The former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman goes step by step through a half-century’s worth of resentments and standoffs that led to a better-late-than-never happy ending
Category: Stories of Interest
Protecting creatives or impeding progress? Machine learning and the EU copyright framework
As generative machine learning (ML) systems become more mainstream, the discussion about copyright and ML input is back in the spotlight. At the heart of this discussion is the question of whether authors, creators, and other rightholders need to give permission before their works can be used as input for generative ML systems that produce outputs based on the works on which they have been trained.
European Commission goes to court against six countries still to implement the 2019 Copyright Directive
The European Commission has referred six member states of the European Union to the EU courts for failing to get the 2019 Copyright Directive properly integrated into their national copyright systems.
My Song Was Added To a Botted Playlist on Spotify: Here’s What Happened
If you’re an indie artist like me, you probably check your Spotify for Artists dashboard an unhealthy amount each day. (It’s a problem, I’m working on it). One feature they have shows you how many people are listening to your music on Spotify in real time.
Where is TV headed?
The Future. That’s the million-dollar question running through every media executive’s mind these days. Most agree there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for the business, as people’s TV consumption habits are constantly changing. Because consumers usually decide what to watch based on how they feel, networks must provide highly specialized content to grow and maintain their subscriber base. Without it, they may not be able to survive.
Read More: https://futureparty.com/stories/what-tv-will-be-years/
UK government provides update on economics of streaming work – and publishes algorithms report that proposes more transparency from streaming services
The UK government’s Department For Culture, Media And Sport has posted an update on its work around the economics of music streaming, as well as publishing a new report looking at the impact of streaming service algorithms on music consumption.
Actors’ Equity Permanently Opens Membership to Any Professional Actor or Stage Manager
The program has brought in an influx of new members (as well as membership dues) and made the union more diverse, according to Equity.
Hollywood Braces for a Possible Writers Strike: Why the WGA and Studios Are on a Collision Course
In January 2022, the most popular movie on Netflix was “Don’t Look Up,” a newly released disaster comedy with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. But the second-most-popular movie was “Just Go With It,” an Adam Sandler flick from 2011 that had just started streaming on the service.
Getty Sues Stability AI for Copyright Infringement Over 12 Million Photos
Getty Images has launched a lawsuit against Stability AI over the unauthorized use of its images to train its AI model.
The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. district court in Delaware and claims, “Stability AI has copied more than 12 million photographs from Getty Images’ collection, along with the associated captions and metadata, without permission from or compensation to Getty Images, as part of its efforts to build a competing business.”
Is TikTok about to pull off a heist on the music industry?
Picture it.
You click on the video of viral TikTok star Nathan Apodaca skating down the freeway with his bottle of Ocean Spray. Yet instead of hearing Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams – which Apodaca’s feelgood video famously turned into a TikTok megahit in 2020 – all you hear is the sound of his wheels on the tarmac… because the song has been permanently muted by the ByteDance-owned video giant.
Musicians Take Aim at SXSW Over Pay for Performers
An activist group of workers in the music industry that has previously pressed Spotify for increased royalty rates has trained its sights on SXSW.
IPO publishes economics of streaming research on reversion and contract adjustment rights for music-makers
The UK’s Intellectual Property Office has published a new report scrutinising the possible practicalities and potential impact of introducing reversion and contract adjustment rights into British copyright law. Both those copyright reforms were proposed by Parliament’s culture select committee at the end of its inquiry into the economics of music streaming.
Musicians Take Aim at SXSW Over Pay for Performers
“Enough is enough. Artists have built SXSW and we must be fairly compensated for our work,” states the letter, organized by the activist group Union of Musicians and Allied Workers.
Broadcast TV Pilots 2023: The Complete Guide
Total volume will continue to slide as ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox reduce spending amid a larger shift to year-round development for the 2023-24 season.
Sound Credit Partners With PPL — North American Creators Can Now Collect Neighboring Rights Royalties
A just-signed Sound Credit-PPL partnership will now allow North American performers to better collect international royalties from a range of neighboring rights. Music rights holders can now increase their payouts from music played overseas in public (shops, bars, nightclubs) or broadcast (TV, radio, and some online streaming services).
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/02/07/sound-credit-ppl-neighboring-rights-royalties/
Intellectual Property Office: Research and analysis Rights reversion and contract adjustment
This report investigates two proposals that have been made to protect the contractual interests of UK music creators by making changes to domestic copyright law. One of the proposals is to introduce a reversion right, which would provide a means by which the transfer of copyright returns to the music creator at an agreed time-period after the contract with a rights holder has been signed. The other is to introduce a contract adjustment right, which would enable music creators to address disproportionate revenues resulting from contractual terms.
TikTok Officially Launches SoundOn in Australia Amid Major Label Licensing Talks
Last March, TikTok rolled out SoundOn in the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, and Indonesia. Now, the distribution and marketing service has debuted in Australia, where the ByteDance-owned platform is currently limiting the amount of music that certain users can add to their videos.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/02/06/soundon-tiktok-australia-debut/
She Spent Two Years Writing for an Acclaimed Album — and Made Only $4,000
Writing songs for top acts used to be a reliable source of income. Now, thanks to a rapidly changing industry, songwriters face trouble making ends meet
Read More: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pop-songwriters-industry-broke-1234662448/
The Enemy Gets a Vote: How will Big Tech respond to “CRB Reform”?
You may recently have heard the term “CRB reform” tossed around by various music industry entities. The term usually means changes to the law or regulations governing the Copyright Royalty Board in the interests of the lobbyists or the big music publishers. And yes, so far it has just been the publishers raising “CRB reform” aside from the odd comment of A2IM filed with the CRB that would, if adopted, create a massive change to the Copyright Act and make controlled composition clauses even more pernicious. (As I explained in my reply comment, I don’t think the CRB has the authority to make the change A2IM asked nor do I think they have the inclination for self-surgery judging by their opinion concluding the “Subpart B” proceeding in Phonorecords IV.)
Know Your MLC: “Highest Compensated” Employees
The Mechanical Licensing Collective, Inc. published its tax return for 2021 so you could have a look at the salaries of all those people who can’t manage to pay out the hundreds of millions in black box money to songwriters. Did the Copyright Office approve these nauseatingly rich salaries? We’re not going to point out the disparities in this little list but…. We can’t help but wonder how many songwriters make anything like these salaries?
Read More: https://thetrichordist.com/2023/02/04/know-your-mlc-highest-compensated-employees/
In the Spotify era, many musicians struggle to make a living
The people you see onstage at the Grammys can make it work. But for a lot of singers and songwriters, streaming has made a full-time music career unsustainable.
Royalty Bill Is Introduced in Congress Once Again
The American Music Fairness Act has been introduced in Congress, again.
The respective sides on the issue put out statements echoing what they’ve been saying over many years. The question is whether this proposal has more legs this time around.
Mechanical Licensing Collective ‘Unmatched Royalties’ Approached $562 Million in 2021, Documents Reveal
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) had accumulated at least $561 million in unmatched royalties as of 2021’s end, according to tax documents reviewed by Digital Music News.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/02/03/mechanical-licensing-collective-black-box-royalties/
UK Music welcomes government decision to abandon new data mining copyright exception
UK Music has welcomed a statement from intellectual property minister George Freeman to the effect that the UK government will not be proceeding with a proposed new copyright exception covering text and data mining by AI companies.
