![[PIAS] founders explain why they sold 49% of their company to UMG: ‘The battle lines in our industry have been redrawn.’](https://www.fairnessrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-11-30-53-PIAS-founders-explain-why-they-sold-49-of-their-company-to-UMG-‘The-battle-lines-in-our-industry-have-been-redrawn.-Music-Business-Worldwide_featured-1200x675.png)
Independent music giant [PIAS] revealed on Wednesday (November 30), that Universal Music Group has made a minority investment in the company.
Month: November 2022
New report suggests Amazon is snubbing Prime Video with big movie theater push
Amazon’s leaked shift to the cinemas almost deprioritizes Prime Video.
You may know Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service as the home of The Boys or The Rings of Power. Or you may see it as the place you buy and rent digital movies. But you might start to see it as another streaming service that gets movies shortly after a theatrical run.
“Artists are about to go on strike”: YouTube’s Lyor Cohen on his plans to save the music industry
Lyor Cohen has dominated the music industry since the rise of Run-DMC and Def-Jam records. Now he’s all-in on YouTube Shorts, can he teach TikTok a thing or two?
Read More: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/lyor-cohen-youtube-music
Non-Original Autograph Members Suing Co-Founder for Band Trademark
Steve Lynch, the founding guitarist for ’80s hard rockers Autograph, is speaking out after being sued by current members of the band over the group’s trademark.
Apollo to Lead Bond Sale Tied to Phil Collins, R.E.M. Royalties
Apollo Global Management Inc. is selling a $1.65 billion bond backed by Phil Collins and R.E.M. songs in Concord Music Royalties’ first securitization, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
CMA Issues ‘Final Report’ On Music Streaming: ‘Competition Appears to Be Working Reasonably Well’
In late July, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided against launching a full-scale investigation into streaming and the wider music industry. Now, the government agency has explained the decision in a 165-page-long “final report.”
CMA concludes that competition issues are not creating challenges for music-makers in the streaming economy
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority has published the final report from its study of the streaming music market, concluding that challenges faced by artists and songwriters in the streaming economy are not the result of competition issues within the marketplace, and that therefore an intervention from the competition regulator is not appropriate.
Progress report on UK Economics of Music Streaming Recommendations
Readers will remember that the UK Economics of Music Streaming Inquiry [full Kat coverage here] took place last year. The DCMS Select Committee Report following the Inquiry made several recommendations, and the government responded with general agreement and action for further steps.
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/11/progress-report-on-uk-economics-of.html
How To Grow Your Music Career While Working a Day Job
Most indie musicians work a day job (yay, capitalism). And it can be frustrating trying to balance your passion with your paycheck. We don’t talk about it enough. So here are four small but effective steps you can take this week to grow your music career while you work a day job.
@SenatorLeahy Starts the Countdown for MLC Review
Many songwriters are not aware that the mechanical licensing collective is a statutory entity that is required to be operated by a nonprofit company with certain characteristics. The nonprofit is appointed to a five year term by the Register of Copyrights, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Read More: https://musictechpolicy.com/2022/11/25/senatorleahy-starts-the-countdown-for-mlc-review/
Strike Watch: Would WGA Build Coalition With DGA & SAG-AFTRA In Upcoming Contract Negotiations?
On the party circuit during Emmy weekend, one topic inevitably found its way into every conversation, the possibility of a writers strike. Even back in September, the consensus was that there likely will be a strike.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar Confirms Congressional Antitrust Hearing In Wake Of Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift Fiasco – Update
UPDATE: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is following through on plans to hold a U.S. Senate antitrust panel hearing into the lack of competition in the ticketing industry. Public outrcry over the issue has reached a crescendo in recent days after the fiasco of Ticketmaster’s chaotic handling of the upcoming Taylor Swift tour.
Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/11/taylor-swift-ticketing-fiasco-draws-ticketmaster-apology-1235176790/
Disney Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Live-Streaming TV Prices
YouTube TV subscribers take issue with Disney’s ownership of Hulu and ESPN, which they say has allowed the company to drive up prices across the market.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon unveil Artists Equity to spread the wealth
The Future. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have closed up shop on their long-running Pearl Street Films (which had a deal at Warner Bros.) and are launching a new studio called Artists Equity. The goal is to be a United Artists of the modern age — an artist-driven studio giving collaborators creative freedom and a share of financial success. Once the company gets up and running, it could be a key player in realigning creatives’ pay with the gains generated by Hollywood’s push into streaming.
Read More: https://futureparty.com/stories/ben-affleck-matt-damon-artists-equity/
UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer: As Streaming Giants Evolve Their Business, It’s Time to Rethink Talent Deals
The trade-off of back-end incentives for upfront fees needs to be updated and platforms should work with partners to develop transparent performance metrics for creatives, the agency chief writes.
Fear for Your Megamergers: The Justice Dept. Is (Finally) Taking Action
Paramount’s blocked sale of Simon & Schuster marks an early win for an emboldened DOJ’s antitrust enforcement while a reported renewed look at Live Nation could be a worrying sign for media chiefs playing a scale game.
Fear for Your Megamergers: The Justice Dept. Is (Finally) Taking Action
On Oct. 31, the Department of Justice antitrust division landed a major victory when a federal judge blocked Penguin Random House’s $2.175 billion bid to buy rival Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global. After legal wrangling in a trial closely monitored by Hollywood, U.S. District Judge Florence Pan found that combining two of the world’s largest book publishers would hurt competition for best-selling books. “The government has presented a compelling case that predicts substantial harm to competition as a result of the proposed merger,” Pan wrote. “The post-merger concentration of the relevant market would be concerningly high: The merged entity would have a 49% market share, more than twice that of its closest competitor.”
