iWorld
Netflix shares sink after it misses Q2 subscriber growth expectations
MUMBAI: Making some analysts’ prediction true, Netflix could not live up to its second-quarter earnings expectations. The streaming video giant added 5.15 million subscribers worldwide compared to the expectation of 6.2 million new subscribers. Following the result, the company’s stock fell down 14 per cent.
In the domestic market of the US, the company added 670,000 subscribers while in international market it signed up 4.47 million subscribers. For domestic market Wall Street analysts expected 1.23 million net adds and 5.11 million overseas for the period. Now, the fear has risen that the company’s rapid growth is slowing down. Despite missing the expectation in terms of subscriber growth, it beat earnings expectations of $0.79 per share by reporting $0.85 EPS for the quarter.
“Investors are devastated by Netflix’s Q2 projection that went down in dramatic flames. Now future projections are suspect and that decimates valuation,” private equity firm Patriarch’s CEO Eric Schiffer said as quoted by Reuters.
“We had a strong but not stellar Q2,” Netflix said in a quarterly letter to shareholders. “This Q2, we over-forecasted global net additions… as acquisition growth was slightly lower than we projected,” the company added. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said median viewing hours was growing but without sharing any specifics.
Though Netflix is leading the market globally, competitors including Amazon, Hulu, and Apple are also gaining foothold in the market making things tougher for the company. The deal between AT&T and Times Warner is also an indication of increased competition for the platform. Even in India, from where Netflix targets to add a huge number of subscribers, its international rival Amazon and players like Hotstar, Voot, ALTBalaji have strong foothold in the market.
“We’ve seen this movie of Q2 [subscriber net adds] shortfall before, about two years ago in 2016 — and we never did find the explanation to that, other than there’s some lumpiness in the business,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said adding that the company continued to perform after that also.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
