The 2021 Otis College of Art and Design Report on the Creative Economy, detailing the impact of COVID-19 on California’s creative sectors, reveals that motion picture and video production has been one of the hardest-hit industries in the creative sector with a loss of nearly 92,000 jobs nationwide.
Month: February 2021
Spanish court rejects matador’s copyright claim over ‘work of art’
The Spanish matador Miguel Ángel Perera was delighted by the manner in which he fought and dispatched a four-year-old, 539kg bull by the name of Curioso in June 2014. But, despite being awarded both of Curioso’s ears for his performance in the bullring in the south-western city of Badajoz, Perera was keen for greater recognition of his work that day – namely that it be enshrined in copyright as a work of art.
It’s Coming: Pro Music Rights Submits Additional Documents to SEC Ahead of Planned Spotify-Style Direct Listing
Ahead of its planned stock market debut, Florida-based performing rights organization Pro Music Rights (PMR) has filed several additional documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/24/pro-music-rights-ipo-update/
OVER 60,000 TRACKS ARE NOW UPLOADED TO SPOTIFY EVERY DAY. THAT’S NEARLY ONE PER SECOND.
The MBW Review is where we aim our microscope towards some of the music biz’s biggest recent goings-on. This time, we juggle some very interesting numbers revealed by Spotify at its ‘Stream On’ event earlier this week. The MBW Review is supported by Instrumental.
WHAT THE MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES REALLY THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF MUSIC STREAMING
Senior executives from Spotify, Apple and Amazon were grilled live on camera by British politicians today in the final session of a UK Parliamentary inquiry into the economics of music streaming.
Yet just as this final act of the Parliamentary Committee’s investigation played out (with some of the panto-drama we’ve now come to expect), something arguably even more consequential was happening in an unloved corner of the internet.
Group Registration of Works on an Album of Music
The U.S. Copyright Office has established a new group registration option for musical works, sound recordings, and associated literary, pictorial, and graphic works contained on an album. This option is known as “Group Registration for Works on an Album of Music” or “GRAM.”
Read More: https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/gram/?loclr=eanco
Spotify to Launch HiFi Option Later This Year, Paid Out $5 Billion in Royalties in 2020
As part of a long presentation called “Stream On,” Spotify announced that it will be introducing a hi-fi option later this year, among other benefits for fans and creators. CEO and cofounder Daniel Ek also said the company paid out $5 billion in royalties in 2020 and chief content officer Dawn Ostroff announced that over the last four years, the number of recording artists whose catalogs generated more than $1 million a year across recording and publishing is up over 82% to more than 800 artists, and the number generating more than $100,000 a year is up 79% to more than 7,500 artists.
Read More: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/spotify-hifi-5-billion-royalties-1234912311/
Il Maestro By Martin Scorsese: Federico Fellini and the lost magic of cinema
As recently as fifteen years ago, the term “content” was heard only when people were discussing the cinema on a serious level, and it was contrasted with and measured against “form.” Then, gradually, it was used more and more by the people who took over media companies, most of whom knew nothing about the history of the art form, or even cared enough to think that they should.
Read More: https://harpers.org/archive/2021/03/il-maestro-federico-fellini-martin-scorsese/
Are streaming algorithms really damaging film?
For many stuck inside during lockdown, streaming services have kept the movie-going experience alive – offering a safe alternative while cinemas remain shut.
But film director Martin Scorsese isn’t such a fan. In an essay for Harper’s magazine, he’s warned that cinema is being “devalued… demeaned and reduced” by being thrown under the umbrella term “content”.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56085924
CMU, THE BLACK BOX, ENRON AND THE MMA
One thing you can say about Big Tech apologists Complete Music Update is they are consistent. Yes, the Pravda of music tech can always be counted on to come up with the lamest excuses for the excesses of the 1% of the 1%. The latest example is CMU’s coverage of the black box distribution to the MLC.
Read More: https://musictechpolicy.com/2021/02/20/cmu-the-black-box-enron-and-the-mma/
ROUND HILL LAUNCHES SOUND HILL NEIGHBORING RIGHTS DIVISION
New York-based Round Hill Music has launched a new neighboring rights division called Sound Hill.
