Vincent Bollore’s Vivendi will sell up to half of Universal Music Group and has ruled out an IPO, the company announced after market close on Monday.
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/vivendi-sell-up-50-percent-universal-music-group-1130758
Top songwriters are taking to social media to decry what they believe is an attempt by Blackstone — the owner of SESAC and the Harry Fox Agency — to torpedo the Music Modernization Act by proposing changes they allege will doom the sweeping legislation.
The New Testament narrates numerous miracles attributed to Jesus Christ. One of them is the feeding of the multitude: Jesus is described as having multiplied a few loaves and fish so that five thousand people could eat and were satisfied.
The debate over the new EU Copyright Directive towards the end of June 2018 was characterized by a similarly remarkable form of multiplication. But what was being multiplied in this case was not bread or fish, but protest – or rather the appearance of protest.
Read more: http://webschauder.de/the-anatomy-of-an-assault-on-politics/
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has taken pains to reassure labels that the company’s direct-licensing deals with independent artists should not be seen as a threat to labels, tying it back to Spotify’s ‘two-sided marketplace’ strategy.
After a strenuous fight, the Legal Committee (JURI) of the European Parliament finally approved its long-awaited report, amending the commission proposal for a new directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. The JURI report was welcomed by FIA and other performer organisations, as it promised to drive more transparency into the contractual relationships between performers and producers and also enable claims for contractual adjustments, were direct and indirect revenues to be disproportional to the remuneration initially agreed.
Two songwriter groups are accusing accusing Blackstone — the owner of SESAC and the Harry Fox Agency — of offering sweeping changes to the Music Modernization Act that would destroy the proposed legislation, in a move they claim is motivated by greed and callous disregard for American songwriters.
It’s so far been smooth sailing for the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which in June was approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee following its passage, also by unanimous vote, in the House of Representatives in May. The legislation aims to improve royalty payments to songwriters, artists and creatives in the digital era. Its next and final step before heading to President Trump for signature is a full Senate vote to consider the act.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, and Kim Bayley, chief executive of ERA, on why big-data and analytics matter for labels, artists and digital service providers alike
More people are watching shows and films through Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services than through traditional satellite and cable TV, according to new figures from Ofcom.
The UK media regulator said online streaming was officially more popular than pay-TV for the first time, with the number of subscribers for websites hitting 15.4 million in the first quarter of 2018.
Is the alleged use of stolen technology worth a big cut of more than $1.3 billion in profits for six movies? Watson finds herself in the crosshairs of a potential examination thanks to a hyperbolic comment she made at a press conference in Paris, France.
SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly granted the union’s board of directors the ability to call a TV animation strike, voting 98.27 percent in favor of the authorization, according to a letter to members from union president Gabrielle Carteris that appeared on the SAG-AFTRA website Wednesday after voting closed.
Netflix is the most popular SVOD service in Britain, ahead of Amazon, says a report from media regulator Ofcom that also finds music streaming subscription revenue beating out physical sales.
Streaming video has overtaken traditional pay TV services in terms of subscribers in the U.K. for the first time, according to a new report from British media regulator Ofcom.
Fox Broadcasting and Muhammad Ali Enterprises will be trading punches no longer as a $30 million lawsuit over the boxer’s image in a Super Bowl promo has been settled.
Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well.
from A Clockwork Orange, written by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel by Anthony Burgess
As we noted in Fair Copyright Canada and 100,000 Voters Who Don’t Exist back in 2009, the legitimate desire by governments to use the Internet to engage with the governed is to be admired. But there have been incredible and probably illegal uses of the Internet to overwhelm elected officials with faux communications that reek of Google-style misinformation and central planning in the hive mind of the Googleplex.
Whilst music streaming businesses develop at a quick pace, performers are still not rewarded fairly — if at all — when their performances are exploited online.
Read more: https://www.fairnessrocks.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
Americans streamed a record 403 billion songs in the first six months of 2018, marking the latest milestone in the unstoppable march of music streaming services.
Read more: http://uk.pcmag.com/pandora/116339/news/streaming-has-taken-over-the-music-industry
EXCLUSIVE: Nine days after Olivia de Havilland turned 102, the California Supreme Court has rejected the two-time Oscar winner’s desire to have them review her feud with FX Networks and Ryan Murphy over her depiction in the Emmy winning 2017 Feud: Bette and Joan anthology.
In May, YouTube shared that it was testing a feature called Copyright Match — an abbreviated version of its Content IDtool, which can detect identical video reuploads and then enable rights holders to take certain actions.
