Music royalties firm PPL collects record revenues of £247m for artists May 14, 2019 Music licensing company PPL has reported its highest-ever annual revenues as it paid out to a record number of musicians and rights holders. PPL, which is one of the UK’s two main royalties agencies, collected revenues for its members of £246.8m in 2018, up 13 per cent on the previous year. Read more: Hipgnosis snaps [...]
US Supreme Court rules against Apple in App Store antitrust dispute May 13, 2019 The US Supreme Court today gave the green light to a lawsuit on behalf of consumers, which accuses Apple of creating a monopoly on iPhone apps and forcing users to overpay with high commission fees. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a decision to allow the class action to proceed. The customers argued Apple's [...]
Why did Lush, Apple and Wetherspoons quit Twitter? May 13, 2019 Tapping into a dissatisfaction with social media, cosmetics firm Lush recently announced that it would move away from it, justifying its decision by drawing attention to the financial and ethical cost of using social media. The move marks Lush as the latest brand to take a new approach online. It’s a global brand, whose environmentally-conscious [...]
Hipgnosis snaps up rights to music catalogue of Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart May 10, 2019 Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis has bought the rights to more than 1,000 songs written by Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart. Read more: One Media IP shares jump as streaming boosts profits The songwriter and record producer is best known as one half of pop group Eurythmics, which he formed in 1980 with eight-time Brit Award [...]
Game of phones: Apple predicts iPhone rebound as Samsung tanks April 30, 2019 Apple beat Wall Street estimates on both revenue and profit last night, as the tech giant forecast a comeback in iPhone sales later this year. The move followed rival Samsung reporting its worst profit drop in two years, falling 63 per cent year-on-year to 6.2 trillion won (£4bn). Smartphone companies worldwide have been hurt by [...]
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos tops list of Silicon Valley’s best performing tech CEOs April 30, 2019 Amazon’s share price has risen by 83 per cent year-on-year, making boss Jeff Bezos the US’s best performing tech chief executive. The online shopping platform’s share price has jumped $69.53 on average per year during Bezos’ 22-year reign as Amazon’s chief executive. Read more: Investigator accuses Saudi Arabia of hacking Jeff Bezos's phone In 1997, which [...]
Your guide to US results season Q1 2019 April 30, 2019 | City Talk By Jemma Jackson from interactive investor. Home or away? interactive investor comment as US earnings season kicks off ahead of expectations So far, the news has been generally positive, with banks having noted an improvement in Net Interest Margins (the difference between the rate at which they borrow and lend). Industrials have also provided a [...]
Avengers, Assemble – Marvel’s superhero franchise can teach your business how to tackle digital disruption April 29, 2019 It’s fair to assume that for Marvel fans sitting down to watch the recently released Avengers: Endgame, their first thought won’t be what it teaches us about digital disruption – they’ll be wondering how the dream team will defeat the Mad Titan Thanos, and who will still be standing when the credits roll. However, with [...]
Apple recalls plug adapter over electric shock fears April 26, 2019 Apple has recalled certain plug adapters in the UK over fears they could cause an electric shock. The tech giant has recalled the AC wall plug adapter shipped with Macs and iOS devices between 2003 and 2010 and included in the Apple World Traveller Adapter Kit. Read more: Microsoft’s valuation breaks through $1 trillion mark [...]
Microsoft’s valuation passes $1 trillion as competition with Apple and Amazon heats up April 25, 2019 Microsoft’s valuation briefly exceeded $1 trillion (£776bn) for the first time yesterday after the firm posted strong revenue and profit growth in its quarterly results. Shares in the US tech behemoth rose as high as $130.87 in late trading, taking its market capitalisation past rivals Apple and Amazon and beyond the coveted $1 trillion mark. [...]