News

The Jimi Hendrix estate and Sony Music have filed legal papers with the courts in New York seeking a declaratory judgement that agreements reached with other members of the Jimi … Continue reading "Jimi Hendrix estate goes to court following royalty claim from former Experience collaborators"

Advocates for the creative economy — from the head of a performing arts center to a venue owner, an actor and an Actors’ Equity exec — lobbied Congress today to … Continue reading "Performing Arts Reps Warn House Hearing Not To Let “Creative Infrastructure Of Our Economy Vanish” As Covid Continues But Aid Doesn’t"

Following a routine investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor has found no basis to overturn last year’s election of Fran Drescher as president of SAG-AFTRA. In rejecting protesters’ claims, the … Continue reading "Department Of Labor Finds No Basis To Overturn SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher’s Election"

Britney Spears may be free of the restrictive conservatorship that ruled her life for 13 years, but the Toxic singer’s ongoing battle with her father is about to go to … Continue reading "Britney Spears’ Fight Against Her Father Allegedly Feathering His Nest & Spying On Her Going To Mini-Trial"

Walt Disney’s chief executive Bob Chapek’s compensation totaled $34.46 million in fiscal 2021, up from $14.16 million the year before. Disney’s fiscal year ends in September. Chapek succeeded Bob Iger … Continue reading "Disney CEO Bob Chapek Earned $32M In FY2021; Former Chief Bob Iger’s Package At $46M"

Talent agency CAA’s acquisition of rival ICM Partners has reportedly been delayed due to an investigation by the US Department Of Justice’s competition law division. Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/caas-icm-takeover-on-hold-due-to-antitrust-investigation/

The back and forth continues in the ‘Shake It Off’ song-theft legal battle, with the songwriters who accuse Taylor Swift of ripping off their work insisting their litigation should now … Continue reading "Yet another legal filing in the long-running Shake It Off song-theft legal battle"

The man who appeared, as a baby, on the famous cover of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album has re-filed his litigation in relation to the artwork. And with the band arguing that … Continue reading "Nevermind baby re-files child pornography lawsuit against Nirvana"

Chris Brown and Drake have hit back at a song-theft claim which, they say, is “baseless”. Not only is there no credible explanation for how the two stars would have … Continue reading "Chris Brown and Drake hit back over No Guidance song-theft claim"

As Travis Scott’s legal team continue to plough through the plethora of litigation in relation to last year’s Astroworld festival, another entirely unrelated lawsuit has landed in their in tray. … Continue reading "Travis Scott sued over artwork used on unofficial compilation"

Following Nicole Scherzinger’s announcement last week that the Pussycat Dolls reunion tour was cancelled, the singer has now filed new court documents in the ongoing legal battle over her involvement … Continue reading "Nicole Scherzinger brands Pussycat Dolls lawsuit “meritless”"

The screenwriters behind the original 1987 movie and Disney’s 20th Century Studios have agreed to drop dueling copyright lawsuits over the rights to the script in a confidential settlement. Read … Continue reading "Disney, ‘Predator’ Screenwriters Settle Copyright Dispute"

The police investigation into what really went down on the set of Rust in October 2021 when Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is still ongoing, but today … Continue reading "‘Rust’ Armorer Sues Ammo Supplier Over Live Rounds That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins"

Elvis Costello has said that he will no longer perform his song ‘Oliver’s Army’ live, due to controversy over use of the N-word in the song’s lyrics. He has also … Continue reading "Elvis Costello to stop performing Oliver’s Army due to lyric controversy"

Judges in the US Ninth Circuit appeals court maintained their skeptical position yesterday regarding extending copyright protection to short segments of music. Or at least that’s how it seemed as … Continue reading "Dark Horse litigation back in court, but judges cautious of over-extending copyright"

It’s no secret that governments are actively trying to manage internet content. Committees of the Congress, the EU, as well as democratic and authoritarian governments everywhere have been seeking new … Continue reading "Is it time to go back to the future on internet content regulation?"

For internet creators, the year 2021 brought a wide range of legal issues and opportunities, many of which will have a lasting impact into 2022 and beyond. Read More: https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/01/11/content-creators-legal-cases-copyright-infringement/

The RADIO MUSIC LICENSE COMMITTEE (RMLC) has reached a conditional settlement agreement with IRVING AZOFF’s GLOBAL MUSIC RIGHTS (GMR), ending long-running lawsuits between the parties. GMR will send each broadcaster … Continue reading "Radio Music License Committee Reaches ‘Conditional’ Settlement With Global Music Rights"

EXCLUSIVE: A stinging lawsuit filed Monday by the composer of La La Land may leave WME wishing they’d been slipped the wrong envelope. However, unlike the Academy Awards’ Best Picture … Continue reading "WME Hit With Fraud Suit By ‘La La Land’ Composer Over Concert Packaging Deal; Agency Says Claims “Without Merit”"