AI and copyright in 2022
This post looks back at the key developments in AI and copyright in 2022, covering generative AI, text and data mining exceptions, the pastiche exception, deep fakes, voice cloning and infringement and enforcement of copyright using AI.
Read More: https://copyrightblog.kluweriplaw.com/2023/02/02/ai-and-copyright-in-2022/
CAA Is Now Repping Virtual Artists — Deal With Web3 Label Hume Finalized
CAA aims to create opportunities for Hume’s roster of virtual artists with top brands. Are broader audiences ready for this?
Universal Music announces alliance with Tidal to shake up the streaming business model
Following Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge’s recent memo calling for a shake up of the way music streaming works, the mega-major has announced a new partnership with Tidal which will see the two companies collaborate on figuring out how that shaking might go. Which is to say, they will “explore an innovative new economic model for music streaming that might better reward the value provided by artists”.
Australia to Impose Local Content Quotas on Streaming Platforms
The government promises “necessary action” to prevent Australian storytelling from being “drowned out” by overseas programming, especially from Hollywood.
Google created an AI that can generate music from text descriptions, but won’t release it
An impressive new AI system from Google can generate music in any genre given a text description. But the company, fearing the risks, has no immediate plans to release it.
Warner Music says 4500 artists benefiting from unrecouped advances programme, though no extension of the scheme yet
Warner Music says that 4500 music-makers have benefited from its commitment a year ago to start paying through royalties on pre-2000 record deals where the artist has yet to recoup. However, the major has not extended that commitment so that it applies to old deals on a rolling basis.
Hundreds of UMG Artists Can’t Sue Label as Class Action Over Termination Rights, Judge Says
The case claims UMG has “systematically” rejected termination notices from hundreds of artists, but a judge says each musician will need bring their own case.
Read More: https://www.billboard.com/pro/universal-music-artists-cant-sue-over-termination-right-class-action/
All Major Streamers, Including Apple TV+, Now Pay IATSE’s Higher Rates – Regardless of Subscriber Count (Exclusive)
In fall 2021, to save on production costs, Apple leaned on a condition inside of a clause inside of an industry-wide contract with entertainment-union IATSE. The largest company in the world (by market cap) told the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees its Apple TV+ streaming service had fewer than 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of that July. Per a prior agreement, that allowed a studio to pay a discounted rate to production-crew members in the union. Fellow nascent streamers Paramount+ and Peacock also took advantage of the lower tier at the time.
Read More: https://www.indiewire.com/2023/01/apple-tv-plus-paying-iatse-higher-rates-1234804077/
As Dawn Ostroff Exits, Spotify Rethinks Rich Talent Deals
On Jan. 23, as Spotify staff learned of plans to lay off 6 percent of the company, or about 600 people, top podcast executives at the audio giant went into damage-control mode. Most notable among the departures was Dawn Ostroff, the chief content and advertising business officer who was hired in 2018 to build out Spotify’s podcasting ambitions and, as one top dealmaker describes it, “represented Hollywood and talent from a creative perspective” for the Sweden-based company. With Ostroff set to exit and hand over leadership of content to Alex Nörstrom, a business executive who oversaw Spotify’s freemium model, the podcast execs quickly scheduled calls with outside partners, agents and managers to reassure them of Spotify’s commitment to existing deals.
Live music: How buying concert tickets could be made better
Fans, politicians and even musicians have been complaining about the painful process of trying to buy tickets for concerts for years.
From soaring prices to intractable online queues and the prevalence of touts, everyone has a horror story.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64372274
Rick Astley files multimillion-dollar suit against Yung Gravy over alleged violation in imitating his vocals from 1987 hit Never Gonna Give You Up
Rick Astley has filed a multimillion-dollar suit against Yung Gravy, saying that the rap artist was unauthorized in using an imitation of his vocals from 1987’s Never Gonna Give You Up for the 2022 single Betty (Get Money).
US venue owner axes merch commissions following artist’s testimony in Congress
The US-based Ineffable Music Group has announced it is axing merch commissions at the ten venues that it owns and/or operates following the testimony of Clyde Lawrence earlier this week as part of the Congressional hearing on the ticketing market. The decision comes as merch commissions in the live sector become all the more controversial within the artist community.
Justin Bieber sells rights to songs for $200m
Justin Bieber has sold his share of the rights to his music to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200m (£162m).
The firm now owns the pop star’s stake in some of the biggest hits of recent years, including Baby and Sorry.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64394448
Google Sued Over Digital Ad Monopoly by DOJ, 8 States
The Department of Justice and eight U.S. states allege in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that Google has monopolized the digital advertising market and are pushing for the company to spin off its ad business.
Read More: https://www.thewrap.com/google-sued-doj-eight-states-digital-ad-monopoly/
Are A.I. Image Generators Violating Copyright Laws?
Two new lawsuits argue that tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are infringing on artists’ rights
Read More: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/are-ai-image-generators-stealing-from-artists-180981488/
Global Music Rights Settles Lawsuits With Two Radio Groups Following RMLC Agreement
A little less than one year after concluding a long-running legal battle with the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC), performance rights organization Global Music Rights (GMR) has settled a pair of lawsuits that it filed against radio groups Red Wolf Broadcasting and One Putt Broadcasting in October of 2022.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/23/global-music-rights-red-wolf-one-putt-settlement/
AI image creator faces UK and US legal challenges
Getty Images is taking legal action against the makers of an artificial-intelligence image-creation tool.
The agency, which sells the rights to use photographers’ and illustrators’ images, said Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion system had infringed these.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64285227
Los Angeles On-Location Filming Falls In 2022; TV Pilots Plummet By 71.9% As Film & TV Production Drops, FilmLA Says
On-location filming in Los Angeles fell by 2.4% in 2022 compared to the prior year, with feature film and television shoot days down 9.6%, TV pilots plummeting 71.9% and commercial shoot days falling 22.6%, according to the latest report from FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.
Read More: https://deadline.com/2023/01/los-angeles-filming-2022-falls-tv-pilots-plummet-filmla-1235226225/
Nick Cave gives ChatGPT both barrels: ‘This song is bullshit’
It’s a brave person who gets the ChatGPT AI to write a song in the style of Nick Cave, then sends it to Nick Cave to see what he thinks. In the latest instalment of his Red Hand Files, Cave gives the technology both barrels and then some.
Read More: https://musically.com/2023/01/17/nick-cave-gives-chatgpt-both-barrels/
BMG sued by Gap Band heirs over Uptown Funk royalties
The heirs of Robert and Ronnie Wilson – two thirds of The Gap Band – have sued BMG over allegations they are owed royalties stemming from the cut of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars song ‘Uptown Funk’ that they received back in 2015.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/bmg-sued-by-gap-band-heirs-over-uptown-funk-royalties/
@musictechpolicy Comment to Copyright Office on Termination, the Black Box and Lawlessness at MLC
Re: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Termination Rights and the Music Modernization Act’s Blanket License
Docket No. 2022-5 Comment
Dear General Counsel Wilson:
Thank you for the opportunity to make this comment on the docket referenced above.[i]
I am a music lawyer in Austin, Texas and write this comment on my own behalf only and not on behalf of anyone else…
MPs call for “more focus” on music-maker remuneration in Economics Of Music Streaming update
MPs on the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee have called for “more focus” on “ensuring creators and performers receive a fairer cut of the money made from streaming music” in a short follow-up report to their previous investigation into the economics of music streaming. They also call for the UK government to instigate a “wide-ranging national strategy for music”.
Attack of the Chatbots: Screenwriters’ Friend or Foe?
