Month: November 2019

Musicians have reached a tentative deal with film and television studios, despite not getting their most pressing demand: residuals for streaming, which they had fought for through their #BandTogether campaign.

Negotiations between the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the studios lasted over two years, but while the former did receive significant improvements in their contract with the latter, their members still will not be getting residuals for TV shows and movies that are streamed online.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/27/musicians-reach-deal-studios/

The newly-minted — and funded — Mechanical Licensing Collective has just awarded a plum contract to the Harry Fox Agency, owned by private equity firm the Blackstone Group. Critics are quickly pointing to a ‘no-bid contract’ based on political horse-trading, with HFA assailed for serious licensing problems in the past.

The HFA award was formally announced this week, with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) now granting lucrative contracts and coveted positions following its monstrous initial budget grant. Also receiving a choice bid was ConsenSys, an Ethereum blockchain-focused tech play.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/27/hfa-mechanical-licensing-collective-contract/

On November 27, the European Parliament LUX Film Prize Award ceremony celebrates the richness of European cultural diversity and pays tribute to the filmmakers behind the works.

Read more: http://www.filmdirectors.eu/fera-fse-saa-press-release-celebrating-european-film-and-defending-artistic-freedom/

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is making a mark on Hollywood. Specifically, the Antitrust Division, which unsuccessfully attempted to block the merger between AT&T and Time Warner, took the side of Netflix over eligibility for the Academy Awards and just last week moved to terminate the decades-old Paramount Consent Decrees.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/trumps-doj-picks-side-hollywoods-writers-agents-war-1258214

Which way will the U.S. Department of Justice go in its review of long-running PRO Consent Decrees?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question seems to rely on a reading of various tea leaves — even for sources tied into the process.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/25/department-of-justice-pro-consent-decree-chaos/

Spotify is about to battle another billion-dollar lawsuit alleging mass-copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices.

Back in August, we first reported that Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style was slapping Spotify with an elephantine, multi-billion-dollar infringement lawsuit. That suit, spearheaded by Marvin Gaye Estate litigator Richard Busch, questioned certain provisions of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) that effectively absolve Spotify from previous non-payments and copyright infringements.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/25/spotify-1-billion-copyright-infringement-lawsuit/

Broadcasters may have already lined up more than 200 House members opposed to enacting a performance right on AM/FM airplay, but it was probably inevitable that supporters of the idea would see a bill introduced. That’s what happened Thursday when Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) once again teamed up to submit legislation that would require radio stations to pay royalties whenever a record is played on-air.

Read more: http://www.insideradio.com/new-effort-in-congress-to-secure-radio-royalties-for-on/article_a1de527e-0d01-11ea-b35c-ff6b11f6bd4a.html

Back in August, Katy Perry — alongside Capitol Records, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Juicy J, Kobalt, and other partners — were saddled with a $2.789 million verdict for infringing ‘Dark Horse’. Turns out that was just part of the story.

A closer reading of the verdict reveals that Perry, Capitol Records, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Kobalt, and others were actually saddled with damages of $2.789 million — plus possible accrued interest since the date of infringement.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/22/katy-perry-dark-horse-damages-swell/

Readers will recall that back in 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided the important Soulier and Doke case [Katposts here], ruling that EU law mandates the recognition of the ‘author principle’, that is the need for the consent – whether express of implied (the latter is however to be strictly defined) – of authors to the doing, by third parties, of acts restricted by copyright in relation to their works.

Read more: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/cjeu-follows-up-on-soulier-and-doke-and.html?m=1

New legislation introduced in both houses of Congress on Thursday (Nov. 21) brings artists one step closer to receiving performance rights royalties on radio airplay.

Read more: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/legal-and-management/8544466/am-fm-act-congress-artists-labels-paid-radio

Everyone deserves the right to feel safe at work – this is just as true when working on a Hollywood blockbuster as it is on a prime-time drama or a debut short film.