Bob Dylan would like it to be known that judge Barry Ostrager was dead right when he dismissed a lawsuit filed by the estate of one of his former collaborators. … Continue reading "Bob Dylan urges court to uphold ruling in dispute with former collaborator’s estate"

About four months after Tencent Music (NYSE: TME) officially canceled its exclusive-music deals to comply with an order from the Chinese government, a copyright-oversight agency has barred all domestic streaming … Continue reading "China Prohibits All Music Platforms From Inking Exclusive Copyright Deals Following Tencent Music Crackdown"

Grammy and Oscar-winning singer/songwriter John Legend is the latest to cash in and has sold his music catalog to record label BMG and investment firm KKR, according to an insider … Continue reading "John Legend Sells Music Catalog to BMG and Investment Firm KKR"

People at the Copyright Office seem to get mad at me every time I suggest that the Copyright Office is captured by Hollywood, and pointing out how top officials there … Continue reading "Top Disney Lawyer To Become Top Copyright Office Lawyer, Because Who Cares About The Public Interest?"

Fans of chronology will almost certainly have noticed by now that it is a new year. This is traditionally a time for ablution, scouring the past and treating the calendar … Continue reading "Catch ’22: A Complete* List Of Absolutely Everything The Music Business Needs To Fix Or Get Rid Of In 2022 (*Almost)"

Back in September, the estate of Nipsey Hussle filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against a number of merchandisers for allegedly selling unauthorized products bearing the late rapper’s name and likeness. … Continue reading "Nipsey Hussle Estate Wins Restraining Order Against Counterfeit Merchandisers"

DGA Members, Start the new year off right by making sure the Guild has your updated contact information in order to keep you fully informed about the latest Guild news … Continue reading "Are You Up To Date Online?"

2022 figures to be another year of massive change in Hollywood. Three major deals — Amazon’s purchase of MGM, CAA’s merger with ICM, Discovery’s takeover of WarnerMedia — all are … Continue reading "Will Streaming Peak and 10 More Questions for Hollywood in 2022"

David Bowie’s estate has sold the publishing rights to his “entire body of work” to Warner Chappell Music, including hundreds of songs such as Space Oddity, Changes and Let’s Dance. … Continue reading "David Bowie: Singer’s estate sells rights to his entire body of work to WCM"

The Israeli startup DeepDub claims that it can dub films, television shows, and video games while retaining the pitch and tone of the original actors in any given process. This … Continue reading "Now the voice dubbing industry is being disrupted by AI"

The lawsuit over Nevermind’s album art that Spencer Elden lobbied against Nirvana was dismissed by a judge on Monday (Jan. 3) after Elden, the 30-year-old man photographed for the album … Continue reading "Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ Baby Album Cover Lawsuit Dismissed by Judge"

A 17-track album of Lou Reed demos dropped in Europe right before Christmas — before disappearing days later. The album was titled “I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos” and … Continue reading "Lou Reed Album Stealthily Dropped Before Christmas — Then Quickly Withdrawn"

A federal judge concludes that Wolfgang’s Vault lacked requisite license to stream hundreds of iconic songs. The Wall Street Journal once called Wolfgang’s Vault, a collection of thousands of live concert … Continue reading "Music Publishers Win Major Copyright Fight Over Streaming of Legendary Rock Concerts"

Numbers, those longtime pillars of the entertainment business, determiners of pay scale and quantifiers of the hot and the not, are vanishing from public view. Read More: https://deadline.com/2022/01/streaming-tv-ratings-movie-box-office-measurement-outlook-1234903058/

Hollywood’s guilds and unions saved the film and TV business in 2021. Working cooperatively with the industry’s companies, they adopted Covid-19 protocols that got production booming and their members safely … Continue reading "How Unions Saved Hollywood During The Pandemic And What’s In Store For 2022"

I don’t know about you, but my 2021 actually made 2020 look pretty, prettay, prettaay good by comparison. This was the year we actually had to try to pretend everything … Continue reading "The 5 Worst Copyright Decisions of 2021"

This week, Hammond and McCarthy get into a heavy topic these days in terms of the way we have viewed movies in the past, present and inevitably the future. It … Continue reading "Two Shot: Streaming Vs Theatrical – Can The Moviegoing Experience Still Be Saved?"

SAG-AFTRA and the Actors’ Equity Association have agreed to a six-month extension of an agreement they reached last year that settled a bitter jurisdictional dispute over the taping or streaming … Continue reading "SAG-AFTRA & Actors’ Equity Extend Agreement Over Taping Of Live Stage Shows During Pandemic"

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK – Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Actors’ Equity Association today announced an extension to their 2020 agreement addressing the … Continue reading "SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association Extend Pandemic Agreement"

The DGA membership overwhelmingly ratified the new collective bargaining agreement between the DGA and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, Inc. (AICP). Read More: https://www.dga.org/News/Guild-News/2022/Feb2022/122116_DGAMembershipRatifiesNewCommercialContract.aspx

