sale comes amid an unprecedented demand for music assets both from more traditional music companies and large investment corporations. With companies willing to give more money than ever, artists like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon sold their publishing rights to major publishers Universal and Sony, while others including Stevie Nicks and Neil Young have made deals with smaller companies Primary Wave and Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which played a major role in driving up song values with lofty offers for artists.
Now investment firms like KKR and Blackstone haver partnered with BMG and Hipgnosis Songs Fund to acquire the most storied catalogs in music. KKR recently closed a billion-dollar deal to buy a portfolio of songs from publisher Kobalt.
NEWS
Harry Styles paid tribute to the late David Hockney and reflected on his time in One Direction last night (June 12), as he kicked off his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.
Hockney – whose painting of Styles was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – died on June 11, aged 88, and the musician honoured him during his set by sharing a quote from the painter on the big screens.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
Styles’ gig last night marked the first of 12 gigs at Wembley, which will see the star break the record for the most shows at the venue in a single tour. Coldplay previously held the record, delivering 10 gigs at the stadium last year as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour.
The London residency follows the Together, Together tour beginning in Amsterdam in May, and will be followed by stops in São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be supported by a different artist in each city, joined by Shania Twain in London, who delivered a set of hits and new tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Little Miss Twain’.
As the sounds of Simon And Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ played over the stadium PA, Styles made his way to the stage, kicking off his set with ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, from his latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Between renditions of ‘Golden’ and ‘Adore You’, he addressed the crowd for the first time, saying: “Our job tonight is to entertain you. Your job is to have as much fun as you possibly can.
“If you want to sing, if you want to dance, please feel free. Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be tonight. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Throughout the night, Styles subtly reworked some of the songs on the setlist. He dedicated ‘Taste Back’ “to all the ravers in the house”, as a snippet of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ was interpolated into the song, while a brief burst of Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ was introduced to ‘Treat People With Kindness’. During ‘Dance No More’, the pop star’s band played part of the groove from Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’, while Styles sang a snatch of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’.
There were also nods to Styles’ days in One Direction early in the set. As the musician left the stage after ‘Fine Line’, the string section on stage played a medley featuring clips of the group’s hits ‘Night Changes’ and ‘History’, plus Styles’ own track ‘Falling’. After ‘Keep Driving’, he took the time to reflect on Wembley’s connections to his and the boyband’s journeys.
“Just outside of this building, just next door, is Wembley Arena, and 16 years ago, my sister brought me to London for the very first time for my X Factor audition,” he said. “So driving here today, and any time I come through Wembley, means so much to me, ‘cause right in that building next door, I was put into a band. We were called One Direction.
The Together, Together setlist features a different surprise song each night at the start of the encore. Last night, Styles treated the Wembley audience to ‘Little Freak’, taken from ‘Harry’s House’, for the first time since 2023. After the song, he spoke to the audience for the final time, saying: “I don’t know if you’ve been listening to me for a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or 10 years, or 16 years, or whatever it is, but you have changed my life over and over again. Thank you so much for being here and allowing us to do these shows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Finally, 16 years ago, my mother signed me up for the X Factor without my knowledge. I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t done that. She’s here today – thank you so much. You’ve changed my life, all of you.” Referencing a lyric in ‘Dance No More’, he added: “Remember – respect your mother.”
‘Are You Listening Yet?’
‘Golden’
‘Adore You’
‘Watermelon Sugar’
‘Music From A Sushi Restaurant’
‘Taste Back’
‘Coming Up Roses’
‘Fine Line’
‘Italian Girls’
‘American Girls’
‘Keep Driving’
‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
‘Dance No More’
‘Treat People With Kindness’
‘Pop’
‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
‘Carla’s Song’
‘Aperture’
‘Little Freak’
‘Sign Of The Times’
‘As It Was’
The Together, Together, London residency continues at Wembley Stadium tonight, with further dates on June 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29 and July 1, 3, and 4. Visit here for any remaining UK tickets and check out doors and stage times here.
The gigs will see Styles donate £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy to help protect UK grassroots music venues and support emerging talent, and before Styles’ headline performance, the big screens at the venue encouraged fans to support Music Venues Trust.
The tour is in support of the star’s latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’, which was released in March. In a four-star review, NME described it as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It added: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”
Meanwhile, Styles has also curated this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre. The line-up chosen by the star includes Stephen Fretwell, Nilüfer Yanya, Orlando Weeks, Bar Italia, Dev Hynes, Jon Hopkins, Getdown Services, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Soulwax and more, as well as an intimate gig from Styles himself.
The festival kicked off earlier this week (June 11) with a performance from Los Angeles’ Warpaint, whose show was their first in nearly two years. During the gig, they shared fan favourites like ‘Love Is To Die, ‘Billie Holiday’ and ‘Disco//Very’, plus a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.