Even as products like ChatGPT make advances, top film and TV writers are skeptical that the tech imperils their livelihoods, but some think talent advocates should be proactive about setting rules of engagement for writers.
TikTok Launches a ‘Talent Manager Portal’ Allowing Creators’ Managers to Negotiate Brand Deals
To make it easier for brands to work with its biggest creators, TikTok has updated its Creator Marketplace to include a Talent Manager Portal, inviting talent managers to oversee and analyze brand opportunities and campaigns presented to their clients. The new service enables talent managers — with creator authorization — to access the Creator Marketplace and manage deals, negotiate contracts on behalf of their talent, handle creative feedback, and review various metrics about a campaign’s performance.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/12/tiktok-launches-talent-manager-portal/
Universal boss says streaming needs to shift to an “artist-centric” model
Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge has confirmed that a big old rejig of the way streaming monies are allocated to individual tracks by the digital platforms each month is a key priority for the biggest music rights company in the world. This confirmation came in a start-of-the-year memo to the major’s workforce.
Five Decades Later, John Fogerty Finally Gains Ownership of CCR Catalog
Fogerty struck a deal with Concord to take a majority stake in CCR’s publishing catalog, giving him ownership over his songs after decades of failed attempts
Read More: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-fogerty-ccr-songs-deal-1234659981/
Attack of the Chatbots: Screenwriters’ Friend or Foe?
Even as products like ChatGPT make advances, top film and TV writers are skeptical that the tech imperils their livelihoods, but some think talent advocates should be proactive about setting rules of engagement for writers.
@northmusicgroup Calls Out The MLC’s Ability to Make “Law” Through Business Rules that Hurt Songwriters and Skew the Black Box to Benefit Majors — Artist Rights Watch–News for the Artist Rights Advocacy Community
In this comment to the Copyright Office, Abby North (independent publisher and Artist Rights Symposium III Moderator) calls on the Copyright Office to stop the MLC quango from unilaterally establishing “business rules” that hurt songwriters and their heirs and protect working families from these arbitrary actions of The MLC.
Hollywood’s Next Reckoning: Studios Get Real About Runaway Spending on Streaming
There was no honeymoon period for Warner Bros. Discovery last year after the two companies tied the knot in April.
CEO David Zaslav, his top lieutenants and the teams at HBO, Warner Bros., Turner and Discovery went straight into hard months of restructurings, layoffs and management changes. That was expected after a massive $43 billion transaction.
Read More: https://variety.com/2023/tv/features/studios-spending-streaming-1235483366/
Featured Artists Coalition CEO urges live sector to back campaign against excessive merch commission
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has signed up hundreds of music venues along with industry organisations to its initiative to stop artists being shortchanged when selling merch at their own shows.
YouTube Shorts to split share of ad revenue between music rightsholders and creators from February 1
Starting next month, music rightsholders and creators will be able to receive a revenue share from advertisements on YouTube Shorts.
Dr Dre forces US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove promo video
Rapper Dr Dre has sent a cease-and-desist letter to US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene, after she used one of his songs in a promotional video.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64221538
‘Artists won’t stop fighting until large broadcast corporations pay fairly for music.’
In late December, a united recording industry pushed hard to advance the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), a bill to finally pay artists for AM/FM radio plays in the U.S. Broadcast corporations may comfort themselves that Congress, in the end, didn’t act on AMFA.
354 Songwriters and Managers Sign Letter Demanding Changes to the MLC’s Post-Termination Royalty Payments
A multitude of songwriters have formally voiced their support for a United States Copyright Office (USCO) rule that would clarify the blanket-license payout process employed by the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) after copyrights are terminated and recaptured.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/09/songwriters-mlc-termination-payments-demand/
YouTube Wins Partial Summary Judgement Against Maria Schneider In Long-Running Content ID Legal Battle
A federal judge has officially granted YouTube partial summary judgement in its long-running legal battle with Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/09/maria-schneider-youtube-summary-judgement/
Black Sheep sue Universal over Spotify equity
US hip hop duo Black Sheep kicked off the new year by suing Universal Music last week over the equity the major secured in Spotify when it first negotiated a licensing deal with the streaming service back in the 2000s.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/black-sheep-sue-universal-over-spotify-equity/
DGA Says Upcoming Film & TV Contract Talks Promise To Be “One Of Most Difficult” In Years
DGA leaders said today that their upcoming contract negotiations with the Aliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers “promises to be an extremely challenging negotiating environment – one of the most difficult and complex we have faced in many years.”
Read More: https://deadline.com/2023/01/dga-film-amp-tv-contract-talks-most-difficult-in-years-1235215410/
Artists Are Selling AI-Generated Images of Mickey Mouse to Provoke a Test Case
Several artists, frustrated with Artificially Intelligent (AI) image generators skirting copyright laws, are using AI-image generators to produce images of Mickey Mouse and other copyrighted characters to challenge the current legal status of AI art. While an artist’s copyright in a work typically vests at the moment of fixation, including the right to prosecute copyright violation, AI-generated work complicates the issue by removing humans from the creative process. Courts have ruled that AI cannot hold copyright, which by corollary also means that AI-generated art sits in the public domain. This legal loophole has angered many professional artists whose art is used to train the AI. Many AI generators, such as Dall-E 2 and Midjourney, can render pieces in the style of a human artist, effectively automating the artist’s job.
Read More: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/artists-are-selling-ai-generated-images-6591278/
Copyright Royalty Board officially sets new songwriter royalty rates
On Friday, December 30th, the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) officially accepted a negotiated music industry settlement that sets songwriters’ streaming royalty rates from January 1st, 2023, through 2027.
Copyright Protection of Photographs: a Comparative Analysis Between France, Germany and Italy
Photographs are included in Article 2(1) of the Berne Convention as copyrightable artistic works. All Berne Union Member States must thus provide copyright protection to photographic works. As is known, originality has always been the essential requirement of copyright law, and only works that show some minimum amount of this attribute usually fall within the scope of protection. Nevertheless, the Berne Convention does not explicitly state that only original photographic works can be protected, nor does it contain any precise statutory definition of “originality”.
Former ticket touts ordered to pay back £6 million
Two former ticket touts who were jailed in 2020 after being found guilty of fraudulent conduct in connection with their ticket touting business have been ordered to pay back £6,167,522.02 of the money they made from that fraudulent enterprise.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/former-ticket-touts-ordered-to-pay-back-6-million/
Taylor Swift: Judge dismisses Shake It Off copyright lawsuit
A US lawsuit alleging that Taylor Swift stole lyrics for her hit song Shake It Off has been dismissed by a judge.
Songwriters Sean Hall and Nate Butler had claimed the pop star lifted lyrics in her song’s chorus from their own hit Playas Gon’ Play. Swift denied being aware of the song prior to the lawsuit.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63956480
Austrian collecting society AKM allies with licensing hub ICE
Austrian song rights collecting society AKM has announced a new deal with licensing hub ICE, meaning it will directly participate in the ICE Core venture, which negotiates licensing deals with multi-territory digital music services on behalf of various music publishers and collecting societies.
Advocacy groups make last-ditch plea to Schumer for vote on antitrust bills
A coalition of advocacy groups is making a last-ditch plea to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to prioritize passing several antitrust bills targeting tech giants with just three weeks to go before the end of the year, and only two until Christmas.