2021 was many things for the music business – where everything throughout the year was sharpened and heightened because of the pandemic – but it was most certainly never boring. … Continue reading "The Valued Gap: 2021 in Review"

While the debate continues about how the good old digital pie is split between different stakeholders in the music industry, the spotlight fell on how another artist revenue stream is … Continue reading "Spotlight put on the merch commissions charged by venues"

A US judge has again declined to dismiss the long-running ‘Shake It Off’ song theft lawsuit, meaning that the songwriters who allege that Taylor Swift’s 2014 hit rips off a … Continue reading "Judge again refuses to dismiss Shake It Off song-theft lawsuit against Taylor Swift"

A court in Hamburg has basically banned often controversial secondary ticketing website Viagogo from selling tickets to Ed Sheeran’s 2022 tour dates. In Germany, at least. Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/ed-sheeran-secures-injunction-against-viagogo-over-touted-tickets-in-germany/

Abba have sued a UK-based company that stages tribute shows under the brand Abba Mania. That activity, the actual Abba say, is “parasitic” and constitutes trademark infringement. Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/abba-sues-abba-mania-for-trademark-infringement/

Comedians and other spoken word authors are seeking the same streaming royalties paid to songwriters, but an impasse has led to the removal of their works from Spotify. Read More: … Continue reading "It’s No Laughing Matter As Spotify Removes Comedy Tracks"

What does the future hold for the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund? Like so many aspects of a rapidly changing media business, that’s hard to predict. Read More: https://variety.com/2021/artisans/news/streaming-issues-residuals-american-musicians-1235125275/

The Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund every year pays thousands of musicians for their movie and TV work when it appears on cable, free TV, streaming services or home video. … Continue reading "Millions in Musicians’ Residuals Going Unclaimed, FMSMF Says"

In talks with producers through Dec. 2, TAG, through the #PayAnimationWriters hashtag, has called for parity between its members and their counterparts repped by the Writers Guild. Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/animation-guild-wages-contract-iatse-1235055746/#recipient_hashed=3a259dd7948fa5cf81748fd59fbfdb0cdc19448cf6f4bf505f19cde98578e9d3f

The former boss of EMI UK and former Chair of record industry trade group BPI, Tony Wadsworth, has criticised the copyright reforms set out in Kevin Brennan MP’s Copyright (Rights … Continue reading "Former EMI boss says Kevin Brennan MP’s proposed copyright reforms will “obliterate” the label investment model"

Trade groups representing various copyright industries – including music industry groups like AEPO ARTIS, ECSA, FIM, GESAC, IAO, ICMP, IFPI, IMPALA and IMPF – all signed a letter last week … Continue reading "Copyright groups criticise EU Council’s ‘general approach’ to Digital Services Act"

Article 17 has been a (the) leading buzzword of the copyright reforms of the European Union in recent years (at least half a decade already). The transposition deadline has now … Continue reading "What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s a-happening (around Article 17)? Tales from Hungary, Germany, Italy and Sweden"

A little over a year ago I started sharing my music with the world. At that point, I had been playing the piano for a few years and I felt … Continue reading "This Is What Music Streaming Services Pay Artists"

The public comments on the majors’ proposed settlement at the Copyright Royalty Board that freezes mechanical royalties on vinyl and CDs are again attracting first rate reporting and arguments. Public … Continue reading "#FrozenMechanicals Take 2: @sealeinthedeal Finds Some Facts on the NMPA Tax Return and MOU FAQ"

An assortment of organisations representing songwriters in America and beyond – led by the Songwriters Guild Of America, the Society Of Composers & Lyricists and Music Creators North America – … Continue reading "Songwriter groups make final submission to review of US royalty rates on discs and downloads"

Record companies, both majors and indies, are up in arms over suggestions from a British politician that signed artists should see a portion of their UK streaming royalties bypass the … Continue reading "Record labels really, really don’t like a new Bill that could – eventually – change how artists get paid in the UK"

Termination rights give authors and their heirs the opportunity to recapture ownership of their copyrights, though the process is often complex and arduous. In the following extract from his new … Continue reading "The Lucrative Afterlife of Music Estates – Heirs and Their Struggle Over Termination Rights"

The draft text has been published for Kevin Brennan MP’s Copyright (Rights And Remuneration Of Musicians etc) Bill which, among other things, sets out to apply performer equitable remuneration to … Continue reading "Kevin Brennan MP publishes copyright reforming bill he reckons will fix streaming"

The UK’s Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition have called on Domino Records to reconsider its decision to remove three Four Tet albums from streaming services as part of … Continue reading "MMF and FAC criticise Domino over Four Tet dispute, call for an end to life of copyright record deals"

The tech titans couldn’t have built their empires without songs—and now they are destroying the cultural ecosystem that made them rich Songs created Silicon Valley. Without music, it wouldn’t exist. … Continue reading "How Music Created Silicon Valley"

Adele has persuaded Spotify to take the shuffle button off all album pages so tracks play in the artist’s own order. The singer tweeted: “We don’t create albums with so … Continue reading "Adele gets Spotify to take shuffle button off all album pages"