As the professional body for directors working in the UK screen industries, we know that directors don’t want anyone to feel unsafe, exploited or mismanaged when dealing with scenes of nudity or simulated sex. And so, working in consultation with both our members and industry colleagues, Directors UK has compiled a set of best practice guidance for creating a safe on-set environment, one that allows directors and their collaborators to make daring work.

Read more: https://www.directors.uk.com/news/directing-nudity-and-simulated-sex-guidance

PARIS – French media organizations lodged a complaint against Google to the country’s competition authority Wednesday over the U.S. internet giant’s refusal to pay for displaying their content.

Read more: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/21/

Just a few short years ago, the music industry was contemplating its very existence. But is it time to get over the comeback celebration?
For an industry that nearly collapsed overnight, the past few years have been a godsend. But is all the talk of a ‘music industry comeback’ misleading — and potentially damaging for future growth?

Read more: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/songwriters-and-artists-call-on-us-court-to-uphold-copyright-royalty-boards-streaming-rate-increase/

This year, the CRB raised the compulsory license fee that music streaming services pay for mechanical rights to songs, from 10.5% of total revenues to 15.1%. This license allows the streaming services to use any song without having to get permission from the writer or publisher of that song.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/20/songwriters-artists-fight-music-streaming-royalties/

Organisations representing songwriters and artists in the US have submitted an amicus brief to the DC Circuit Court Of Appeals urging them to uphold the most recent Copyright Royalty Board ruling on the compulsory licence covering mechanical rights Stateside. The rate increase for songwriters in that ruling, the organisations say, is not only “deserved” but also “critical” for many songwriters struggling to stay afloat in the streaming age.

Read more: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/songwriters-and-artists-call-on-us-court-to-uphold-copyright-royalty-boards-streaming-rate-increase/

In a lengthy update on the consent decree review process, Billboard has identified two key differences of opinion between the US music publishing community and the collecting societies that said consent decrees regulate.

Read more: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/us-publishers-and-societies-start-to-disagree-on-consent-decree-reform/

Here’s a prediction: A few years from now, Taylor Swift’s Nov. 24 performance at the American Music Awards will be largely forgotten. But the discussion about this performance will reverberate for far longer than most observers expect.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/taylor-swift-scooter-braun-imminent-rerecording-war-1256382

As Hollywood’s major unions gird for potentially contentious contract negotiations with the major studios, streaming giant Netflix is moving to hash out its own labor deals that could give it a competitive advantage in the event of a strike.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-11-20/netflix-could-play-key-role-in-upcoming-labor-talks-with-studios?utm_source=Essential%20California

Almost every organization on the publishing side of the music business supports changes to the consent decrees that regulate ASCAP and BMI, saying it would give them more leverage to negotiate higher “market-based” rates. But they don’t agree on the details.

Read more: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8544144/music-publishers-letter-dept-justice-consent-decrees-nmpa

For the first time, half of all TV episodes were helmed by women or directors of color, the Directors Guild of America revealed Tuesday in its latest Episodic Television Director Inclusion Report covering the 2018-19 season. That number was up from last year’s prior high of 42.5 percent, and from 21 percent five years ago.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/television-director-diversity-reaches-new-high-dga-study-finds-1256194

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it will ask a court to scrap the decades-old ‘Paramount’ consent decrees. The antitrust decrees are designed to protect movie theaters from studio control.

The consent decrees have been in place for decades and currently have no expiration date. DoJ Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim confirmed that his department would seek their termination.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/19/doj-scraps-paramount-consent-decrees/

I’m posting my letter to the Copyright Royalty Judges about the Mechanical Licensing Collective “voluntary settlement” with the DLC.  It may be voluntary for some people, but it was negotiated after shutting out everyone else from the negotiation on a technicality. Trichordist readers will probably be very interested in the issues and may want to send their own complaint to the Judges.

Read more: https://thetrichordist.com/2019/11/17/open-letter-to-copyright-royalty-judges-on-the-mlc-dlc-settlement/

A federal court judge has ruled that an infringement lawsuit that Nirvana LLC filed against clothing designer Marc Jacobs as well as against department stores Saks Incorporated and Neiman Marcus can proceed.