Judiciary Committee in US House Of Representatives approves radio royalty proposals
The Judiciary Committee of the US House Of Representatives yesterday approved the American Music Fairness Act, which would introduce a radio royalty for artists and record labels in America for the first time. The approval has been widely welcomed by the music community.
Nevermind baby makes filing with US appeals court in ongoing artwork dispute
Last week Spencer Elden – who, as a baby, appeared nude on the famous cover of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album – continued his legal battle in relation to that artwork, filing papers with the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court in the US.
The Creator Economy is the future of the economy
Nearly 60 million Americans—as much as 40% to 50% of the workforce in some cities—are members of the Creative Class, meaning they are directly employed to work with their intelligence and creativity, in fields spanning the arts and culture, science and innovation, and the knowledge-based professions. This is up from just 10% to 15% of the U.S. workforce in 1980.
Read More: https://www.fastcompany.com/90812387/the-creator-economy-is-the-future-of-the-economy
2 Live Crew urges US judge to dismiss lawsuit seeking to block a termination right claim
Members of 2 Live Crew have called on a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by Florida-based Lil Joe Records and to confirm that they can terminate a 1980s record deal and reclaim the rights in all the recordings released under that deal.
US Congressional committee to consider latest radio royalty proposal this week
The Judiciary Committee of the US House Of Representatives will this week discuss the proposed American Music Fairness Act which would introduce a radio royalty for recordings into American copyright law for the first time.
Taylor Swift fans sue Ticketmaster over The Eras Tour ticketing meltdown
A group of Taylor Swift fans have sued Live Nation’s Ticketmaster over all the issues that occurred when tickets went on sale for her 2023 US tour because, well, of course they have.
Now Triller says it’s exploring revenue share deals with major labels (while being sued by Sony)
Video-sharing social networking service Triller, the US-based challenger to TikTok, says that it is exploring revenue share deals with major labels.
Triller Removes Music From the Major Labels and Merlin Amid Unpaid-Royalties Rumors
About three months after being named in a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Sony Music, Triller has officially removed the music of the Big Three labels as well as Merlin.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/12/02/triller-music-removal/
Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Reach Tentative Agreement on Contract
The contract is still subject to ratification by Equity members.
Actors’ Equity and the Broadway League reached a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement for Broadway shows and sit-down production, the two parties said Thursday.
22 best data sources to understand the music industry in 2022
It’s that time of year again. Music marketers are bracing for the worst of the Q4 crunch to be over. Mariah Carey’s accountant is browsing speedboat catalogues. And Music Ally is kicking off a new series of end-of-year roundups looking back at 2022.
Read More: https://musically.com/2022/12/01/best-data-music-industry-2022/
Merck Mercuriadis criticises CMA for “passing the buck” on streaming market issues
Hipgnosis chief Merck Mercuriadis has criticised the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority for, as he sees it, confirming the issues faced by artists and songwriters in the music streaming economy, but then choosing to do nothing about them.
[PIAS] founders explain why they sold 49% of their company to UMG: ‘The battle lines in our industry have been redrawn.’
![[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.
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.
#DoubleStat: Songwriters Brace for the Real Trickle Down Royalty as Big Tech Advertising Revenue Tanks
Per-unit royalties are a bet on yourself. Revenue share royalties tied to the performance of someone you license to is a bet on that platform, not on yourself. Nowhere is this more obvious than with songwriter royalties set by the government–penny rates on vinyl compared to revenue share on streaming, particularly advertising based streaming. This includes, of course, non-statutory rates for audiovisual licensing at YouTube which has a mix of statutory and non-statutory.
Judge rejects Pandora’s cartel claims against comedy rights agency
A US judge has rejected arguments by streaming service Pandora that an agency representing the copyrights of a roster of comedians is operating an anti-competitive licensing cartel. Judge Mark Scarsi concluded that Pandora had failed to demonstrate that the operations of Word Collections contravene American competition law.
Song right revenues began to recover in 2021, but are still 5.1% below pre-pandemic levels
Revenues collected by the music industry’s song right collecting societies worldwide increased by 7.2% to 8.48 billion euros last year, following a COVID-caused dip in 2020. However, with live music still very much restricted in 2021, total collections were 5.1% down compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is all according to the latest stats pack from global collecting society grouping CISAC.
Global songwriter royalty collections topped $10bn in 2021, but were still below pre-pandemic levels
Publisher and songwriter royalties collected by their societies globally hit EUR €8.48 billion in 2021 (USD $10.02 bn).
Although that total royalties haul represented a 7.2% rise versus 2020, it remained below pre-COVID levels, highlighting the impact of lockdowns on live performances.
How Bad Would a Recession Be for Hollywood?
Everyone from Jeff Bezos to Gwyneth Paltrow is talking about the likelihood of a deepening recession, with the Amazon founder advising Twitter followers on Oct. 19 to batten down the hatches and the Goop CEO confessing late- night worries about the economic outlook a few days earlier. Technically, the U.S. economy entered recession territory midyear, following the second straight quarter of decline in gross domestic product. But the economy has rallied in the past following such declines, leading some to argue we aren’t yet in a recession; the glass-half-full crowd points to low unemployment even amid rising inflation as an indicator we aren’t in such bad financial straits.
Global Streaming Is Still Growing, But Starting to Get Squeezed
Just over a decade after Netflix created the international SVOD market — with the launch of regional versions of its streaming platform, first in Canada, then worldwide — the battle over the future of global streaming has entered a new phase.
MLC Says Nearly $700MM In Royalties Distributed to Date to Members
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) formed after the Music Modernization Act, has distributed nearly $700 million in blanket royalties to its members.
The MLC held its second annual membership meeting last week, sharing some key metrics the group has met. It also announced that three current members of the MLC Board of Directors were each selected to serve a second three-year term on the board–initial terms were slated to end in October 2022.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/10/24/mlc-royalties-distributed-to-date-2022/
Ed Sheeran: Hacker who stole singer’s unreleased music is jailed
A hacker who stole two unreleased songs from Ed Sheeran and sold them on the dark web has been jailed for 18 months.
Adrian Kwiatkowski traded the music by Sheeran and 12 songs by rapper Lil Uzi Vert in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63348753
Salary Survey: What Hollywood Earns Now, From Stars to C-Suite Execs
As streamers grapple with the economic realities of writing overinflated checks to lure talent, and the pandemic has made studios more comfortable with the idea of day-and-date releases, the days of an eight-figure home run for talent and creatives are likely gone for good. Now, industry insiders say shifting pay models are causing a “gold rush” for TV actors looking for a big per-episode payday, while showrunners get rewarded for keeping a series on the air for at least two years with longevity bonuses, and experienced directors can use a “track record as a blunt object” in negotiations.
IMPALA Sets Sights On Increasing Digital Payouts As Recorded Music Revenues Lag Behind Pre-Streaming Levels
Europe’s Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) has rolled out an updated digital strategy that centers on increasing payouts from streaming services and compelling “all labels to pay fair contemporary digital royalties,” according to an official update.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/10/14/impala-digital-strategy-october-2022/?mc_cid=9807978681
#DoubleStat: @SenatorLeahy Says Show Me the Money on the MLC–@ArtistRights Watch
Readers will recall that the MLC is sitting on a pile of other peoples money (i.e., the Mechanical Licensing Collective, the DSPs one-of-a-kind joint venture quango mandated by the good folks from Washington who are here to help). We estimate that the MLC has got at least $500 million socked away at City National Bank in Nashville collecting dust–or interest. More on that later. This would include current black box plus $424 million or so in historical black box it voluntarily paid to the MLC by the DSPs–an inexplicably large sum given all the DSP audits over the years.