Kieran Hebden – aka Four Tet – has hit out at Domino Records for removing three of his albums from streaming services, allegedly because of the ongoing legal battle between … Continue reading "Four Tet hits out at Domino for removing his albums from streaming services as legal battle over digital royalties continues"

Social media conglomerate Meta continues its tactic of buying buzz, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised in July that the company would pay $1 billion to creators by the end of … Continue reading "Facebook is paying musicians and creators up to $50,000 to use its live audio features"

“Pulp Fiction owner Miramax contends that Tarantino violated their agreements and copyrights when he decided to provide access to a part of his handwritten scripts. Are those physical scripts still … Continue reading "Tarantino Pulp Fiction Dispute Spotlights the Contentious Relationship between NFTs and IP Rights"

Back in 2019, WarnerMedia struck a deal for its soon-to-launch streaming platform HBO Max that secured exclusive domestic streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory for five years. The pact, … Continue reading "Why Streamers Are Stalling on Sharing Data"

Looking ahead at his schedule for the next year, MGM’s Mike DeLuca knows his Channing Tatum movie is in a tricky spot. “Dog,” which doubles as Tatum’s directorial debut, is … Continue reading "When Amazon Buys MGM, Hollywood Fears the Loss of Another Studio"

Britney Spears has described the termination of a legal arrangement that controlled many aspects of her life for 13 years as “the best day ever”. “I think I’m gonna cry,” … Continue reading "Britney Spears released from 13-year conservatorship"

“I Got You Babe.” That’s what Cher and Sonny Bono were singing to each other in the 1960s when they were married musical superstars. The following decade, however, the two … Continue reading "Divorce in the Digital Age: What Counts as Community Property?"

The interests of songwriters and their publishers aren’t aligned. So why is the most vocal songwriter advocate working for the music publishers? The rate hearings for “streaming mechanicals” are in … Continue reading "Why Songwriter Royalty Rates Won’t Be Changing Much — No Matter How Many Copyright Hearings Take Place"

MPs and music industry bodies have criticised the pay of Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG), who is set to earn more in 2021 than … Continue reading "MPs and music industry bodies criticise pay of Universal head Lucian Grainge"

A dispute over the fees charged by American performer unions AFM and SAG-AFTRA in relation to the payment of equitable remuneration royalties to session musicians in the US is seemingly … Continue reading "Legal dispute over US unions’ performer ER fees close to $8 million settlement"

While some countries have already adopted the DSM Directive into their own laws (last week it was the turn of Spain and Italy: see here and here), many are still … Continue reading "Transposing the DSM Directive: the draft Swedish implementation of Article 17"

In the first of what promises to be many lawsuits connected to the Astroworld Festival tragedy, a Texas man is suing festival backer Travis Scott, recording artist Drake, and show … Continue reading "Astroworld Tragedy Triggers Lawsuit Against Travis Scott, Drake & Live Nation"

Together with Spain, this week it has been Italy’s turn to transpose the DSM Directive into its own law. Next week, the Legislative Decree approved by the Council of Ministers … Continue reading "Italy has transposed the DSM Directive"

Spain has finally transposed the DSM Directive (DMSD), by means of a Royal Decree-law (RD-law), which was published in the Official Gazette on the 3rd of November. The same also … Continue reading "At last Spain transposes the DSM Directive"

A tax break for recording artists managed to make the cut in House Democrats’ latest version of President Biden’s $1.75 trillion-plus social spending bill — allowing music producers to deduct … Continue reading "Record scratch: Tax break for recording artists in Biden’s $1.75T spending bill"

UPDATED with more details from the proposed agreement: Almost a month after IATSE and the AMPTP said that they had reached a deal on a new film and TV contract … Continue reading "Read The Full IATSE-AMPTP Deal Memo Agreement Here"

The Chair of the European Parliament’s culture committee has asked the European Commission for clarity on when it will launch its study into the impact of a copyright ruling in … Continue reading "European Parliament’s culture committee demands action from European Commission on “reciprocity” approach to international royalties"

Anderson .Paak has announced that he is launching his own record label, Apeshit Inc, in partnership with Universal Music. “I wanted to start a label that sets fire to a … Continue reading "Anderson .Paak launches label for artists who can actually play"

Although the author worked under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement when he penned the movie, the right to ownership was governed by copyright law and not labor law. … Continue reading "Copyright case: Horror Inc. v. Miller, USA"

Obviously, the major music companies are doing very well for themselves. Warner Music Group has seen a $10bn growth in its valuation over the past 12 months. Sony Music just … Continue reading "YouTube’s ads business is now bigger than the entire global record business"

Jay-Z was yesterday given a chance to expand on why working with perfume company Parlux back in 2013 was so “frustrating”. Back to provide a second day of testimony in … Continue reading "Jay-Z lays into perfume company’s “crappy, lazy work” in ongoing legal battle"

Music royalties are confusing. Most of us are not trained music lawyers. We’re musicians trying to make a living. And you probably just want to know how to earn the … Continue reading "What Are Music Royalties (and How Can You Collect Yours)?"