Nirvana filed the suit in December of last year, claiming that the design was infringing on both their copyright and trademark by being similar to their iconic happy face logo. Mark Jacobs used this design in its “Bootleg Redux Grunge” clothing line, which they began selling last November at Saks and Neiman Marcus.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/15/nirvana-lawsuit-happy-face-proceed/

Taylor Swift has said her performance at the upcoming American Music Awards (AMAs) is in doubt because she is being barred from performing her own songs.

In a message to fans on social media, the singer said music managers Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta would not let her perform songs from her past albums, which they own the rights to.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50428712

The pitch seemed promising: a true crime podcast about a vengeful zookeeper from Oklahoma, starring and executive produced by “Saturday Night Live” comedian Kate McKinnon.

United Talent Agency assembled a “package” that included McKinnon and the rights to develop Wondery’s podcast into a TV show, and sold the series last month to a studio run by NBCUniversal. The series, called “Over My Dead Body: Joe Exotic,” did not have a writer assigned.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-11-14/despite-the-wgas-objections-talent-agencies-continue-to-package-tv-shows?utm_source=Essential%20California

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which is tasked with tracking, collecting, and distributing mechanical licenses from streaming services in the U.S., has just been granted a $62 million starting budget.

Initially, the MLC — principally backed by major music publishers Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and Warner/Chappell Music — had requested $66.25 million in startup capital from major streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and Amazon Music.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/14/mechanical-licensing-collective-mlc-62-million/

A rapper named Go Go Satish has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against rapper Rick Ross, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Island Def Jam Music Group, claiming that Ross’ song “Billionaire” infringes on his song “Dilemma.”

In the suit, Go Go Satish — who has also gone by Satish Da Beast and whose real name is Ronald Satish Emrit — further wants the court to force either UMG or Island Def Jam Group to sign him to what is known as ‘360 deal’. Under this broader contract, a label goes beyond recordings to include related areas like touring, merchandise, and advertising.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/14/rick-ross-umg-copyright-infringement/

Remember the horrific Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act from the last Congress?  (See “The Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act: The Domesday Book Meets A Unicorn“.)

Well, guess what–it’s not really dead!  A little tea-leaf reading suggests that the MIC Coalition (one of the largest and most anticompetitive lobbying groups in history) have plans to amend the Music Modernization Act’s blanket license to all licensing verticals if they had their way.  That would include “general licensing” in bars and restaurants to satisfy their hotel, restaurant and “beverage” folks.  So there’s definitely some there there.

Read more: https://thetrichordist.com/2019/11/14/guest-post-mic-coalition-filing-reveal-the-zombie-transparency-in-music-licensing-and-ownership-act-artistrights-watch/

Mid-tier talent firm Abrams Artists Agency has signed the Writers Guild of America code of conduct, the agency announced Wednesday, joining such agencies as Kaplan Stahler and Buchwald in breaking ranks with the Association of Talent Agencies. Two other agencies firmly in the writer business, Verve and Culture Creative Entertainment, are also signatories but not ATA members. Most of the other 70 or so signatories do not represent significant numbers of writers.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/abrams-artists-agency-signs-writers-guild-code-1254652

The Ninth Circuit has recently managed to muck up copyright law with several remarkable rulings that effectively strangle the music industry and will likely impact the film industry.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/schuylermoore/2019/11/12/the-ninth-circuit-is-tone-deaf-to-copyright/#34594b03eabc

Just this morning, a top executive at one of the largest streaming platforms in the world — who wished to remain anonymous — shared this statement with Digital Music News.  It describes a disheartening situation around the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), a group that was envisioned by the Music Modernization Act to fix the current mechanical royalty mess but seems determined to avoid fixing serious copyright problems.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/12/mlc-music-copyright-choking/

WASHINGTON, DC – November 6, 2019 – SoundExchange today introduced a suite of new features to its online client portal, SoundExchange Direct (SXDirect), that provide music creators with increased control and transparency into their royalty accounts through greater self-service. The groundbreaking “Overlaps & Disputes” tool notifies rights owners when other parties make competing ownership claims, enabling them to resolve overlaps as they occur. The efficiencies provided in this tool will result in fewer royalties being held up by disputes and thus faster payments.