Taylor Swift tour: Excruciating to watch Ticketmaster ticket chaos, says pop star
Taylor Swift says it was “excruciating” to watch fans struggle to buy tickets for her upcoming US tour, after sales descended into chaos this week.
Ticketmaster was criticised over its handling of the sales – which saw widespread site crashes in the presale and then cancellation of the main sale.
It blamed unprecedented demand, saying it worked quickly to fix issues.
But responding on Instagram, US pop star Swift said she had been assured that Ticketmaster could handle demand.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63679936
French ruling on transposition of the principle of appropriate and proportionate remuneration
Yesterday, by Decision n° 454477, the French Conseil d’État stated that Directive (EU) 2019/790 (DSM Directive) has been insufficiently transposed in France, in particular concerning Article 18.
Articles 18-22 of the DSM Directive establish a series of protective measures in favour of authors and performers who license or transfer the exclusive economic rights over their works or performances to third parties for the purpose of exploitation.
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/11/guest-post-french-ruling-on.html
Defeat chokepoint capitalism to get artists paid
a book about why creative labor markets are rigged – and how to unrig them
Competition is supposed to be fundamental to capitalism. Over the last four decades though, greedy robber barons have worked out how to lock in customers and suppliers, eliminate competitors, and shake down everyone for more than their fair share.
Read More: https://chokepointcapitalism.com/
Ticket sales for Taylor Swift tour reignite fan frustration over Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster’s homepage was temporarily knocked offline Tuesday as fans flooded the site to get tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour.
“HOW IS TICKETMASTER ALREADY DOWN ?????? #TaylorSwiftTix” one fan wrote, echoing the frustration of thousands of “Swifties,” the nickname for diehard Swift fans, vying to see their favorite artist in her first concert tour since before the pandemic.
Read More: https://news.yahoo.com/ticket-sales-taylor-swift-tour-203717652.html
YouTube Shorts Are Coming to TVs — With a Big Screen Viewing Format
YouTube is bringing its YouTube Shorts format to TV with a new look designed to improve how the vertical videos look on widescreens.
Neal Mohan, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, says the company has put a lot of work into redesigning how the format appears on TV. “Our research told us that there would be unique perks of watching Shorts on the big screen,” reads the official blog post announcing the change. The customized YouTube Shorts experience now focuses on the video, with creator information to the right.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/11/08/youtube-shorts-coming-to-tv-heres-how/
The coming long-tail cull
When governments plan to introduce controversial new policies, they prepare the ground in advance (dropping hints in speeches, privately briefing journalists, etc.), so that by the time the new policy finally arrives, it does not feel quite so controversial. A similar process is currently playing out in the music business. The biggest major label executives are starting to seed a narrative into the marketplace about the potentially corrosive effect that the rapidly-growing long-tail of music and creators is having on consumers’ music-streaming experiences. Of course, it also happens to dent major label market share too, but the issue is not quite as clear cut as it might first appear.
Read More: https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-coming-long-tail-cull
Elon Musk says Twitter will soon ‘share revenue with content creators’. Will that include music?
Significant change is afoot at social media giant Twitter.
Within a week of closing his $44 billion acquisition of the company, Elon Musk has started implementing a major overhaul at the platform.
European Songwriter Organizations Call for EU Lawmakers to End ‘The Coercive Buy-Out Practices of US-Based VOD Platforms’
The European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) and The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) are calling on EU officials “to put an end to the coercive buy-out practices of US-based VOD platforms.”
YouTube will soon roll out a ‘Go Live Together’ co-streaming feature to select creators
YouTube is gearing up to roll out a new feature that will allow select creators to invite a guest to go live with them, the company announced on its Creator Insider channel and in a blog post. At launch, creators will only be able to co-stream via a phone, as the feature won’t be available on the desktop version of YouTube. The new feature will initially only be available to a select group of creators, but YouTube plans to expand co-streaming to more creators in the future.
Read More: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/04/youtube-go-live-together-co-streaming-feature/?guccounter=1
YouTube’s automated copyright tool riles up musicians
When Rob Jones uploaded a video to YouTube in which he plays a few Nirvana riffs on a guitar, his video was flagged for violating the site’s copyright rules.
“Literally playing riffs, yeah,” Jones said. “I could play 10 seconds. I could play 30 seconds. Not even with any background music, just a guitar on its own.”
Read More: https://www.marketplace.org/2022/11/04/youtubes-automated-copyright-tool-riles-up-musicians/
Disney sued by musician over song from ‘Frozen II’ soundtrack
(Reuters) – The Walt Disney Co and songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez copied another musician’s work in their song “Some Things Never Change” from the hit animated film “Frozen II,” according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday.
Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas is You copyright case dropped
Singer Mariah Carey is no longer being sued for copyright infringement over her hit song All I Want for Christmas is You, after country singer Andy Stone dropped his legal action.
Songwriter Mr Stone sued the popstar in June, claiming he co-wrote a song with the same name five years earlier.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63492412
The Orchard founder reveals new venture to “fractionalise ownership of music royalties”
Scott Cohen has revealed more about the new venture he is leading following his departure from Warner Music. According to Billboard, he has taken on the role of CEO for a fintech platform that aims to facilitate the sale of fractional shares in good old song catalogues.