The WGA has told its members not to work for Constantin Film Development, the powerhouse German production company behind such films as the Resident Evil franchise, Downfall and The Baader … Continue reading "WGA Tells Members To Stop Working For Constantin Film “Effective Immediately”"

Amazon Music has officially launched a pitching tool for artists, and in a stark contrast to some competing streaming services’ promotional programs, this tool doesn’t encompass a payola component. Read … Continue reading "Amazon Music Unveils Pitching and Promotion Tool for New Releases — But Unlike Spotify, Artists Can’t Pay for Placement"

IATSE leaders are urging their members to “stay united” and vote “yes” to ratify the tentative agreement for a new film and TV contract. In the latest message to their … Continue reading "IATSE Leaders Urge Members To “Stay United” & Ratify Proposed New Contract"

On the same week that it was reported that Netflix tweaked its search algorithms a year ago to hide French film Cuties and quash a controversy surrounding the movie, it’s … Continue reading "Netflix Says Its Algorithms Are Protected Under the First Amendment"

Earlier this month, we reported on news of a “new music & audio company inside Amazon” being led by former Techstars Music director Jen Hall. Now there may be more … Continue reading "Report: Amazon is making a user-generated music radio platform"

Like so many kids at the dawn of the new millennium, Michelle Maalouf knew the best place to get music was the internet. The then-teenager’s platform of choice was Kazaa, … Continue reading "Music’s Whac-A-Mole Menace: How the Moldy, Lopsided DMCA is Hurting Artists"

Disgraced Hollywood film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein cut short the theater run of Oscar sensation Good Will Hunting in 1997 to mess with Robin WIlliams’ career, according … Continue reading "Greedy Harvey Weinstein pulled Good Will Hunting from theaters early despite Oscar buzz to cut Robin Williams’ share of the profits, producer claims"

Inefficient cue sheet administration is a huge legacy problem for the music industry, but major steps are being taken to modernise the process for the digital age. Eamonn Forde examines … Continue reading "Cue Jumpers: The Moves to Get Cue Sheets Ready for the Digital Age"

The MBW Review is where we aim our microscope towards some of the music biz’s biggest recent goings-on. This time, we delve into documents filed by music streaming services with … Continue reading "Here’s exactly what Spotify, Apple and other streaming services want to pay songwriters from 2023 onwards."

The Rust production team released a letter to the crew of the Alec Baldwin feature tonight saying that they’ve “made the decision to wrap the set at least until investigations … Continue reading "‘Rust’ Production Wrapping Set “Until The Investigations Are Complete” In Wake Of Tragedy On Alec Baldwin Movie"

In an unusual–if not historic–move, the Copyright Royalty Board has decided to re-open public comments in the controversial “frozen mechanicals” rate hearing to set the government rate for mechanical royalties … Continue reading "Copyright Royalty Board Reopens Public Comments in Controversial #FrozenMechanicals Hearings"

Last week, National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) president and CEO David Israelite claimed that streaming services were demanding “the lowest royalty rates in history” ahead of the Copyright Royalty Board’s … Continue reading "Streaming Services Officially Publish Their 2023-2027 Mechanical Rate Proposals — This Is Gonna Be an Uphill Battle for Publishers"

We’re pleased to say that — thanks to our dedicated distribution team — we were able to pay out one of our largest distributions ever. Find out what that means … Continue reading "Directors UK foreign distributions grow by over £1m year on year"

Direct-to-Consumer chief Andy Forssell is, however, closely watching Netflix’s numbers: “we pay attention to the numbers Netflix puts out because that’s the scoreboard for us to matter in that.” Read … Continue reading "Don’t Expect HBO Max to Release Viewership Figures Anytime Soon"

Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) has officially unveiled a merch-store partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), and the deal will allow artists to feature up to three products on their Spotify … Continue reading "Spotify Announces Shopify-Powered Merch Options — Including Integration On Artist Profiles"

The KLF’s music publisher is seeking to block the screening of a documentary about the duo on the basis that tracks which feature in the film have not been licensed. … Continue reading "KLF publisher seeking to block documentary on copyright grounds"

The major music companies will not be fond of this news. Last month, the UK government responded to a major label-bashing report about the economics of streaming with a notably … Continue reading "Major record companies feel the heat as UK competition watchdog launches new study into music streaming"

This guest column was written by David Israelite, president & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners. Variety welcomes … Continue reading "The Problem With Digital Radio’s Payment System (Guest Column)"

The UK’s competition regulator, the Competition & Markets Authority, has this morning announced that it plans to launch a market study into music streaming. Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/uk-competition-regulator-announces-market-study-into-music-streaming/

A British motion picture studio is suing a director for allegedly reneging on his promise to shoot the upcoming fourth installment of the “The Expendables” film franchise. Read More: https://mynewsla.com/orange-county/2021/10/19/film-studio-sues-alleges-director-walked-out-on-action-thriller-film/

CAA co-chair Richard Lovett said the agency’s battle with Warner Bros. and Walt Disney over client compensation – conflicts that in the past have rarely spilled into view publicly – … Continue reading "CAA’s Richard Lovett On Fighting For Client Pay When “Streamers Are Not Anxious To Share Their Data”"

If you don’t know the history, you may think that songwriters are paid so little because somehow they don’t deserve more. That’s not true. The reason that songwriters are paid … Continue reading "Two Is the Loneliest Number: Why are songwriters punished for 1909?"