Netflix’s Data Vault Cracks Open a Little (For Its Advertising Partners)
If Netflix’s business models were structured like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the company would be about to enter Phase 3. Phase 1, of course, is when the company launched its DVD-by-mail service in 1999, transforming the way DVDs were rented. Phase 2 began in 2007, when it supplemented its DVD subscriptions with a streaming video-on-demand service, ushering in the modern era of streaming entertainment. Phase 3 of the Netflix Revenue Universe (the NRU?) will begin in earnest in November, when the company launches its advertising-supported streaming tier.
Record industry clamps down on AI-based music extractors that infringe on copyrights
In a bid to weed out copyright infringement in the music industry, record labels in the US are now targeting artificial intelligence-based music extractors and mixers online.
Streaming Remuneration: An answer to global cultural dominance by European/US Streaming Services
Streamers Lack of Local Cultural Contribution
Look at Spotify’s “Global Top 50” playlist on any day and the world’s biggest music service will show all or nearly all English language songs. With few exceptions these songs are performed by Anglo-American artists released by major record companies.
More artists sue Trax Records over allegedly unpaid royalties
A stack of artists have sued Trax Records, the Chicago-based label that played an important role in the development of house music in the 1980s. The plaintiffs claim that the label hasn’t paid them the royalties they are due and – in some cases – released their music without ever paying them anything at all.
Federal Judge Orders Slacker and LiveOne to Pay SoundExchange $9.8 Million In Owed Licensing Payments
LiveOne (formerly LiveXLive) and its Slacker Radio subsidiary have been ordered to pay about $9.77 million in owed licensing payments to SoundExchange, which filed a lawsuit against the audio-entertainment platform in June.
CRB Orders Phonorecords IV Settling Parties to File All ‘Supplemental’ Written and Oral Agreements Following Pushback
Earlier this month, leading music publishers and streaming giants including Spotify released an unredacted version of their Phonorecords IV settlement. But songwriter organizations then called for the disclosure of any “side” agreements, and the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has now ordered the parties to shed light upon deals related to (but not included in) the core settlement.
IMPALA again confirms opposition to ER on streams, while calling for focus on music’s “investment stream”
The pan-European trade group for the independent music sector, IMPALA, has again voiced its opposition to the extension of performer equitable remuneration to streaming, while calling for “all labels to pay fair contemporary digital royalties” to artists.
BMI announces shift to for-profit business model
US song rights collecting society BMI has announced plans to shift from operating on a not-for-profit business model to a for-profit business model. Why? Because doing so will “open up new and important opportunities for us to invest in our business and ensure we can continue to deliver on our mission to support our affiliates and grow the value of their music”. Or that’s what CEO Mike O’Neill reckons.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/bmi-announces-shift-to-for-profit-business-model/
Que Sera Sera writer’s daughter seeks dismissal of termination rights case filed by her daughter
The daughter of the late Jay Livingston – a prolific songwriter perhaps best known from co-writing ‘Que Sera Sera’ – has submitted a motion to the courts in Nashville seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed against her by her own daughter relating to Livingston’s copyrights and royalties.
Netflix signs up to ratings body Barb
Netflix has signed up to the TV ratings agency Barb, which means its audiences will be measured by an external, independent body for the first time.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63218707
Music Creators North America welcomes increased transparency on streaming rate deal
The Music Creators North America organisation has welcomed the decision by the US National Music Publishers Association and Digital Media Association to release in full details of the deal they have done regarding the royalties streaming services will pay to songwriters and music publishers in the US over the next five years. However, MCNA is still calling for the full release of any related “side agreements”.
Will Sunlight Win at the Copyright Royalty Board in Big Tech’s Latest Credibility Debacle?
There’s an old saying among sailors that water always wins. Sunlight does, too. It may take a while, but time reveals all things in the cold light of dawn. So when you are free riding on huge blocks of aged government cheese like the digital music services do with the compulsory mechanical license, the question you should ask yourself is why hide from the sunlight? It just makes songwriters even more suspicious.
Irving Azoff’s collecting society sues three US radio companies for copyright infringement
American collecting society Global Music Rights has sued three radio companies in the US for failing to secure licences covering the organisation’s songs. The accused broadcasters are “sophisticated media companies” that have “wilfully infringed” the copyrights of the songwriters GMR works with, the society argues in three lawsuits filed earlier this week.
When is “fair use” fair? In Warhol copyright case, Supreme Court could offer new answers.
Two deceased superstars, the artist Andy Warhol and the musician Prince, will take center stage at the nation’s highest court. No, it’s not one of those hologram concerts no one ever asked for — looking at you, Whitney Houston and John Lennon — it’s a Supreme Court case that could reshape federal copyright law.
Thinking Outside the Pie: @legrandnetwork Study for GESAC Highlights Streaming Impact on Choking Diversity and Songwriter Royalties
Emmanuel Legrand prepared an excellent and important study for the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) that identifies crucial effects of streaming on culture, creatives and especially songwriters. The study highlights the cultural effects of streaming on the European markets, but it would be easy to extend these harms globally as Emmanuel observes.
HYBE Acquires AI ‘Singing Voice Synthesis’ Company Supertone in $32MM Deal
Hybe has acquired AI tech startup Supertone in a deal worth an estimated $32 million. Supertone synthesizes realistic voices that can sing.
According to Korean media, the deal follows a 4 billion won ($2.8M) investment to acquire an 18% stake in the startup last year. Now media reports say Hybe finalized a deal to buy out Supertone completely.
Taylor Swift says Shake It Off song-theft accusers don’t even have the right to sue
As the song theft legal battle in relation to Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ rumbles on, at a court hearing yesterday attention turned to the argument that the songwriters suing Swift don’t even have the legal right to pursue the litigation.
Songwriters call for full transparency around US song royalty rate settlement deal
The Music Creators North America organisation has called on the US Copyright Royalty Board to make public the agreement reached between the music publishers and the streaming services regarding the rates to be paid by the latter for the streaming of songs in the years ahead. MCNA says that all songwriters need access to an “un-redacted copy of the agreement under consideration in its entirety, including any and all related or potentially related agreements”.
Streamers Use Playlists to Control the Music Industry
Paul Johnson’s life was like any other struggling musician’s—working multiple jobs, picking up gigs, hustling. Then his warm acoustic folk-pop tune “Firework” made it on to one of Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlists, designed to surface brand-new artists. Spotify and other streaming platforms invest heavily in playlists, ranging from the algorithmically generated Discover Weekly (which predicts new music subscribers might like) to the editorial RapCaviar (the most desired real estate in hip-hop). Playlist placements are highly coveted, both for how they rack up the streams—more than 7 billion in five years, in the case of RapCaviar—and the way they expose music to new listeners. The latter paid off for Johnson.
Read More: https://www.wired.com/story/spotify-streaming-playlists-music/
Will Roger Waters’ Explosive New Comments About Israel and Ukraine Sink a $500 Million Pink Floyd Catalog Sale?
While there’s been no official word, legendary British rockers Pink Floyd have been shopping their recorded-music catalog and other assets for several months, seeking as much as $500 million, according to the Financial Times, with both major music companies and investment firms as the top bidders. But sources say an explosive new interview with founding member, main songwriter and stakeholder Roger Waters — in which he makes extensive remarks about Israel, Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and other political matters that one could politely characterize as controversial — is giving at least one potential buyer cold feet and seems likely to lead others to rethink their positions.
