iWorld
Collective Artists Network launches StoryPacks with Terribly Tiny Tales
Mumbai: Collective Artists Network has announced the launch of StoryPacks, a unique offering designed around Terribly Tiny Tales to supercharge brands’ social media presence through authentic, engaging storytelling.
StoryPacks capitalise on TTT’s exceptional storytelling expertise and Collective Artists Network’s expansive talent pool, creating a unique opportunity for brands to collaborate with leading creators and celebrities. The true advantage of StoryPacks is their ability to drive impactful results by reaching TTT’s five million followers, ensuring brands connect with a vast and highly engaged audience.
Collective Artists Network co-founder and chief revenue officer Sudeep Subash commented, “Our vision has always been to build scale by creating an ecosystem that supports the best forms of storytelling for creators. StoryPacks represent the perfect fusion of creativity, strategy and media distribution, enabling brands to connect authentically with their audiences while driving significant social growth. We are excited to see how this service will empower brands to tell their stories in a more impactful way.”
The StoryPack advantage lies in its ability to deliver predictable exposure to TTT’s five million followers, ensuring brands reach a vast and engaged audience. Expert content creators who specialise in engaging target demographics will craft the messaging, while StoryPacks naturally encourage genuine user-generated content, fostering deeper engagement with the brand.
Terribly Tiny Tales founder Anuj Gosalia added, “StoryPacks is a game-changer for brands looking to engage with young Indians. By combining TTT’s storytelling prowess with Collective’s vast resources, we’re offering a unique opportunity for brands to create content that resonates deeply with their audience. We’re thrilled to be leading this new wave of brand storytelling.”
In a digital landscape where cutting through the noise is a challenge, StoryPacks provides a solution that combines creativity with data-driven results. These packages feature collaborative posts on both TTT’s and the brand’s Instagram accounts.
Unlike traditional agency content, StoryPacks integrates brand messaging while keeping the authenticity that TTT’s audience values. This audience extends beyond metro cities to growing regions like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, and Pune, making StoryPacks a suitable tool for brands aiming to broaden their reach.
The StoryPack process includes initial consultation, goal-setting, content creation, distribution, and performance reporting. By refining the offering based on feedback and insights, Collective Artists Network and TTT aim to deliver value to their partners.
iWorld
Bill Ackman makes a $64bn bid for Universal Music Group
The hedge fund boss wants to list the world’s biggest record label in New York and thinks he knows exactly what ails it
NEW YORK: Bill Ackman wants to buy the world’s biggest record label. Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund run by the billionaire investor, submitted a non-binding proposal on Tuesday to acquire all outstanding shares of Universal Music Group in a business combination transaction worth roughly $64.4 billion (around 55.8 billion euros).
Under the terms of the offer, UMG shareholders would receive 9.4 billion euros in cash, equivalent to 5.05 euros per share, plus 0.77 shares of a newly created company, dubbed New UMG, for each share held. Pershing Square values the total package at 30.40 euros per share, a 78 per cent premium to UMG’s closing price on April 2.
The deal would see UMG merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, with the combined entity incorporating as a Nevada corporation and listing on the New York Stock Exchange. New UMG would publish financial statements under US GAAP and become eligible for S&P 500 index inclusion. Pershing Square says the transaction is expected to close by year-end, with all equity financing backstopped by Ackman’s firm and its affiliates, and all debt financing committed at signing. The transaction would cancel 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, leaving New UMG with 1.541 billion shares outstanding.
Ackman has a long history with UMG. Pershing Square first bought approximately 10 per cent of the company from Vivendi in the summer of 2021 for around $4 billion, around the time of UMG’s listing on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. He has since trimmed that position, raising around $1.4 billion from the sale of a 2.7 per cent stake in March 2025, and resigned from UMG’s board in May 2025, citing new executive and board obligations arising from recent investments.
His diagnosis of UMG’s troubles is blunt. The company’s stock has fallen around 33 per cent over the past twelve months on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, and Ackman lays out six reasons why. These include uncertainty around the Bolloré Group’s 18 per cent stake in the company, the postponement of UMG’s US listing, the underutilisation of UMG’s balance sheet, the absence of a publicly disclosed capital allocation plan and earnings algorithm, a failure to reflect UMG’s 2.7 billion euro stake in Spotify in its valuation, and what Ackman calls suboptimal shareholder investor relations, communications and engagement.
The Bolloré stake has long cast a shadow over the company. Cyrille Bolloré stepped down from UMG’s board in July 2025 as the Bolloré Group battled the French financial markets regulator over its stake in Vivendi, which holds a further capital interest in UMG. UMG had confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2025 for a proposed secondary listing in America, but put those plans on hold in March 2026, citing market conditions.
Ackman has kind words for UMG’s management, at least. “Since UMG’s listing, Lucian Grainge and the company’s management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster and generating strong business performance,” he said. But he made his diagnosis plain: “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction.”
In other words, Ackman believes UMG is a great business trapped inside a broken structure. If the board agrees, he intends to fix that, loudly and in New York.