A lawsuit filed against Lil Wayne by his former manager and legal advisor has been dismissed on jurisdiction grounds, although new litigation could as yet be filed in another US … Continue reading "Lil Wayne’s legal battle with former manager dismissed on jurisdiction grounds"

Heather Fink has spent her working life on film and TV sets. But years of frustration with the long hours and stagnant pay had made her reach her tipping point. … Continue reading "After IATSE Strike is Averted, Hollywood Workers are Split Over Agreement: ‘It’s Not Enough’"

EXCLUSIVE: With Hollywood on edge and picket signs at the ready, IATSE and the AMPTP have reached an agreement on a new film and TV contract, averting a threatened nationwide … Continue reading "Hollywood Strike Averted As IATSE & AMPTP Reach Deal On New Film & TV Contract"

Among those walking back or contextualizing their initial reactions was Adam McKay, who copped to deleting a Tweet congratulating IATSE on their new deal. “I posted it an hour after … Continue reading "Hollywood Weighs Pros And Cons Of New IATSE Contract As More Details Emerge – Update"

Late yesterday (October 14), the National Music Publishers’ Association made the claim that a number of digital service owners – including Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and Google – are trying to … Continue reading "Most people agree that Spotify should pay songwriters more. But where’s this money going to come from?"

In an “FAQs” document sent to Local members on Thursday, the union offered guidance around “scabbing,” health care, unemployment benefits and travel if it calls a mass work stoppage in … Continue reading "IATSE Strike Plan Details: How the Picket Line Would Work"

75-year-old singer and actress Cher is officially suing Mary Bono, the fourth wife of Sonny Bono and trustee of the Bono Collection Trust, for allegedly attempting to terminate components of … Continue reading "Cher Sues Mary Bono, Trustee of Sonny Bono’s Estate, Over Royalty-Termination Notice"

You might want to sit down for this one, songwriters. Music streaming service owners including Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pandora and Google have all filed documents with the US Copyright Royalty … Continue reading "Spotify and other streaming services propose ‘lowest royalty rates in history’ for songwriters"

On 7 October, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) and Writers & Directors Worldwide (W&DW) co-hosted a virtual panel entitled … Continue reading "During an online talk, screenwriters and directors call for fair rights and remuneration"

Richard Finch – a founder member of KC & The Sunshine Band who co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits – has sued EMI Longitude Music, part of Sony Music … Continue reading "Former KC & The Sunshine Band member Richard Finch sues Sony Music Publishing in termination right dispute"

The Ninth Circuit appeals court in the US has declined to overturn a judgement in a lower court that dismissed a song-theft claim against The Weeknd by British songwriters Brian … Continue reading "US appeals court backs The Weeknd in song-theft dispute with British songwriters"

IATSE and the AMPTP have ended their fifth day of do-or-die contract talks and will resume bargaining for a new film and TV pact on Monday. But if a deal … Continue reading "Fifth Day Of Do-Or-Die IATSE Contract Talks Wrap; Will Resume Monday"

In a word: Stagflation. Maybe. In more words, classic stagflation occurs when supply side shocks lead to the costs of goods increasing while the real economy declines. We certainly have … Continue reading "Why Songwriters Should Care About Inflation Protection for Mechanical Licenses"

Chris Brown and Drake ripped off an earlier track when they wrote their 2019 collaborative song ‘No Guidance’, according to singer Braindon Cooper and producer Timothy Valentine. Not only that, … Continue reading "Chris Brown and Drake accused of song-theft on No Guidance"

It’s typical for Hollywood’s labor unions to support for each other during labor disputes, but the support for IATSE during its current contract dispute with film and TV producers goes … Continue reading "How IATSE’s Strike Threat Sets the Stage for Hollywood Guilds’ Coming Fight Over Streaming"

The IATSE, the union for production crew members working on movies, TV, and live stage events (you’ve absolutely seen the group’s logo, even if you’ve never considered what its members … Continue reading "Here’s how the IATSE’s strike vote over unfair wages and unsafe conditions could shut down Hollywood"

In the 1930s and ’40s, five major Hollywood studios dominated the film industry and tried to lock up distribution and exhibition channels as well by taking over movie theaters across … Continue reading "Don’t Let Amazon Eat the Film Industry"