Read More: https://variety.com/2022/music/news/roger-waters-israel-ukraine-pink-floyd-catalog-sale-1235392886/
Supreme Court won’t review copyright fight over Paramount’s ‘What Men Want’
The U.S. Supreme Court won’t weigh in on a copyright fight over the Paramount Pictures movie “What Men Want.”
The decision brings to an end at least part of author and screenwriter Joe Carlini’s multiyear fight with the Los Angeles-based studio over a script he co-authored and alleged the movie was based on.
RME Debuts, A Modern Rights Organization Fixing Digital Attribution, Royalty Payments
RME, the digital-first rights management organization, announced today the launch of its services to provide proper attribution and transparent royalty payments for creators worldwide.
Supreme Court To Hear Challenge To Liability Protections For YouTube And Other Tech Platforms
The Supreme Court agreed to hear challenges to the broad liability protections enjoyed by Google, Facebook and other social media companies for the third party content posted on their platforms.
Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/10/youtube-supreme-court-terrorist-videos-1235133576/
Bruce Willis’ Rep Refutes Report That He Sold His Digital Likeness to Deepfake Company
Recent reports claimed that the star had become the first Hollywood figure to sell his rights to a company for virtual appearances in film and marketing projects.
Negotiations for Covid-19 Safety Agreement Continue Between DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters
In September 2020, the various Hollywood unions negotiated the proper conditions for production to resume safely after the pandemic shut down most production in March of that year.
Read More: https://www.btlnews.com/news/return-to-work-agreement/
Musician clones herself into an AI deepfake voice
The Future. Berlin-based musician Holly Herndon released an AI tool, dubbed Holly+, that allows any artist to use an AI version of their voice for whatever song they’re working on. The tool is part of Herndon’s greater crusade of making AI a tool that artists can use for their benefit. It seems relatives themselves may need to be the ones to embrace the technologies that could replace them if they hope to control how they’re developed.
Read More: https://futureparty.com/stories/Holly-Herndon-AI-Deepfake-Voice
Licensing, Lawsuits and Revenue Sharing: Meta’s Evolving Relationship with the Music Industry
In late 1964, caught on the horns of the sterling crises in a rapidly changing environment, UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson reportedly quipped: “A week is a long time in politics.”
In the digital age, a week can feel like a lifetime as things happening over here can swiftly, and dramatically, be superseded by things happening over there.
On 20 July, Swedish music company Epidemic Sound filed a suit against Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) in San Francisco, alleging mass violations of its copyrights.
PRS announces plans for new portal offering easy access to song rights data
UK collecting society PRS For Music yesterday set out plans to launch a new online portal that will provide easy access to key data linked to the songs catalogue it represents, including the writers behind each song, and important codes like ISWC and IPI.
Judge declines to issue summary judgement in second song theft case over Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud
A US judge has declined to dismiss one of the song-theft lawsuits that alleges Ed Sheeran ripped off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’, concluding that a jury needs to consider whether the elements shared by the two songs are protected by copyright.
House passes antitrust bills targeting tech giants’ power
The House on Thursday passed a package of antitrust bills aimed at boosting antitrust enforcers’ ability to take on powerful tech firms in a 242-184 vote that split both parties.
Spotify Is Riddled With Fake Streams — Or Is It? Our Latest Podcast
Can you really trust the play counts on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube? To find out, we interviewed the CEO of a company with a sophisticated method for validating play counts on major streaming platforms. The answer to our question was surprising.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/09/29/spotify-fake-streams-legitary-podcast/?mc_cid=56076108cf
Meta criticises Epidemic’s copyright lawsuit over “vague assertions and glaring omissions”
Meta has told a US court that a lawsuit filed against it by production music firm Epidemic Sound has so many “vague assertions and glaring omissions” in it that it has been “left to try to guess” what it’s actually being accused of. With that in mind, the Facebook and Instagram owner would quite like said lawsuit to be dismissed.
American industry welcomes the launch of radio royalty proposals in US Senate
The American record industry has welcomed the introduction of formal proposals in the US Senate that would force AM and FM radio stations in the country to start paying royalties to artists and record labels for the first time. The bipartisan American Music Fairness Act – introduced by Republican Senator Marcia Blackburn and Democrat Alex Padilla – mirrors the proposals already on the table in the US House Of Representatives.
Social Media Giants to Top Creators: Your Terms of Service Have Changed
As short-form video explodes, YouTube, Twitch, Snap and other tech platforms are reasserting leverage with influencers in the area that matters most: how to divvy up subscription and ad revenues.
YouTube launches new music micro-licensing service for its video creators
YouTube yesterday announced a new service called Creator Music which aims to make it easier for creators on the video platform to use commercially released music in their content while still monetising their output.
YouTube Launches Revenue-Sharing Programs for Shorts, Music Licensing
The video giant will pool together the revenue from all Shorts ads and dole out that money to creators based on their share of total Shorts views.
Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/youtube-shorts-ad-revenue-sharing-1235223925/
Disney Loses Bid to Dismiss ‘Muppet Babies’ Reboot Copyright Suit
The order follows recent directives by a federal appeals court not to dismiss copyright cases too early.
Muppet Babies, a reboot of the 1984 animated series of the same name, premiered in 2018 with a slight twist: the pattern of the nanny’s socks change every episode. That variation spawned a copyright infringement lawsuit against Disney from Jeffrey Scott, a screenwriter of the original series, that was dismissed due to unusual circumstances surrounding his personal bankruptcy.
WGA West Elects Eight Board Members As Possible Writers Strike Looms In May
Eight WGA West members have been elected to the guild’s board of directors in a race that foreshadowed a possible writers strike next year.
Former board member Angelina Burnett was the top vote-getter, with 1,696 votes, followed by incumbents Ashley Gable (1,553 votes), Deric A. Hughes (1,531), Eric Haywood (1,447) and Travis Donnelly (1,304). Also elected were Raphael Bob-Waksberg (1,273), John Rogers (1,213) and Justin Halpern (1,005).
Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/09/wga-west-election-results-possible-writers-strike-1235123150/
Voltage Pictures, Copyright Owners Sue Comcast For Allowing Users To Pirate Films
Voltage Pictures and several dozen affiliates and copyright owners have sued Comcast for allegedly refusing to jettison Internet subscribers that repeatedly watch pirated films on illegal BitTorrent sites.
In previous years, Voltage stirred up controversy by going directly after individuals for violating copyright. This suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, takes on the nation’s biggest broadband provider. Copyright holders of The Dallas Buyers Club, I Feel Pretty and other works said Comcast received hundreds of thousands of infringement notices but took “no meaningful action.”
Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/09/voltage-pictures-copyright-infringement-comcast-piracy-1235120368/
Steve Cooper: Warner Music is becoming less financially dependent on superstar artists – and wants to see ‘regular’ streaming price rises
D’you know the best time to interview a C-suite executive at a giant music company? When they’ve already announced they’re leaving.
PACE welcomes court ruling on the live music tariff of Belgian collecting society SABAM
UK-based PACE Rights Management has welcomed a recent ruling in the Belgian courts regarding a dispute over the rates charged and methodology employed by song rights collecting society SABAM in the live music domain.
Miley Cyrus the latest artist to be sued over sharing pap photo on social media
Miley Cyrus is the latest musician to be hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit by photographer Robert Barbera over photos she posted to Instagram. He has previously sued Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa (twice), all of whom settled out of court.
