From Live Nation’s $646 million Mexico deal to Universal Music Group’s $3.38bn Q2 results… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.

This week, Live Nation Entertainment struck a USD $646 million deal to increase its stake in Mexican concert promoter OCESA to 75%, accelerating its Latin American expansion strategy.

Meanwhile, Universal Music Group posted Q2 2025 results with revenues of $3.38 billion, up 4.5% YoY driven by releases from Morgan Wallen, timelesz, and Lady Gaga.

Elsewhere, Spotify revealed its own Q2 earnings results. On a subsequent call, SPOT confirmed that just over 3% of the world’s population now subscribes to the platform, though its execs remained notably cagey about its long-awaited ‘Music Pro’ tier.

Also this week, a coalition of American music creator advocacy organizations in filed an amicus brief in the landmark Vetter v. Resnik copyright case that could potentially expand US termination rights globally.

And MBW took a closer look at Primary Wave‘s ambitious new Bob Marley immersive experience in Las Vegas, Hope Road.

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

1. LIVE NATION STRIKES $646 MILLION DEAL TO INCREASE STAKE IN MEXICO’S OCESA

Live Nation Entertainment has announced a major $646 million transaction to acquire an additional 24% stake in Mexican concert promoter OCESA, increasing its ownership from 51% to 75%.

The deal, announced on Tuesday (July 29), accelerates a purchase agreement with former OCESA owner CIE, which will retain a 25% stake. It’s expected to close in August.

Combined with Live Nation’s original 51% acquisition in December 2021 for $416 million, the firm’s total investment in OCESA to date exceeds $1 billion. The deal forms part of Live Nation’s broader Latin American expansion strategy, which recently included acquiring Dominican Republic promoter SD Concerts… (MBW)

2. UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP GENERATED $3.38BN IN Q2, UP 4.5% YOY – DRIVEN BY MORGAN WALLEN, TIMELESZ, LADY GAGA

Universal Music Group posted second-quarter results this week with total revenues of $3.38 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year at constant currency, driven by growth across its recorded music and publishing divisions. The company’s recorded music subscription streaming revenues grew 8.5% YoY to reach $1.36 billion, while overall recorded music revenue hit $2.52 billion, up 3.9% year-over-year.

Top-selling releases for the quarter included Morgan Wallen, timelesz, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, and INI, helping drive UMG’s adjusted EBITDA to $766 million with a margin of 22.7%. The company’s music publishing division performed particularly well, with revenues growing 14.5% YoY to $646.3 million.

UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge credited the results to “the powerful combination of our artists’ and songwriters’ creative excellence with our strategic vision and execution.” The company declared an interim dividend of $499 million for the first half of 2025, with payment scheduled for October… (MBW)

3. LEARNINGS FROM SPOTIFY’S Q2 2025 EARNINGS CALL… INCLUDING WHAT THE COMPANY (DIDN’T) SAY ABOUT THAT LONG-AWAITED ‘MUSIC PRO’ TIER

Spotify revealed remarkable market dominance statistics during its Q2 earnings call, with the platform now accounting for 65% of global audio music streams and boasting that over 3% of the world’s population subscribes to the service.

SPOT added 8 million premium subscribers in Q2 to reach 276 million, while total monthly active users hit 696 million with the addition of 18 million new users.

Despite the strong user growth, Spotify remained notably evasive when directly questioned about its long-awaited ‘Music Pro’ tier. When asked about introducing a ‘superfan’ tier, Chief Business Officer Alex Norström provided limited details, saying only that the company is “making progress for sure, but it’s taking time”… (MBW)

4. LANDMARK LEGAL FIGHT OVER US MUSIC RIGHTS TERMINATION RIGHTS HOTS UP, AS CREATOR ORGS WEIGH IN WITH AMICUS BRIEF

A coalition of music creator advocacy organizations, led by Music Artists Coalition (MAC), has filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals case Vetter v. Resnik, which could significantly expand copyright termination protections for songwriters and artists worldwide.

The case centers on whether US copyright termination rights apply globally or are limited to domestic markets, with potentially far-reaching implications for the music industry… (MBW)

5. WHY PRIMARY WAVE – AND THE MARLEY ESTATE – COULD BE SITTING ON A GOLDMINE WITH NEW BOB MARLEY SHOW, HOPE ROAD

Primary Wave has launched an ambitious new Bob Marley immersive experience called Hope Road at Las Vegas’s Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, representing a potentially lucrative new revenue stream for the music rights company and the Marley estate.

Each non-seated show moves approximately 180 guests through themed rooms with live performers, utilizing cutting-edge technology with tickets currently priced between $69-$99, depending on timing.

Currently running five shows per day across five days weekly, Primary Wave CEO Larry Mestel says the operation will soon expand to nine shows daily across three different casts.

Quick calculations suggest the event could generate $30 million in annual gross ticket revenue – and even more when you include merchandise sales… (MBW)