The rock icon’s music assets carry a valuation of between $25-30 million, according to Billboard estimates.
Month: June 2022
Los Angeles Film & TV Productions Must Now Require Masking Indoors As Covid Numbers Hit “Escalation Trigger’ Threshold, Says L.A. Official
That’s according to Los Angeles County Public Health Officer Barbara Ferrer, and also seemingly according to the film and TV industry’s current Return-to-Work Agreement.
Ricky Martin Hit With $3M Unpaid Commissions Lawsuit; Ex-Manager Claims She Saved Him From “Potentially Career-Ending Allegation”
Ricky Martin’s former talent manager has issued a stark warning to the Grammy winner and Emmy nominee: pay up or reap the whirlwind. Specifically, in “excess of USD $3,000,000, or according to proof, and unpaid commissions are accruing on an ongoing basis,” reads a complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Rebeeca Drucker against The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story star.
SoundExchange Sues LiveOne and Slacker Over ‘Millions’ In Unpaid Royalties
SoundExchange is officially suing LiveOne and Slacker for allegedly failing to pay owed royalties for streams from the last five-plus years.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/06/29/soundexchange-liveone-slacker-lawsuit/?mc_cid=db2761d5d3
Watered-Down ‘Fair Act’ Fails In California Senate — As Its Actor Counterpart Cruises Out of Committee
Earlier this month, reports indicated that California lawmakers would once again consider legislation (still referred to as the FAIR Act despite a formal name change) designed to modify the controversial “seven-year statute” for artists. Now, the newest iteration of the bill has failed to make it out of committee.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/06/29/fair-act-fails-ca-senate/?mc_cid=db2761d5d3
Universal Music sued over Tupac photo
Universal Music has been sued by the estate of photographer Chi Modu over an image of Tupac Shakur that features on a post on the major’s own editorial website uDiscoverMusic.com. The estate says it controls the rights in the image and it’s being used without licence.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/universal-music-sued-over-tupac-photo/
Ahead of the CRB’s Phonorecords III Determination, Are Streaming Services Preparing for a Major Rate Hike?
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) could be preparing to issue a major royalty-rate hike for streaming services, which are reportedly looking to delay retroactive payments for the 2018-2022 (Phonorecords III) period.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/06/27/streaming-services-phonorecords-iii/?mc_cid=c5ce7d42fd
IMPALA calls for French style agreements on fair digital remuneration instead of ER
The pan-European trade group for the independent music community, IMPALA, has urged European countries seeking to address concerns around fair remuneration in the digital music sector to follow the French approach, not the Belgian approach. In France a voluntary agreement has been reached within the industry setting a number of new standards, whereas in Belgium a new performer equitable remuneration right has been added into copyright law.
Domino comments on Four Tet settlement, insists no precedent set
Domino Records has issued a statement following the news earlier this week that it had reached a settlement with Four Tet ending an on going legal battle over digital royalties. The label was keen to stress that it had made various previous efforts to settle the dispute, while also adding that – because the matter was settled out of court – no precedent has been set regarding how old record deals should be interpreted when it comes to sharing streaming money.
Europe’s Theatrical Window Standoff Gives Studios Pause Over Strategy
After two years of pandemic upheaval, one of the biggest debates in the movie industry appears to be settled.
The return of the old-fashioned blockbuster — see the supersonic success of Paramount Picture’s Top Gun: Maverick ($900 million and counting) and Universal’s Jurassic World: Dominion, which is closing in on $650 million worldwide — has appeared to have convinced studios of the value of the exclusive theatrical window.
Domino Records settles Four Tet dispute, commits to pay 50% royalty on digital
Domino Records has settled its legal battle with Four Tet over what royalty rate he should be paid on streams. The label has agreed to pay a 50% royalty, which is what the musician argued he was due under his 2001 record deal. It had previously been paying him 18% of any streaming income generated by his Domino released records.
Ed Sheeran awarded £900,000+ costs following win in Shape Of You song-theft case
Ed Sheeran and his ‘Shape Of You’ co-writers have been awarded more than £900,000 in legal costs following their win in the headline-grabbing song-theft case in the London high court in relation to that work.
Four Tet wins royalty battle over streaming music
Pioneering electronic artist Four Tet has reached a settlement in the legal battle against his former record label.
The musician, whose real name is Kieran Hebden, sued Domino Records last year over the royalties he gets paid when his music is downloaded or streamed.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-61871547
Jimi Hendrix Experience dispute should happen in New York, says Sony
Sony Music last week told the high court in London that a dispute over the rights in the Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings should be heard in the New York courts, because the legal battle centres on agreements signed in the 1970s in the US. And a separate lawsuit in relation to this dispute has already been filed with the courts in New York.
Warner Music sued again over international deductions
Two members of American rock band Orleans have sued Warner Music over a common gripe in the artist community: record companies allowing their foreign subsidiaries to make deductions on digital income and then calculating the artist royalty based on what is received by the label in the artist’s home country after those deductions.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/warner-music-sued-again-over-international-deductions/
Belgium introduces ER right on streams
Belgium’s Parliament yesterday updated the country’s copyright laws to bring them in line with the 2019 European Copyright Directive and in doing so added a performer equitable remuneration right for streaming. It means that performers in the country will receive at least some of their streaming royalties directly from the services, most likely via the collective licensing system.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/belgium-introduces-er-right-on-streams/
Cost of living: Music subscriptions cancelled to save money
Over one million music streaming subscriptions have been cancelled in the UK, with the cost of living crisis forcing households to make savings.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-61825677
Long walk to copyright reform #4: South Africa’s Parliamentary Committee approves a revised Copyright Amendment Bill
Some progress has been made on the legislative front in terms of South Africa’s journey to amend its copyright statute. On Friday last week (10 June 2022), South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry adopted its report on the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill and approved both bills for second reading. This opens the way for the next step in the reform process…
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/06/long-walk-to-copyright-reform-4-south.html
Ten things to know about NFTs
Recently, I spoke in the PRS London Members’ Day panel about NFTs, alongside Cliff Fluet (Lewis Silkin) and Mike Walsh (Serenade). There has obviously been a considerable amount of excitement around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) over the last few years and some interesting developments in the last few months. Here is a roundup of the key things to know and keep an eye on.
