iWorld
Netflix elevates Marian Lee as chief marketing officer
Mumbai: Streaming giant Netflix has elevated Marian Lee to the role of chief marketing officer. Lee succeeds Bozoma Saint John, who has moved on from the company.
Lee will be Netflix’s fourth chief marketing officer in three years.
She joined the company in July 2021 as vice president of marketing in the United States and Canada overseeing marketing for the streaming service. She was previously associated with Spotify for eight years. She has held leadership positions in fashion brands such as J Crew and Gilt.com and publisher Conde Nast.
Saint John, who joined Netflix in 2020, is a high-profile marketer who was CMO at Endeavour, chief brand officer at Uber and head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes after Apple acquired Beats by Dre in 2014.
iWorld
Universal Music to sell half its Spotify stake, expand buyback plan
Ackman pressure mounts as label posts €2.9bn revenue and strong subscription growth
HILVERSUM: Universal Music Group has unveiled plans to sell half of its stake in Spotify and double its share buyback programme to €1 billion, signalling a sharper capital strategy as investor scrutiny intensifies.
The company said it will launch an additional €500 million buyback after completing the €500 million programme announced in March, taking the total authorisation to €1 billion. Proceeds from the Spotify stake sale will help fund the buyback and will also be shared with artists, in line with long-standing commitments.
The move comes amid pressure from billionaire investor Bill Ackman, whose firm Pershing Square Capital Management holds over 4.5 per cent of UMG. Ackman recently made an unsolicited offer valuing the company at around $64 billion to $65 billion and has argued that the label’s shares are undervalued.
As part of his proposal, Ackman suggested selling the entire Spotify stake to raise €1.5 billion after taxes and artist payouts, while also pushing for a US listing and changes to the company’s financial reporting structure. UMG’s board has instead opted to move independently, approving a partial stake sale on its own terms.
The decision also aligns with what is informally known as the “Taylor Swift clause”, a commitment made when Taylor Swift re-signed with the label in 2018, ensuring that any proceeds from Spotify stake sales are shared with artists on a non-recoupable basis.
With investor pressure building and strategic levers now in motion, UMG appears to be striking a careful balance between rewarding shareholders and reinforcing its long-term growth play in the streaming era.