Read more: https://thetrichordist.com/2019/11/12/press-release-soundexchange-updates-client-portal-to-provide-faster-payments-and-transparency/

The National Association of Broadcasters, DiMA, and dozens of other organizations are demanding the creation of a far more comprehensive music rights database.

Since the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) into law in 2018, publishers and streaming services have focused on the creation of a functional mechanical rights licensing body. That entity, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), would use a functional, comprehensive database of mechanical rights associated with songs found on major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/11/music-rights-database-mic-coalition/

Since the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) into law in 2018, publishers and streaming services have focused on the creation of a functional mechanical rights licensing body.  That entity, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), would use a functional, comprehensive database of mechanical rights associated with songs found on major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/11/music-rights-database-mic-coalition/

Fans of Madonna in Florida are suing the singer and Live Nation in a class-action lawsuit over late concert starting times.

Nate Hollander is the person behind the suit. He says that, in August, he bought tickets to Madonna’s Miami Beach concert on December 17. Originally, it was set to begin at 8:30 p.m., but it has since been changed to 10:30 p.m., which Hollander claims is outrageous for a Tuesday night show in which people have to work the following day.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/10/fans-sue-madonna-late-concerts/

James Dean, who has been dead for 64 years, is set to star in an upcoming movie about the Vietnam War. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the movie, an adaptation of Gareth Crocker’s novel, Finding Jack, will feature a computer-generated image (CGI) version of Dean. “We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean,” says Anton Ernst, one of the film’s co-directors.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/james-dean-finding-jack-ai-cgi-ethics-hollywood-a9196251.html

Netflix film chief Scott Stuber opened up about how the streaming service chooses which movies to make and compensates talent, and he weighed in on the ongoing conflict between Netflix and major theater chains over the streamer’s shortened theatrical window in a discussion with Ron Howard that kicked off the Producers Guild of America’s annual Produced By: New York conference Saturday.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-scott-stuber-talent-deals-theatrical-window-divisions-1253689

Two years ago, independent songwriters and publishers agreed to a $43.5 million settlement with Spotify over unpaid mechanical licenses. Now, the payout process doesn’t seem to be working.

Back in 2017, Digital Music News broke the story that Spotify had agreed to settle Ferrick, et al. v. Spotify USA Inc., a massive copyright infringement lawsuit with independent songwriters and publishers. The out-of-court settlement allowed Spotify to close its case, avoid any claim of legal liability, and move on with its multi-billion-dollar public offering.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/08/spotify-million-class-action-distribution-chaos/

It took a few attempts, but Netflix and Gaumont Television finally prevailed against a Colombian journalist who alleged Narcos infringed her memoir about Pablo Escobar. On Friday, a Florida federal court granted summary judgment to defendants. The ruling avoids a trial that was scheduled to begin this month.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/netflix-finally-beats-journalists-copyright-suit-narcos-1253504

The Writers Guild of America has disclosed the negotiating committee for its upcoming spring bargaining with the major studios, even as a fight with the town’s talent agencies continues to occupy guild leadership and members.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-reveals-studio-negotiating-committee-agency-fight-1253538

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has a message for the Department of Justice as it reviews the consent decrees that govern how radio stations and others license music from ASCAP and BMI: we’re watching you. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the Judiciary Committee has “great interest” in whether the DOJ takes steps to modify or terminate the decrees, particularly the potential impact on the music marketplace and whether a legislative response is needed in order to “maintain market stability.”