Round Hill has been collecting its own label share of neighboring rights since 2015 and the company says that the launch of Sound Hill “is in recognition that this is one of the music industry’s fastest-growing revenue streams”.
Read More: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/round-hill-launches-sound-hill-neighboring-rights-division/
UK Supreme Court says Uber drivers are not independent contractors
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that Uber drivers are legally workers, not self-employed contractors as Uber has argued in courts around the world. The ruling means that drivers in Britain and Northern Ireland are eligible for additional benefits and protections, including a minimum wage.
Coalition Of Hollywood Producers, Guilds Asks Senate For Targeted Pandemic Insurance Relief, And Fast
A broad entertainment industry coalition Friday begged Senate leadership to push ahead with Federal aid for pandemic insurance since it’s near impossible to get back to work without it, especially for independent film.
Radio Will Not Have Any Resolution To Its GMR Royalties Fight Until 2022.
The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but in the case of radio’s legal fight with Global Music Rights, the pandemic has all but brought them to a stop. The Radio Music License Committee and GMR have at least worked out an agreement on one thing – they both propose that the case that could decide how much radio pays to the performance rights organization should not go to trial until 2022.
Will the @CommonsDCMS Committee Ask How Apple and Spotify Got Away With Hundreds of Millions in Black Box for So Many Years?
One of the questions that immediately comes to mind with the announcement of the MLC’s $424 million black box payment is how did they get away with owing so much money to so many people for so long? Tough question to get an answer to for the average songwriter, but good news: The UK Parliament’s inqiury into the economics of streaming is meeting on February 23 and will have before it senior representatives of Amazon, Apple and Spotify! Great timing! These three companies alone account for $350,000,000 in black box, or 82% of the total.
Your Music Your Future partners with CISAC to educate creators globally on royalties and copyright buyouts
Paris – 18th February 2021 – An education campaign created in the United States to inform creators on the growing practice of copyright buyouts is being extended globally with a new online resource, “Your Music Your Future International”
Composers and songwriters for film, television and other audiovisual media have depended for more than a century on a ‘typical deal’ which allows them to collect royalty income in exchange for granting their copyrights to broadcasters, digital streaming services and other users of their works.
Read More: https://www.cisac.org/Newsroom/news-releases/your-music-your-future-partners-with-cisac
Amid the Covid crisis and Brexit, a major new industry body emerges to represent the live sector
The UK live music industry has joined together for the first time to formally launch its own industry body, LIVE. It follows a year of devastation due to Covid-19 and now new challenges posed by Brexit.
The federation will be the voice of the UK’s live music ecosystem including artists, managers, venues, festivals, promoters, agents, production and ticketing. Membership is made up of the 13 principal industry associations across the sector, representing 3,150 companies, over 4,000 artists and 2,000 backstage workers.
Universal Music Launches Virgin Label and Artist Services Division
Universal Music Group has announced the launch of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, a “new global network delivering premium and flexible artist and label services to the industry’s most dynamic entrepreneurs and independent talent worldwide, inspired and influenced by the spirit and ethos of the iconic Virgin Records label.” The long-running label, originally founded by Richard Branson in 1972, came to Universal as part of its acquisition of EMI’s recorded-music division in 2012. It has gone through several iterations over the years and this move significantly re-elevates its profile as a global music brand.
Read More: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/universal-music-virgin-label-artist-services-1234910348/
New mechanical rights society in the US has $425 million in past royalties to distribute
The all new mechanical rights collecting society in the US yesterday announced that it had received a neat $424,384,787 relating to past streams on 20 digital platforms where songs were never matched to certain recordings so royalties could never be paid. The Mechanical Licensing Collective also got itself 1.3 terabytes in usage data that it will now have to scrutinize in order to find out who that $424,384,787 actually belongs to.
UK performers say post-Brexit visa rules spell disaster
LONDON (AP) — Leading British actors including Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Julie Walters warned the government on Tuesday that the U.K. culture sector faces irreparable damage unless artists can tour the European Union without visas.Since Britain made its final split from the EU at the end of 2020, U.K. citizens can no longer live and work anywhere in the bloc. British artists now have to comply with differing rules in the 27 EU nations, negotiating visas for performers and permits for equipment.
