Bill Ackman
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
It's in the business of helping artists become global artists, sort of the recorded music business. And it's in the business of, you know, owning rights to sort of the music publishing rights of songwriters. And, you know, I think music is forever, right? Music is a many thousand year old part of the human experience. And I think it will be, you know, thousands of years from now.
It's in the business of helping artists become global artists, sort of the recorded music business. And it's in the business of, you know, owning rights to sort of the music publishing rights of songwriters. And, you know, I think music is forever, right? Music is a many thousand year old part of the human experience. And I think it will be, you know, thousands of years from now.
And so that's a pretty good backdrop to invest in a company. And the company basically owns a third of the global recorded music. That's, you know, the most dominant sort of market share in the business. They're the best at taking an artist who's 18 years old, who's got a great voice and has started to get a presence on YouTube and Instagram and helping that artist become successful.
And so that's a pretty good backdrop to invest in a company. And the company basically owns a third of the global recorded music. That's, you know, the most dominant sort of market share in the business. They're the best at taking an artist who's 18 years old, who's got a great voice and has started to get a presence on YouTube and Instagram and helping that artist become successful.
And so that's a pretty good backdrop to invest in a company. And the company basically owns a third of the global recorded music. That's, you know, the most dominant sort of market share in the business. They're the best at taking an artist who's 18 years old, who's got a great voice and has started to get a presence on YouTube and Instagram and helping that artist become successful.
And that's a unique talent. And the result is the best artists in the world want to come work for them. But they also have this incredible library of, you know, the Beatles, the Rolling Stone, U2, et cetera.
And that's a unique talent. And the result is the best artists in the world want to come work for them. But they also have this incredible library of, you know, the Beatles, the Rolling Stone, U2, et cetera.
And that's a unique talent. And the result is the best artists in the world want to come work for them. But they also have this incredible library of, you know, the Beatles, the Rolling Stone, U2, et cetera.
So, and then if you think about what music has become, used to be about records and CDs and, you know, eight track tapes for those of whom, and it was about a new format and that's how they drive sales. And it's become a business, which is like the podcast business about streaming. And you can, streaming is a lot more predictable than selling records, right?
So, and then if you think about what music has become, used to be about records and CDs and, you know, eight track tapes for those of whom, and it was about a new format and that's how they drive sales. And it's become a business, which is like the podcast business about streaming. And you can, streaming is a lot more predictable than selling records, right?
So, and then if you think about what music has become, used to be about records and CDs and, you know, eight track tapes for those of whom, and it was about a new format and that's how they drive sales. And it's become a business, which is like the podcast business about streaming. And you can, streaming is a lot more predictable than selling records, right?
You can sort of say, okay, how many people have smartphones? How many people are going to have smartphones next year? There's a kind of global penetration over time of smartphones. You pay, call it 10, 11 bucks a month for a subscription or less for a family plan. And you can kind of build a model of what the world looks like and predict, you know, the growth of the streaming business.
You can sort of say, okay, how many people have smartphones? How many people are going to have smartphones next year? There's a kind of global penetration over time of smartphones. You pay, call it 10, 11 bucks a month for a subscription or less for a family plan. And you can kind of build a model of what the world looks like and predict, you know, the growth of the streaming business.
You can sort of say, okay, how many people have smartphones? How many people are going to have smartphones next year? There's a kind of global penetration over time of smartphones. You pay, call it 10, 11 bucks a month for a subscription or less for a family plan. And you can kind of build a model of what the world looks like and predict, you know, the growth of the streaming business.
You predict what kind of market share Universal is going to have over time. And you can't get to a precise view of value. You can get to an approximation. And the key is to buy at a price that represents a big discount to that approximation. And that gets back to Ben Graham. Ben Graham was about what he called, he invented this concept of margin of safety.
You predict what kind of market share Universal is going to have over time. And you can't get to a precise view of value. You can get to an approximation. And the key is to buy at a price that represents a big discount to that approximation. And that gets back to Ben Graham. Ben Graham was about what he called, he invented this concept of margin of safety.
You predict what kind of market share Universal is going to have over time. And you can't get to a precise view of value. You can get to an approximation. And the key is to buy at a price that represents a big discount to that approximation. And that gets back to Ben Graham. Ben Graham was about what he called, he invented this concept of margin of safety.
You want to buy a company at a price that if you're wrong about what you think it's worth, and it turns out to be worth 30% less, you paid a deep enough discount to your estimate that you're still okay. It's about investing. A big part of investing is not losing money. If you can avoid losing money and then have a few great hits, you can do very, very well over time.
You want to buy a company at a price that if you're wrong about what you think it's worth, and it turns out to be worth 30% less, you paid a deep enough discount to your estimate that you're still okay. It's about investing. A big part of investing is not losing money. If you can avoid losing money and then have a few great hits, you can do very, very well over time.
You want to buy a company at a price that if you're wrong about what you think it's worth, and it turns out to be worth 30% less, you paid a deep enough discount to your estimate that you're still okay. It's about investing. A big part of investing is not losing money. If you can avoid losing money and then have a few great hits, you can do very, very well over time.