Another shot for Rango (but, incidentally, the “fair use” defence in Italy has been shot too): Rome Appeal Court confirms there is no misappropriation nor infringement of the “Man With No Name” character
This blog has already covered the decision of the Rome Court of First Instance concerning a copyright infringement claim concerning a fictional character. The action had been brought by the producers of the movie “For a fistful of dollars” against the producers of the award-winner cartoon movie “Rango”, claiming unlawful use of the “The Man With No Name” character. As the authors of that post correctly summed up at that time, the core of the matter was that:
Read More: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/09/another-shot-for-rango-but-incidentally.html
Judge Denies Spotify’s Early Motion For Summary Judgement Against Kobalt In Eminem Publisher Legal Battle
A federal judge has officially denied Spotify’s early motion for summary judgement against Kobalt as part of a long-running legal battle centering on allegedly unpaid royalties for billions of Eminem streams.
2,000 artists and creatives in Ireland to be paid basic income of $330 per week under new pilot scheme
A total of 2,000 musicians, painters and writers in Ireland are set to receive a weekly basic income of €325 ($330) per week under a new scheme to be piloted by Ireland’s government.
Greensleeves settles with Chris Brown over alleged song theft
UK-based music firm Greensleeves has settled a legal battle with Chris Brown and his label over the allegations that the musician ripped off an earlier song that it publishes on his 2017 single ‘Privacy’.
Francisco Partners acquires majority stake in Kobalt
Private equity firm Francisco Partners has confirmed it is acquiring a majority stake in Kobalt, though the current management team at the music publishing company will remain in place following the takeover, and they say that the plan is to plough on with their “mission of being a positive transformative force for the benefit of all creators”. Lovely stuff.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/francisco-partners-acquires-majority-stake-in-kobalt/
WGA Collects Over $4 Million In Settlement With Amazon Over Unpaid Residuals
The WGA has settled an arbitration against Amazon, collecting more than $4 million in underpaid residuals and interest owed to 37 screenwriters on 31 films produced or acquired by Amazon. The settlement comes in the wake of a similar “self-dealing” arbitration that the guild recently won against Netflix, in which the guild collected $42 million in unpaid residuals on a total of 140 Netflix-produced films.
Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/09/writers-guild-amazon-residuals-settlement-1235110384/
ECSA says new GEMA study puts spotlight back on digital pie debate
The European Composer & Songwriter Alliance has welcomed a new report on the streaming market in Germany commissioned by German song rights collecting society GEMA which, it says, echos many of the findings of the UK Parliament’s Economics Of Music Streaming inquiry. In particular, that “streaming is booming but music creators are far from getting a fair share from music streaming revenues”.
Filmmakers Sue AT&T to Block Pirate Sites & Disconnect Repeat Infringers
A group of independent movie companies has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AT&T. The Internet provider, which has over 80 million subscribers in the US, faces far-reaching demands. In addition to millions in damages, the filmmakers want the ISP to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers and block access to sites such as The Pirate Bay and YTS.
Andreessen Horowitz wants to fix NFT copyright with its ‘Can’t Be Evil’ license
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is trying to clean up the messy state of crypto copyright. Last week, the company introduced what it dubs “Can’t Be Evil” licenses: a series of agreements that let creators grant non-fungible token owners partial or near-complete rights to NFT art. It’s fighting a problem many experts have called out — one that’s persistently undercut claims that NFTs let you “own” a work.
Nirvana win lawsuit over 1991 Nevermind album cover
A US judge has dismissed a man’s latest lawsuit against Nirvana over the band’s iconic 1991 album cover which showed him naked as a baby.
Spencer Elden, 31, said his appearance on the front of the Nevermind record constituted child sexual abuse.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62789436
Streaming services and music publishers reach deal on song royalty rates in the US
The streaming services and the US music publishers have reached a deal over the royalty rate paid by the former to the latter, which means neither side will have to go through the time and expense of a messy and contentious hearing before the US Copyright Royalty Board. This is good news for the services, publishers and songwriters. Less so for those of us who enjoy writing about messy and contentious CRB hearings!
Settlement Announced For Phonorecords IV Proceeding — Streaming Services Agree to 15.35% Headline Rate For 2023-2027
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and the Digital Media Association (DiMA) have officially unveiled a settlement agreement for the Phonorecords IV proceeding, which covers 2023-2027.
SAG-AFTRA Members Vote to Ratify Netflix Deal
SAG-AFTRA members have voted to ratify the union’s latest stand-alone contract deal with Netflix.
After the voting period ended Aug. 31, the vote was 89.03 percent in favor of the new contract, the union announced Wednesday. SAG-AFTRA and the streamer first reached the tentative deal in early August, and the union’s national board approved it just days after, recommending that union members vote “yes.”
Settlement Announced For Phonorecords IV Proceeding — Streaming Services Agree to 15.35% Headline Rate For 2023-2027
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and the Digital Media Association (DiMA) have officially unveiled a settlement agreement for the Phonorecords IV proceeding, which covers 2023-2027.
Larry Heard and Robert Owens settle Trax Records dispute, reclaim their music rights
Management firm TaP Music last week confirmed that Larry Heard and Robert Owens – prominent players from the 1980s Chicago house scene and two thirds of Fingers Inc – have settled their legal dispute with Trax Records, the label they worked with in the mid-80s. The deal confirms that the duo own all the rights in the music they released with the label.
Inventing Anna: Rachel DeLoache Williams sues Netflix for defamation
A former Vanity Fair photo editor has sued Netflix over how she was portrayed in the hit series Inventing Anna.
Rachel DeLoache Williams was among the real people who were depicted in the true-life drama about “fake heiress” Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorokin.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62727106
The Local Radio Freedom Act Has Majority Support in the House, NAB Says — Major Labels Fire Back Against ‘Meaningless’ Measure
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that the Local Radio Freedom Act is now backed by a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/08/29/local-radio-freedom-act-house-support/?mc_cid=5c91bb9ef1
Paramount Seeks to Throw Out ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Copyright Lawsuit
Paramount filed a motion on Friday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims that “Top Gun: Maverick” infringes on the copyright of the 1983 magazine article that was the source material for the original film.
Taylor Swift’s Lover book accused of ripping off elements of earlier poetry collection
Taylor Swift has been sued yet again over allegations that she has ripped off another creator’s work. Though this time it’s not a song-theft lawsuit. Instead, writer Teresa La Dart claims that a book that accompanied a deluxe version of Swift’s 2019 ‘Lover’ album contains various creative elements in common with a book of poetry she published in 2010, also called ‘Lover’.
17,000 people say the Internet Is already broken
As the leaders of the Artist Rights Alliance, Copyright Alliance, and CreativeFuture, we believe in the right of creative people to make a living through their creativity, ingenuity, and hard work. But that work is being undermined by the existential threat of digital piracy.
Read More: https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/3615621-17000-people-say-the-internet-is-already-broken/
Kobalt Music Removes All Music from Facebook, Instagram — And the Standoff Begins
Kobalt Music is removing its 700,000-song catalog from Instagram and Facebook due to license expiry.
The company says its music licensing agreement with Meta expired and the two parties have failed to reach a favorable agreement to renew. Kobalt Music administers songs for artists such as Childish Gambino, Foo Fighters, Billie Eilish co-writer FINNEAS, Beck, and many others.
AI rapper FN Meka dropped by Capitol over racial stereotyping
A record label has cut ties with an AI rapper after criticism it contained racial stereotypes, including repeated use of the N-word.