Five considerations for the transposition and application of Article 17 of the DSM Directive
Nearly two years have passed since the adoption of the Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market 2019/790 (DSM Directive). As it was probably bound to happen, the discussion of its content – notably of its Article 17 – is no less heated now than in 2016-2019, that is the period between the release of the Commission’s original Proposal and the adoption of this piece of EU copyright legislation.
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/02/five-considerations-for-transposition.html?m=1
Martin Scorsese Discusses Cinema Being ‘Devalued’ as ‘Content’ in New Essay
Martin Scorsese criticizes streaming platforms and the movie business in a new essay for Harper’s Magazine entitled Il Maestro. While the piece is an homage to director Federico Fellini, Scorsese also discusses how streaming and current movie industry practices have negatively impacted the art of cinema, which he says is being “systematically devalued, sidelined, demeaned, and reduced to its lowest common denominator, ‘content.’”
Answers to questions about Copyright in 2021 [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
![Answers to questions about Copyright in 2021 [Electronic Frontier Foundation]](https://www.fairnessrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1613862210_featured-1200x675.png)
Although they were easy to miss in the end of year kerfuffle, serveral new copyright bill and proposals were not only announced, but in some cases have already gone into law. Here, here we answer some questions about what the copyright landscape will look like moving into 2021.
Commission and Parliament in ‘secret talks’ on EU copyright directive
High-ranking representatives of the European Commission’s DG Connect will brief EU lawmakers as part of an ‘in camera’ meeting on Friday (12 February), after a contingent of parliament members wrote to the EU executive to voice their concerns on guidance issued for the EU’s copyright directive.
Tax write-offs for the working musician
It’s tax season, and if you’re a working musician, don’t forget to write off all of your music-related expenses so you can lower your taxes and keep more of the money you earned.
Copyright small claims court is coming! But it isn’t exactly a court…
The Copyright Small Claims bill which passed through congress as part December’s mid-month spending bill is frequently referred to as a “copyright small claims court,” although it isn’t really a court at all.
Hollywood Unions Lobby for Tax Incentive to Promote Diverse Hiring in the Industry
The Department for Professional Employees, a coalition of Hollywood labor unions affiliated with AFL-CIO, announced on Thursday a new policy agenda to lobby for bills that will promote diverse hiring and inclusion in the entertainment industry.
Netflix To Open Canadian Office After Spending $2B In The Country Since 2017
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has announced that the U.S. streaming giant will open a new office in Canada and hire a content chief dedicated to commissioning local originals.
In a blog post, Sarandos said Netflix has spent $2.5 billion CAD ($2B) in Canada since 2017 and it’s time to double down on its presence in the country, which has provided members with shows including Anne With An E and Workin’ Moms.
Read More: https://deadline.com/2021/02/netflix-opens-canada-office-1234692015/
UK Parliament Member Presses YouTube Exec On Artist Payments: ‘You’re Not Being Transparent’
LONDON – A YouTube executive refuted claims that the video platform compensates artists less than competitors like Spotify, while acknowledging a “problematic” lack of transparency in the share of industry payouts going to artists and songwriters.
Fact: Streaming Royalties Will Never Be Fair. But There Is a Solution!
Most of you know that the music streamers are all losing money. Spotify was born 15 years ago, has over 345 million users, and they still can’t make a profit. So what happens when songwriters and publishers are finally given the raise they’ve been promised? At some point the streaming industry fails. They can’t lose money forever.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/11/streaming-royalties-rhythmic-rebellion/
The Music Industry Is Already Petitioning the DOJ’s ASCAP/BMI Consent Decree Ruling — And Retailers, Radio, and Tech Aren’t Happy About It
Less than one month ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to change the 80-year-old BMI and ASCAP consent decrees. The music industry is already petitioning the ruling, however, and retailers, radio, and tech companies aren’t happy about the prompt response.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/11/music-industry-consent-decrees/
The Challenge to Article 17 CDSM, an opportunity to establish a future fundamental rights-compliant liability regime for online platforms
The Directive on Copyright in a Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive) is due to be implemented by the Member States of the European Union by 7 June 2021. The 27 Member States have struggled with transposing the CDSM Directive and have so far produced various transposition drafts, many of which differ greatly. This is the case in particular with regard to the implementation of Article 17, the most contested and debated provision of the CDSM Directive, which significantly reshapes the rules for the liability of platforms for uploads of their users.
SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING RETURNS WITH A ‘MODERN VISION’ – VIA A RE-BRAND OF SONY/ATV
The world’s biggest music publishing company is no longer called Sony/ATV. It’s now Sony Music Publishing.
The re-brand of the US-headquartered pubco sees the Sony Music Publishing name return for the first time in over two decades, complete with a new logo.
The move marks 25 years since Sony/ATV was first established in 1995 through a joint venture with Michael Jackson.
Dwight Yoakam Sues Warner Music Group to Reclaim Early Recordings
Country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam is suing his label Warner Music Group (WMG) for not handing back the rights to his early recordings.
INVESTMENT FUNDS FORCING ARTISTS TO NAME THEIR PRICE IS… NOT A GREAT IDEA.
Regular readers of Music Business Worldwide won’t need a refresher on who Merck Mercuriadis is – or his predilection for buying big music rights, for big sums, at Hipgnosis Songs Fund.
Yesterday (February 8) wealth management firm Investec critiqued an interesting aspect of Hipgnosis that hasn’t, to date, garnered much attention: when Mercuriadis’ UK-listed company issues announcements regarding its acquisition of a songwriter catalog, it hardly ever mentions a price.
MUSIC STREAMING MUST SWITCH TO A FAIR AND LOGICAL PAYOUT MODEL. THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE.
The following MBW op/ed comes from Didier Martin, the CEO of Outhere Music. Outhere is a Paris-headquartered music company that is home to classical record labels such as Alpha Classics, which counts two US Grammy winners amongst its artists: Barbara Hannigan (soprano and conductor) and Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin). Alpha Classics was nominated for Label of The Year by Gramophone magazine in 2020.
US Copyright Office: Unclaimed Royalties Study
The U.S. Copyright Office will be holding public roundtables as part of its study to evaluate best practices that the newly established mechanical licensing collective may implement to identify and locate musical work copyright owners and unclaimed accrued royalties held by the collective, encourage musical work copyright owners to claim their royalties, and reduce the incidence of unclaimed royalties.
Read More: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-02-08/pdf/2021-02460.pdf
There’s a Little-Known Jackpot of $60 Million In ‘Non-Featured’ Musician Royalties Collected Every Year — Is Some of It Yours?
In a quiet, unsuspecting office in Valley Village, California, the year-round staff of 65 people at the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund diligently processes more than $60 million annually in artist and musician royalties.
And they’re dying to send you a check.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/08/musician-royalties-unclaimed/
Musicians group get court declarations over pay for performers from public broadcasts
A musicians’ group has obtained important High Court declarations in its long-running dispute with a record companies organisation over sums payable to performers from licence fees collected for the public broadcast and performance of their work.
Read More: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40221353.html
Universal Music and Triller Are Duking It Out Over a Failed Deal
When Donald Trump revealed his desire to ban TikTok in August of last year, his words sent the app’s creators and influencers into a frenzy, and many began to eye Triller, a similar app designed for sharing short-form video clips. At the time, Triller claimed it had 250 million global downloads — compared to TikTok’s two billion — and was growing quickly. It also had support from the likes of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group, all of which were shareholders.
Read More: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/universal-music-triller-artist-payments-1124349/
Yes, Composers Can Make Money In Sports — Meet One of the Top Programmers In the Field
A number of artists are scoring paychecks – and potentially career-changing exposure – from film, television, and video-game sync placements. But according to one veteran music supervisor, it’s also possible for creators to make money (and connect with fans) by writing music for sports.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/05/writing-music-for-sports/
‘THIS IS SPINAL TAP’ CREATORS SET UP LICENSING BODY TO EXCLUSIVELY MANAGE FILM’S RIGHTS
The creators of This Is Spinal Tap have set up a licensing body to exclusively manage the cult film’s rights.
Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, creators of the iconic mockumentary, have set up a wholly-owned entity to manage the licensing of the film and all rights related to it.
Spinal Tap creators set up new licensing company following settlement of Vivendi dispute
The creators of ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ have announced that they will launch a new company on Friday to manage the licensing of the cult film and all rights related to it. The new business has been created following the conclusion of a long-running legal battle with Universal Music owner Vivendi.
‘Spinal Tap’ Creators Set Up Licensing Body To Manage Exploitation Of Their Iconic Motion Picture
Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, creators of the iconic mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap”, have set up a wholly owned entity to manage the licensing of the film and all rights related to it.
With effect from January 1, 2021, the much-beloved movie and all featured characters, trademarks and associated rights will be licensed via Authorized Spinal Tap LLC. Together, the four creators intend to ensure the film continues to be available for existing and future “Spinal Tap” fans for years to come.
Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #09: Safe harbour
We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming.
Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken with the Music Managers Forum as part of the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project, we explain the background to the key debates, helping you navigate and understand each issue and the proposed solutions.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/dissecting-the-streaming-inquiry-09-safe-harbour/
Golden Globes 2021: Three female directors make history in nominations
Three women have been nominated for best director at the Golden Globe awards – the first time more than one has been shortlisted in a single year.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55916772
Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #08: Royalty Chains
We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming.
Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken with the Music Managers Forum as part of the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project, we explain the background to the key debates, helping you navigate and understand each issue and the proposed solutions.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/dissecting-the-streaming-inquiry-08-royalty-chains/
Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #07: Music Rights Data
We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming.
Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken with the Music Managers Forum as part of the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project, we explain the background to the key debates, helping you navigate and understand each issue and the proposed solutions.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/dissecting-the-streaming-inquiry-07-music-rights-data/
How the $100 billion Hollywood machine is scrambling to come back after its worst year in decades
The coronavirus pandemic devastated movie theaters, canceled premieres, shook up awards shows, and changed the $100 billion industry.
Tech Giants Warn US of Hostile Copyright Environment in EU and Russia
Big tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are concerned about restrictive copyright legislation being implemented around the world. Industry groups warn that these changes, including Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive, result in ‘hostile environments’ that harm the interests of US tech companies.
Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #06: Transparency
We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming.
Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken with the Music Managers Forum as part of the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project, we explain the background to the key debates, helping you navigate and understand each issue and the proposed solutions.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/dissecting-the-streaming-inquiry-06-transparency/
NEGOTIATING DEALS IN THE APP SYNC MARKET
The world of apps holds huge potential for music sync opportunities, with new releases being brought to market on a daily basis. Plenty of apps increase engagement by adding music to their platforms and user offerings. Recent examples can be found in mindfulness applications such as Calm, but there are also plenty of other opportunities if you scratch beneath the tech surface. By working closely with developers, apps can be built to include/add music at a later stage to improve their performance, which can be a highly beneficially avenue for music rightsholders to tap into potential new audiences and build their presence.
Preliminary Schedule Set in Eminem Publisher’s Unpaid-Royalties Lawsuit Against Spotify
Back in August of 2019, Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style levied a massive copyright infringement lawsuit against Spotify. Now, Digital Music News has obtained an exclusive copy of a new legal filing from the high-profile courtroom confrontation, which is showing few signs of slowing down.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/01/eminem-publisher-spotify-lawsuit/
Sony Music Acquires AWAL From Kobalt In $430 Million Deal
Kobalt and Sony Music unveiled their “definitive agreement,” which encompasses Kobalt Neighboring Rights in addition to AWAL, this morning. As part of the multimillion-dollar purchase, the former Kobalt holdings “will become a new division within SME’s suite of independent artist and label services offerings.”
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/01/sony-music-awal-acquisition/
PRS Changes Its Livestreaming Licensing Rules After Massive Indie Backlash
Last Wednesday, January 27th, PRS for Music officially launched a licensing platform for small-scale livestreams in the UK. A number of organizations and artists promptly criticized this platform (including because of its timing and rate structure), and the 107-year-old PRS has now changed the small-scale licenses’ rules.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/01/prs-changes-livestreaming-licensing-rules/