The Biz: Broadway Strike Threat, Spotify & UMG’s AI Strategy, Wall Street Gets Bullish On StubHub & More

Broadway’s musicians voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as negotiations continue with the Broadway League, the trade association for theater operators.

More than 98% of the members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 voted to authorize the labor action.

“On the heels of the most successful season in history, the Broadway League wants the working musicians and artists who fueled that very success to accept wage cuts, threats to healthcare benefits, and potential job losses,” Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement issued on Monday. “Faced with such an egregious erosion of their working conditions, Local 802 Broadway musicians and other artists are ready to leverage every ounce of their collective power, up to and including a strike. Committing to anything less would mean sacrificing far too many hard-won gains.”

A strike authorization gives union leaders the ability to call a strike as a negotiating tactic as contract talks continue and doesn’t necessarily mean a walkout is forthcoming.

Broadway’s musicians have been working without a contract since August 31 and the local is calling for wages that better reflect record-setting revenues on the Great White Way, as well as health care, employment and income stability and security that doesn’t eliminate jobs for musicians.

All but three shows currently running on Broadway would be effected. Two — Punch and Ragtime — are operating under contracts with the League of Resident Theaters, which represents regional and non-profit productions that are running on Broadway. The third — Little Bear Ridge Road — is being produced independent of the auspices of the Broadway League and doesn’t use musicians in any event.

Officials with Local 802 say a strike could be called officially in the next two weeks.

Spotify & UMG Make AI News

A open letter — in the form of a memo — from UMG CEO Lucian Grainge outlined the recorded music and publishing giant’s strategy vis a vis artifical intelligence.

Grainge struck a mostly optimistic tone in the memo, saying Universal would continue to play “a pioneering role” as the technology develops and spreads, saying UMG  is “very actively engaged with nearly a dozen different companies on significant new products and service plans that hold promise for a dramatic expansion of the AI music landscape.”

Still, Grainge emphasized, it wouldn’t be open season with willy-nilly AI use of UMG artists.

 “To be clear—and this is very important—we will NOT license any model that uses an artist’s voice or generates new songs which incorporate an artist’s existing songs without their consent,” he wrote.

Grainge waxed positively about AI’s ability to aid in music discovery and other fan-side uses of the technology but did not waver when it came to using artistic content to train models, saying that AI companies were attempting to leverage governments into unfettered access to copyrighted and trademarked material.

“To be clear: all these misguided proposals amount to nothing more than the unauthorized (and, we believe, illegal) exploitation of the rights and property of creative artists,” he wrote.

In related news, Spotify announced it was partnering with major labels — Sony and Warner, in addition to the aforementioned UMG — along with indie label Merlin and digital music company Believe to “develop responsible AI products that empower the artists and songwriters they represent, and connect them with the fans who support them.”

What that looks like is kept relatively vague, though Spotify insists it will protect copyright and use material only with the permission of the artists involved.

“We’ve already begun work on the first product directions that bring these principles to life, with more to come as we continue to develop new tools and experiences for fans. We’re committed to ensuring AI enhances artistry, creates new opportunities for the industry, and keeps artists at the center of music,” the company wrote.

Goldman Predicts StubHub’s Price Will Double

StubHub’s first weeks of trading have been less than rosey, having shed nearly 20% of its IPO price of $23.50 by the time the markets closed Oct. 10, three weeks after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

With the quiet period expiring, analysts from many big Wall Street banks were able to issue price targets and trading advice and most were bullish despite the sell-off. Goldman Sachs was the most taurine, setting a $46 price target, nearly twice the IPO price and some two-and-a-half times its over-the-weekend price.

“We view StubHub to be positively levered to the large and growing ticketing market – which will continue to scale as consumers continue to prioritize experiences over products (a multi-decade secular trend),” Goldman analyst Eric Sheridan wrote.

The news drove shares of StubHub higher — above $20 for a time Monday — before it settled into the $19 range by late Wednesday.