Jan. 13, 2021 7:00 am ET Vivendi SE ’s Universal Music Group has licensed the world’s largest music catalog to Equinox Media LLC’s Variis digital fitness app, allowing users to work out at home to hits by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and the Weeknd.
The agreement comes as the music industry increasingly looks to new partners across social media, videogames and fitness for revenue beyond streaming. The pandemic has accelerated the growth of at-home fitness apps, which have relied on music as a draw to live-streamed and on-demand classes led by remote instructors who have become much like influencers and DJs in their own right.
Investing giant
KKR is diving deeper into the music business.
The private-equity firm (ticker: KKR) agreed to take a majority stake in the music catalog of Grammy-winning artist Ryan Tedder, who has written for Adele, Ed Sheeran, and Beyonce in addition to having his own group, OneRepublic.
The deal for undisclosed terms includes the publishing and recording rights, though Tedder will keep an interest. Some estimates put the price tag for the deal around $200 million.
Shares of KKR rose 0.3% to $40.59 on Monday and are up 35% over the past year. The S&P 500 is down 0.2%, and has gained 16.7% over the past year.