Read more: https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/07/11/youtube-copyright-match-100000-subs/
In what very well could be the end of the line for Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has voted to deny a rehearing of the controversial “Blurred Lines” case. As a result, a jury’s 2015 verdict that found the popular song was an infringement of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” stands.
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/appeals-court-wont-rehear-blurred-lines-case-1126253
Aspire Music Group, the record label that first signed musical superstar Drake to a contract in 2008, has been given the green light to pursue a major profits lawsuit against Cash Money Records and UMG Recordings.
Stan Lee has dismissed his $1 billion lawsuit against POW! Entertainment for fraud and conversion, less than two months after the suit was filed in his name.
US independent Glassnote Records has sued Childish Gambino – aka Donald Glover – in a dispute over what should happen to royalties that are earned by his recordings but are paid to collecting society SoundExchange.
Universal Music Group is challenging Malu Trevejo’s recent attempt to void her contract, claiming the label’s agreements were with a corporation owned by the teenage singer’s mother, not her directly, and represented by her attorney.
The Writers Guild of America West’s members are rolling in clover, it would seem, with the guild’s latest annual report reflecting a reported aggregate of about $1.4 billion in earnings plus $431 million in residuals. But the drivers behind those record-high fiscal year 2017 numbers are complex, and some details are unknown.
Artists who sold major paintings or sculptures in 1977 are in luck. Other artists who sold work before or after that year not so much thanks to a ruling on Friday from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that essentially dooms their hopes of collecting royalties from resales.
MANHATTAN (CN) – Jazz-funk producer James Mtume sued Sony Music on Tuesday, demanding an accounting for several records he made for Epic Records in the 1970s and 1980s, including the heavily sampled club hit “Juicy Fruit.”
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/music-producer-seeks-accounting-of-his-heavily-sampled-hits/
European Parliament MEPs voted against the draft Copyright Directive, which would have brought music creators one step closer to improving the “value gap” which unfairly enriches platforms such as YouTube at the expense of middle class music creators. Unified calls throughout the world included CISAC President Jean-Michel Jarre and Sir Paul McCartney in adding their voices to a petition signed by more than 37,000 creators urging reform of copyright for this day and age.
Mastodon’s guitarist, Bill Kelliher, recently gave an interview on the music podcast “Let There Be Talk,” where he explained how streaming services are killing music as we know it. And potentially putting promising bands out of business.
Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/07/05/mastodon-guitarist-band-survive/
Paris, July 5 2018 – The European Parliament today voted by a narrow majority against the draft EU Copyright Directive. The directive would have addressed a major flaw in the digital market, helping millions of creators worldwide to earn a fair income when their works are used by some of the world’s largest digital platforms.
The European Parliament today opposed plans to launch immediate “trilogue” negotiations with the Council and European Commission on copyright reform legislation, instead sending the controversial measure to full debate at the next plenary session of Parliament.
The Dutch YouTuber’s most popular videos include him playing famous guitar riffs, comparing different instruments and teaching various guitar skills and techniques.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44726296
The European Parliament has kicked back a vote on proposed copyright law changes until September to allow tempers to cool and the agreed text to be re-examined.
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/05/eu_copyright_vote/
It’s the big vote tomorrow (July 5) on the EU Copyright Directive and Article 13 in the European Parliament. Ahead of a the decision that will have a huge impact on the music industry, Music Week rounds up the last-ditch appeals to legislators…
Following a campaign involving over 1,300 recording artists – including Plácido Domingo, James Blunt, Francis Cabrel, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Max Martin, Udo Lindenberg – via petitions and statements, videos and personal appearances, Sir Paul McCartney now lends his voice.
Read more: http://www.ifpi.org/news/over-1000-recording-artists-call-on-MEPs-to-seize-opportunity
Several weeks ago, the European Union Legal Affairs Committee ruled on a controversial measure. Dubbed Article 13, internet tech giants – including Facebook, Google, Microsoft – would have to install “effective technologies” to ensure content creators, artists, and authors receive fair pay for their work online. The committee approved the initiative. It heads to the European Parliament for a vote.
Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/07/03/google-article-13-copyright-directive/
Five global music publishers have reportedly told Spanish collecting society SGAE that they are pulling rights out of the organisation as a result of the ongoing dispute over the distribution of TV royalties in the country.
Some 145 organisations have signed an open letter urging European Parliament to vote against the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee mandate to negotiate on copyright reform. The European Parliament will meet on 5 July for a plenary vote on whether or not to endorse the mandate.
Read more: http://www.ip-watch.org/2018/07/03/145-organisations-urge-eu-vote-juri-mandate-copyright/