Read more: http://www.insideradio.com/free/senate-chairman-tells-doj-we-re-watching-you-on-ascap/article_3640bdb8-013a-11ea-adc5-ef06057ad88c.html

Music, video and other artists are earning a record $10 billion in royalties a year — but they are not letting up on their fight for a fairer share of digital income. The worldwide publishing group Cisac, which released the figure today, hailed European plans for copyright reform that were approved in April and urged the government in the U.S., the largest music market, to follow suit and ensure that services such as YouTube pay more to creators.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markbeech/2019/11/07/artists-take-copyright-fight-to-us-as-music-revenue-tops-10-billion/amp/

Plans to feature a CGI version of long-dead actor James Dean in upcoming film Finding Jack have been greeted with scorn by some Hollywood stars.

Magic City Films obtained the rights to use Dean’s image from his family.

“This is awful… the complete lack of understanding here is shameful,” tweeted Avengers actor Chris Evans, while Lord of the Rings’ Elijah Wood added: “NOPE.”

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50330537

Worldwide royalty collections for creators of music, audiovisual, visual arts, drama and literature reached a record €9.65 billion in 2018, according to the 2019 Global Collections Report published today by CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers).

Read more: https://www.cisac.org/Newsroom/News-Releases/Creators-royalties-shift-to-digital-as-CISAC-global-collections-hit-record-9.7-billion

Momentum for the Copyright Alternative Small Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) has been mounting for months, and the bill’s most recent win was passing 410-6 in the House of Representatives. But a faction of anti-copyright advocates have continued to publicize misleading positions on how the CASE Act will affect copyright infringement protection even after it received broad, bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. As the bill moves to the Senate, their posturing could delay the bill as they work with Senators, like Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), to prevent a vote.

Read more: https://www.grammy.com/advocacy/news/why-case-act-works-everyone-musicians-general-public

On 29 July the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) finally rendered its long-awaited judgment in Case C-476/17, Pelham v Hütter and Schneider-Esleben., together with its judgments on two other cases: Case C-516/17, Spiegel Online GmbH v Volker Beck and Case C-469/17, Funke Medien NRW GmbH v Bundesrepublik Deutschland. All three cases are of particular importance in advancing the interpretation of the role of fundamental rights in EU copyright law, not just for their content but also because they are Grand Chamber judgments.

Read more: http://copyrightblog.kluweriplaw.com/2019/11/06/sample-sample-in-my-song-can-they-tell-where-you-are-from-the-pelham-judgment-part-i/

Do you remember the moment you first tried a streaming service like Pandora? It felt like magic. You could type in a band name — nearly any band name — and Pandora created a radio station of similar artists. It was a new era of machine curation, where you could skip the dusty record stores and have new media funneled straight into your brain. Now everything is so curated that it’s difficult to find content that’s truly surprising.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/opinion/

On October 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 410-6, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (the “CASE Act”). The Act proposes to set up what is in essence a voluntary administrative procedure conducted in the U.S. Copyright Office whereby artists and other copyright holders can protect their copyrights without the cost, expense and difficulty associated with filing a full-blown copyright infringement litigation in federal court.

Read more: https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/11/04/case-act-good-intentions-bad-policy/id=115539/

An attorney for Universal Music Group told a federal judge Monday that artists seeking a cut of an insurance settlement from a 2008 fire that destroyed their master recordings have no stake in the matter since recordings belong solely to the label.

Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/universal-says-it-owes-artists-nothing-for-fire-that-destroyed-masters/

“I won’t change my name, no  matter what they call me,” sings Michael Kiwanuka on his latest single, Hero.

Over the years, the London-born singer has been called a lot of things. “Michael Kiwa-nin-nin-nooko, Michael Keena-wooka, Michael Kawaski… Anything other than Michael Kiwanuka,” he told the BBC when he topped the Sound of 2012 poll seven years ago.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50260987

This morning the High Court of England and Wales ruled in an important case – a “test case” according to the court – concerning the right of communication to the public over the internet, including linking in the aftermath of the CJEU judgment in GS Media [Katposts here], as well as other communication to the public cases.