Spotify is cracking down on fake streams with promises to withhold royalties and remove content. Fake streams are plays of music by bots, hijacked accounts, or other inauthentic listening methods. … Continue reading "Spotify Issues Stern Warning on Fake Streams — Promises to Withhold Royalties and Remove Content"

With the streaming revolution breathing new life into a once-moribund music industry collapsing under plummeting CD sales and rampant piracy, the world’s biggest record companies – Universal Music, Sony Music … Continue reading "‘Odds are against you’: the problem with the music streaming boom"

Speaking in the context of the ongoing streaming rates for musicians and writers, Ulvaeus said the industry placed little value on songwriters thanks to the low returns streaming brings. Speaking … Continue reading "ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus says music industry places “very little” value on songwriters"

A judge has suspended Britney Spears’ father from the legal arrangement that gave him control of her life after Spears accused him of years of abuse. Jamie Spears was appointed … Continue reading "Britney Spears’ father suspended as conservator"

Scarlett Johansson and Disney quickly buried the hatchet over the online release of Black Widow, settling a lawsuit between the star and the studio on Thursday. Johansson, 36, filed her … Continue reading "Disney settles with Scarlett Johansson after she sued for $50million in lost earnings after Marvel’s Black Widow was released online"

new study has revealed that only approximately 720 of musicians in the U.K. earn enough money from music streaming to sustain a living. Analyzing data from 2014-2020—along with focus groups … Continue reading "New Study Reveals Fewer Than 800 U.K. Musicians Make Livable Wage From Music Streaming"

The long-running legal battle over the players playing and the haters hating in Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ could still end up before a jury, with the judge overseeing the … Continue reading "Long-running Shake It Off song-theft case still likely to head to a jury"

A judge in New York has declined to dismiss Eddy Grant’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Donald Trump over the use of the former’s track ‘Electric Avenue’ in one of the … Continue reading "New York judge declines to dismiss Eddy Grant’s copyright case against Donald Trump"

In July this year, the Federal Court of Australia handed down a decision in Stephen L. Thaler [2021] APO 5, which allowed listing AI system DABUS as an inventor in … Continue reading "Australian court says that AI can be an inventor: what does it mean for authors?"

Disney has stepped up its fight to retain control of the copyright on several of its Marvel heroes including Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor. The entertainment giant has been locked … Continue reading "Disney steps up fight to protect Marvel franchise as firm’s lawyers file slew of lawsuits to hold on to copyright on several superheroes including Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor"

During this year’s Code conference, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos shared a significant haul of data about some of the streaming giant’s top titles — a rare … Continue reading "Netflix reveals how many accounts are actually watching its top titles"

Directors UK is pleased to announce the launch of Creating Positive Collaborations: Writers & Directors, in partnership with The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB). With 87% of people working … Continue reading "Creating Positive Collaborations: guidelines for writers and directors published"

Spotify is cooking up even more ways to pay artists less — while charging them more. Now, Spotify wants artists to pay to reach fans they already have via a … Continue reading "Spotify’s New “Marquee” Promotion Feature Is Forcing Artists to Pay to Reach Fans They Already Have — As Much as $0.50 Per Click"

The daughter of the couple who created Thunderbirds is threatening legal action against ITV over millions of pounds in lost royalties. Dee Anderson claims her stepfather Gerry Anderson woefully undervalued … Continue reading "EXCLUSIVE: Thunderbirds are go…ing to court! Daughter of couple behind hit puppet series threatens legal action against ITV over millions of pounds she claims her mother was owed in royalties"

The guild, which represents an estimated 8,000 picture and sound editors as well as additional postproduction workers, is among the largest of the 13 Hollywood Locals that are currently in … Continue reading "Editors Guild Board Votes Unanimously to Recommend Members Back Strike Authorization"

“We still want to deal. That’s our goal. And the best way to get a deal is to have a strong strike authorization vote. We can avoid a strike if … Continue reading "Cinematographers Guild Urges Members to Back IATSE Strike Authorization Vote"

IATSE’s strike-authorization vote will be getting underway soon. Grips Local 80 said that it will hold its vote from October 1-3, and Prop Local 44 told its members at a … Continue reading "IATSE Strike-Authorization Vote Will Begin October 1"

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2021 — As more and more consumers subscribe to online, direct-to-consumer audio-visual platforms, ASCAP is immediately expanding its existing TV Premium payment plan to include eligibility … Continue reading "ASCAP Expands Royalty Premium Payment Plan for Music in Top Streamed Shows on Online Streaming Services"

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has joined the chorus of actors voicing their support for IATSE’s demands for a fair contract as IATSE prepares to take a strike-authorization vote. “Standing in … Continue reading "Fran Drescher & Other SAG-AFTRA Leaders Join Chorus Of Actors Supporting IATSE’s Demands For Fair Contract"

Everywhere you look these days, the signs are hard to miss that the growth of streaming is driving an economic restructuring of the entertainment business. While that’s disruptive enough to … Continue reading "The Rights & Royalties Revolution in Music and Media: A VIP+ Special Report"