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/06/ten-things-to-know-about-nfts.html
As David Zaslav Reshapes Warner Bros., Are His New Film Execs on the Same Page?
Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy built their reputations with a relationship-driven, filmmaker-friendly approach — but that style might be at odds with the imperative to save money.
WME Fraud Lawsuit From ‘La La Land’ Composer Gets 2023 Jury Trial Date – Update
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge this morning set May 8, 2023 as the date the court battle between Justin Hurwitz and the Endeavor-owned talent agency and the now divested Endeavor Content. The almost certain to be juicy jury trial in DTLA will be overseen by Judge Barbara Scheper.
John Wells Says Industry “Will Have To Return To More Shared Rights Agreements” In Response To Jeff Sagansky’s Speech About Vanishing Backend – HRTS
It became the speech heard around Hollywood — Jeff Sagansky’s blistering comments last week about the adverse impact the proliferation of the streaming-driven “cost plus” business model has had on profit participation struck a chord in the industry. A week after Deadline wrote about the media investor and producer’s speech at a NATPE event, the discussion over the issue continues, with agencies and unions mulling ways to step in and help the creative talent they represent.
Top Gun maker Paramount sued over copyright breach
The family of the Israeli writer whose article inspired the 1986 Tom Cruise movie Top Gun is suing film studio Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement over its sequel.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61714737
New board and Chair for global collecting society grouping SCAPR
SCAPR – the global organisation for performer collecting societies – has a new board following an election at its General Assembly in Rome last week.
Mariah Carey sued for copyright over ‘All I want for Christmas is You’
Singer Mariah Carey is being sued for copyright infringement over her 1994 Christmas mega-hit, All I Want for Christmas is You.
Songwriter Andy Stone says he co-wrote a song with the same name five years earlier, arguing that Ms Carey exploited his “popularity” and “style”.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61688826
After Michael Jordan: a new typical case on what is the right of likeness under the Civil Code of China
On the topic of unauthorized use of a celebrity’s image, readers might recall the IPKat post covering the high-profile Michael Jordan case in China in 2017. Regarding the monochrome red-coloured silhouette of, let’s say, an unspecified person, this Kat commented as follows:
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/06/after-michael-jordan-new-typical-case.html
Robbie Williams: Fame ‘intoxicating but isolating’
Singer Robbie Williams has said fame “should come with a health warning” as he gears up for a homecoming gig.
The star, who has had a string of hits since joining Take That at 16 years old in 1990, returns to his native Stoke-on-Trent later for the one-off concert.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-61683092
Animation Guild Organizer Outlines Renewed Push to Build Labor Power
Organizer Ben Speight discusses bringing production workers back into IATSE Local 839, expanding its jurisdiction beyond L.A. County for the first time and how workers today are showing they “are not the animation workers of the recent past.”
How Hollywood May Be Sabotaging Profits With New Push to Pay Talent Upfront | Charts
Studios and streamers believe they’re saving money in the long run, but they could actually be hurting quality and the bottom line
Read More: https://www.thewrap.com/hollywood-talent-compensation-streamers-analysis/
Hong Kong – Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2022 Gazetted
Readers may recall that the Government of Hong Kong launched a 3-month consultation on updating Hong Kong’s copyright regime on 24 November 2021.
Following this consultation, the Government reported that the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2022 was gazetted on 27 May 2022 (last Friday). A copy of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2022 (“the Bill”) can be found here. As expected, the Bill covers the following five key areas covered in the amendment bill 2014:-
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/06/hong-kong-copyright-amendment-bill-2022.html
Live Concerts Are Back, But Small Venues Face Longer Road to Recovery
While ticketing giants offer bullish forecasts for the return of concertgoers this year, indie operators who have relied on federal grants to stay afloat amid COVID-19 are more measured: “There’s so much more to do, and the pain is very real.”
Behind Netflix’s Leaner Movie Mandate: Bigger, Fewer and Better
The Scott Stuber-run division is adjusting to a new set of realities as it readies a $200 million-plus ‘The Gray Man’ from the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ helmers and a pricey set of ‘Knives Out’ sequels.
Behind Netflix’s Leaner Movie Mandate: Bigger, Fewer and Better
The Scott Stuber-run division is adjusting to a new set of realities as it readies a $200 million-plus ‘The Gray Man’ from the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ helmers and a pricey set of ‘Knives Out’ sequels.
Jeff Sagansky Slams Streaming-Driven TV Business Model: “We Are In A Golden Age Of Content Production And The Dark Age Of Creative Profit Sharing”
Jeff Sagansky, a media investor and producer and former top entertainment executive, is sounding the alarm on the adverse impact the now prevalent “cost plus” business model has had on profit participation. The setup, originally introduced by Netflix and subsequently adopted by most major streamers and TV studios, reverses a decades-long practice of above-the-line talent on hit series being handsomely rewarded with a cut of the profits that continues to generate income for decades after the show’s creation.