FN Meka is an artificial intelligence musician given the appearance of a black male cyborg.
But Capitol Music Group (CMG) faced a backlash for signing the rapper.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-62659741
Swedish Rights Collecting Society STIM Offers YouTubers Pre-Licensed ‘Hits’ for Videos
STIM, The Swedish Performing Rights Society, is now providing YouTubers unlimited access to a broad catalog of copyright-protected ‘hit’ music.
The Swedish Performing Rights Society, STIM, presents Cora Music, providing YouTubers unlimited access to a catalog of copyright-protected, high-quality music. For a monthly fee of €25, users can select from a broad music catalog and add tracks directly to their creative content with no additional costs or catches.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/08/24/stim-youtubers-one-stop-shop-music/?mc_cid=e4d9dbd5ad
Orleans Lawsuit Against WMG Reveals The Truth About Streaming Fees
There’s the old joke of three people interviewing for head of royalties. They’re all given the same complicated accounting problem. The first whipped out a calculator and started running numbers at the interview. After a couple hours, the work produced a result. The second asked if he could take it home and came back the next day with a result.
Google Fires Back Against Composer Maria Schneider’s Content ID Lawsuit: ‘YouTube’s Novel Copyright Management Tools Are So Powerful, They Must Be Used With Care’
YouTube has officially fired back against Grammy-winning jazz composer Maria Schneider and several other parties who are suing over alleged Content ID discrimination.
Hollywood Talent Agency Strikes Deal With Writers Guild to End Boycott
LOS ANGELES (CN) — The Writers Guild of America restored Hollywood talent firm Creative Artists Agency’s ability to represent screenwriters after agreeing Wednesday to end a nearly two-year legal battle over talent packaging fees.
11 Actors Who Made Over $20 Million For Just One Movie, And 11 Who Were Stupidly Underpaid
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michelle was paid $625,000 for her performance in All the Money in the World which earned her a Golden Globes nomination. In comparison, her costar Mark Wahlberg made $5 million — nearly ten times her pay.
UFC Sues Documentary Production Team in Copyright Dispute
At a time when The Last Dance, Athlete A, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist and other popular documentaries prominently feature copyrighted audiovisuals of athletes, the UFC is suing the producers of Bisping: The Michael Bisping Story over unauthorized video use. The case could set important precedent for leagues and the documentarians who seek their footage.
Read More: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ufc-sues-documentary-production-team-130000553.html
Eddy Grant to subpoena Donald Trump’s former Deputy Chief Of Staff in Electric Avenue campaign video dispute
In the wider scheme of things, ongoing litigation in relation to his unapproved use of Eddy Grant’s ‘Electric Avenue’ in a 2020 campaign video probably isn’t a major cause of stress for former US President Donald Trump. But that lawsuit proceeds, and now the Grant side has got an extension to the case’s discovery phase in order to subpoena Trump’s former Deputy Chief Of Staff Dan Scavino.
Megan Thee Stallion ramps up label dispute, demands a million dollars in damages
Following the recent release of her new album ‘Traumazine’, Megan Thee Stallion has ramped up her ongoing legal battle with her label 1501 Certified Entertainment, now seeking a million dollars in damages as well as court confirmation that she has fulfilled her obligations under her current record deal. She also accuses 1501 of leaking that new album and forcing her to fast track its release.
Venues Refuse to Pay Songwriters While Profiting from Their Music
ASCAP Seeks to Protect its Songwriters’ Livelihoods by Taking Legal Action Against 7 Venues Nationwide for Performing Their Musical Works Without Permission
Read More: https://www.ascap.com/press/2022/08/08-23-venues-refuse-pay-songwriters
Californian Supreme Court rules on free speech claims in Michael Jackson fake vocals dispute
The Californian Supreme Court has ruled against Sony Music and the Michael Jackson estate in regard to a free speech question that was raised after it was alleged that three tracks on the posthumous Michael Jackson album ‘Michael’ did not in fact feature the star’s vocals.
Orleans case sheds light on fees, fees, and more fees
There’s the old joke of three people interviewing for head of royalties. They’re all given the same complicated accounting problem. The first whipped out a calculator and started running numbers at the interview. After a couple hours, the work produced a result. The second asked if he could take it home and came back the next day with a result.
Read More: https://musictechpolicy.com/2022/08/22/orleans-case-sheds-light-on-fees-fees-and-more-fees/
BMI Announces Layoffs After Abandoning Goldman-Assisted Sales Pursuit
About one week after ending its pursuit of a more than billion-dollar sale, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) has announced a round of layoffs.
Team members were just recently informed of the unfortunate news via email, though at the time of this piece’s writing, none of the affected professionals appeared to have commented publicly on the matter. Similarly, the performance rights organization itself hasn’t yet addressed the subject with a statement on its website.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/08/22/bmi-layoffs-2022/?mc_cid=7608ba358a
Is there a green solution to the vinyl record backlog?
The backlog in the vinyl industry since the pandemic began means that artists and some music fans are having to wait around a year to receive their records.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62426472
Academy unearths long-lost ‘race films’ in Black cinema exhibit
Long before Denzel Washington, Spike Lee or even Sidney Poitier, generations of pioneering and revolutionary Black US filmmakers played a key role in shaping early American cinema and dispelling pejorative stereotypes, a major new Hollywood exhibition argues.
SiriusXM Is Now Compelling Spoken-Word Creators to Waive The ‘Rights to All Underlying Comedy Routines’
Last month, stand-up star Lewis Black became the latest comedian to sue SiriusXM’s Pandora amid a broader royalties dispute. Now, evidence suggests that SiriusXM is attempting to compel different comedy professionals yet to waive their composition rights, possibly in order to add albums to Pandora.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/08/18/siriusxm-pandora-comedians-battle/?mc_cid=052b58e43c
SAG-AFTRA’s Lobbying Efforts Helped Seal Exclusivity Deals With Netflix & AMPTP
A confluence of hard bargaining and legislative lobbying helped secure significant gains in two new agreements SAG-AFTRA reached earlier this month covering exclusivity, which are standard provisions in TV contracts that can hold TV series regulars off the market and unable to work for unreasonably long periods of time, guild leaders said in a podcast released on Thursday.
How to make movies without a huge carbon footprint
The green memo sent out by the production team of the programme Poldark asked that the location department use low-carbon suppliers of lighting and reusable batteries wherever possible.
The request was vague and the expectations unclear. But such requests are increasingly mainstream and point to the growing awareness in the film and TV industry of its carbon dioxide emissions.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62051070
How artists are exploiting lax metadata protections by streaming services
While the exact number is in dispute, in what has now become an infamous statistic, at a minimum music streaming services (“DSPs”) are ingesting tens of thousands of new tracks every single day.
At such a scale, metadata becomes a very thorny subject; DSPs, at the mercy of the quality of information provided to them, are sorting through an almost unmanageable wave of data.
YouTube Fights to Limit Data Disclosure in Battle with Grammy-Winning Composer Maria Schneider
In July of 2020, Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider sued YouTube over alleged Content ID discrimination. Now, about two weeks after a judge rejected the Google-owned platform’s motion to dismiss the long-running complaint, YouTube is fighting to limit the data that it must disclose.
A Closer Look at Trolley — The Canadian Fintech Taking Aim at Royalty Payment Complexity
Between today’s many royalty streams and their distinct tax implications, music industry payments are more complex than ever. Now, with a new name and a multimillion-dollar Series A under its belt, customizable payout platform Trolley is looking to optimize the royalties space.