Read more: http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/breaking-high-court-of-england-and.html?m=1

Unless you spent a lot of time listening to early ’00s techno-utopian babble, the Theory of the Long Tail probably means nothing to you. Yet if you live in the US or Europe and you run a digital music label, you’re living it – or the fallout from it – almost every day.

Read more: https://5mag.net/i-o/failed-long-tail-digital-music/

Disabled stuntwoman Leslie Hoffman has won another legal battle in her years-long fight with the Screen Actors Guild Pension Plan. A federal judge ruled that “the Plan abused its discretion” by denying her “a full and fair review” when it took away her disability pension and ordered her to repay $123,827 in benefits she’d received over a 13-year period, plus another $8,457 in interest. The Plan also wants her to pay more than $150,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Read more: https://deadline.com/2019/11/disabled-stuntwoman-leslie-hoffman-wins-another-court-battle-in-long-running-feud-with-sag-pension-plan-1202775168/

Bloomberg is reporting that two major record labels have won a copyright infringement lawsuit against TuneIn in the United Kingdom for streaming music without a license.

Earlier today, Judge Colin Birss in London found in favor of Warner Music U.K. and Sony Music Entertainment in their lawsuit against TuneIn. The two labels had sued the company because the TuneIn app lets users in the U.K. listen to music played by radio stations outside the country without properly licensing this music.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/11/01/tunein-massive-copyright-infringement-uk/

The guild told members Friday it is having “useful discussions” with unnamed agencies over a potential agreement.

Nearly seven months after thousands of writers dropped their agents after failing to make a deal on a new franchise agreement, the standoff has turned into a protracted legal battle.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-keeps-up-talks-individual-agencies-1251814

When the Melissa McCarthy comedy Superintelligence was jettisoned Oct. 17 from Warner Bros.’ New Line label to the upcoming HBO Max service — weeks before its Christmas Day release — agents all over Hollywood took notice.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/as-movies-go-direct-streaming-talent-bonuses-just-go-window-1250781

It’s Halloween, the spookiest of holidays, and while there are many influential directors of horror films none are as prolific as Japanese auteur Takashi Miike. In his over 100-film directorial career since 1991, Miike’s filmography has spanned horror (Audition, Ichi the Killer), samurai cinema (13 Assassins, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai), children’s films (Zebraman), yakuza epics (Dead or Alive), and even a musical-horror-comedy (The Happiness of the Katakuris). Last month the horror auteur was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at genre-festival Fantastic Fest, and his newest film First Love premiered September 27th. I interviewed the genre-spanning horror icon about his career.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffewing/2019/10/31/interview-prolific-horror-auteur-takashi-miike-discusses-films-career/#1a3442f27434

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has dramatically expanded the second round of voting for its Best International Feature Film award, the category formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film.

Read more: https://www.thewrap.com/oscars-shake-up-voting-in-the-best-international-feature-film-category/

On October 30, Los Angeles musicians held a protest and an impromptu performance under the water tower of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, as they continue to attempt to receive fair pay for streamed content.

The musicians were protesting the launch of a new streaming service called HBO Max from WarnerMedia. It is part of their long-running #BandTogether campaign, which is trying to bring residual payments to musicians in new media in line with other workers, such as actors, writers and singers. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) members insist that, when studios stream their work, they effectively receive a 75% pay cut.

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/10/30/musicians-protest-hbo-max-launch-at-warner-bros-studios/

The Mechanical Licensing Collective’s healthy startup budget is meeting resistance from at least one major streaming platform.

Just how much does it cost to start a US-based licensing agency for streaming mechanicals? The newly-minted Mechanical Licensing Collective, backed by major publishers like Warner/Chappell Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, and others, recently submitted a $66.25 million budget to get the operation started. The amount would cover everything leading up to the MLC’s opening (a ‘startup assessment of $37.25 million), as well as costs for first-year operations ($29 million for 2021).

Read more: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/10/30/mlc-streaming-million-budget/