I thought you might find RollingStone article interesting! Why is the streaming giant getting into podcasting, and what does it mean for the record business?<\/p>\n
They say if<\/strong> you want the truth, follow the money. So if you want the truth behind<\/em> the truth, you should probably follow the world\u2019s richest people.<\/p>\n According to Forbes,<\/em> Len Blavatnik is the 27th-wealthiest individual in the United States, with a net worth of $17.9 billion.<\/a><\/p>\n In July 2011, Blavatnik, via his Access Industries, paid $3.3 billion to fully acquire Warner Music Group<\/a> \u2014 the third-biggest \u201cmajor\u201d in the global music market, and owner of famed labels like Atlantic, Warner Bros. and Asylum.<\/p>\n It was a gamble that\u2019s paid off handsomely.\u00a0Should you look hard enough in Warner Music Group\u2019s fiscal filings, you\u2019ll spot that Access withdrew $925 million\u00a0in cash dividends from the company in the first eight months of 2018 \u2014 including a whopping $500 million lump sum<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been able to do so because, driven by streaming, Warner\u2019s annual revenues have grown by 29 percent since 2012<\/a>. Plus, the company recently sold its 2 percent stake in Spotify<\/a>, cashing in $504 million. (Twenty-five percent of this Spotify-shares windfall was subsequently paid to artists, leaving Warner with $378 million.)<\/p>\n The truth behind the truth, then: The music industry, which many wrote off as a dead duck, is now, once again, making exceedingly rich people significantly richer.\u00a0Ask the guy worth $17.9 billion, and he\u2019ll tell you: We\u2019re officially back in business.<\/p>\n