Abba star Bjorn Ulvaeus has launched a campaign to ensure musicians don’t miss out on millions of pounds in royalties. Called Credits Due, the scheme aims to ensure all songwriters … Continue reading "Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus launches campaign to fix £500m music royalty problem"

September 22nd, 2021 – Music authors societies and publishers have completed a global project to harmonise the reporting of data for musical works used in commercials. The initiative will make … Continue reading "Societies and publishers complete global project to harmonise data reporting for music in commercials"

There aren’t many in the business who now aren’t aware of – or even disagree with – Merck Mercuriadis‘ belief that songwriters deserve to get paid a bigger percentage of … Continue reading "Merck Mercuriadis: ‘None of us should be able to sleep in good conscience at night until the true value of the songwriters’ contributions to this business are recognized.’"

It’s been a long time coming, but the U.K. Government’s response to the recent report into the economics of music streaming has finally arrived. However, anyone hoping for a neat … Continue reading "U.K. Government Calls for Further Research Into Music Streaming Sector; Keeps Options Open"

The vote, which would allow international union president Matthew D. Loeb to order a strike if members authorize it, will be “nationwide,” according to the union. Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/iatse-strike-authorization-vote-amid-stalled-contract-talks-1235015756/#recipient_hashed=3a259dd7948fa5cf81748fd59fbfdb0cdc19448cf6f4bf505f19cde98578e9d3

The streaming giant, which already has a long-term lease at Shepperton Studios and has reaffirmed its pledge to spend $1 billion in the U.K. in 2021, will “operate and significantly … Continue reading "Netflix Expands U.K. Presence With Lease at U.K.’s Longcross Studios, Home to ‘Star Wars,’ Bond"

Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis has been leading the demands for songs (as opposed to recordings) to get a bigger share of streaming royalties. It’s a campaign that led to criticism … Continue reading "Hipgnosis is launching a new songwriters guild in the US"

If anyone connected to The Mechanical Licensing Collective, Inc. quango brings up the $424,000,000 black box payment that the MLC received in February as part of services claiming their safe … Continue reading "Songwriters and Publishers Ask the MLC: Where’s my money?"

Sir Elton John has requested an urgent meeting with new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries over post-Brexit rules which have hit the ability of musicians to tour the EU. The rock … Continue reading "Sir Elton John requests urgent meeting with new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries over post-Brexit visa rules that have hit musicians trying to tour EU"

Los Angeles — Director Lesli Linka Glatter was elected President of the Directors Guild of America by acclamation by the delegates at the Guild’s National Biennial Convention held today at … Continue reading "Lesli Linka Glatter Elected DGA President; Officers and Board of Directors Also Elected"

A California federal judge says established precedent supports the app’s argument that third parties embedding Instagram posts aren’t committing copyright infringement, so the social giant can’t be liable for enabling … Continue reading "Instagram Beats Photographers’ Suit Over Embed Feature"

Streaming continues to grow strongly, as evidenced by the 28% growth reported by the RIAA for H1 2021 in the US. Everything looks great for the build-up to the impeding … Continue reading "‘Middle class’ artists need niche, not scale"

SoundCloud says that an Abba cover posted to its platform by Portishead received six times more royalties because the company employs a user-centric system for distributing monies to its community … Continue reading "SoundCloud says user-centric boosted the royalties for Portishead’s SOS by 500%"

Universal Music’s stock market debut next week it set to land its boss Lucian Grainge an around $150m pay out, while he also cashes in on his Tencent investment. Read … Continue reading "Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge locks eyes on $150m IPO pay out"

The Copyright Royalty Board has released an edited version of its decision which set the royalty rates that radio stations will pay for online streaming in the coming years. Despite … Continue reading "CRB Rejected Move To Create Separate Streaming Rate For Simulcasts. Now We Know Why."

US boy band Why Don’t We have accused one of their managers of “mental, emotional and financial abuse” by making them “hostages in our own home” and restricting their food. … Continue reading "Why Don’t We: US boy band accuse manager of mental and financial abuse"

Hollywood giant Walt Disney Co said the rest of its 2021 films will screen exclusively in cinemas before being made available for streaming. The decision is a boost to struggling … Continue reading "All of Disney’s 2021 movies to debut exclusively in cinemas"

For two decades, New Zealand’s vertiginous mountain ranges and sweeping valleys have been synonymous with big-screen versions of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. The movies have raked … Continue reading "Hooray for Blightywood! Movie-makers and stars flock to the UK as wokery and Covid bring Tinseltown to a standstill (as one LA insider exclaims: ‘You guys are eating us for breakfast’)"

Disney announced on Friday that upcoming 2021 films “Eternals,” “The Last Duel,” “West Side Story,” “Ron’s Gone Wrong” and “The King’s Man” will get exclusive, 45-day theatrical windows before moving … Continue reading "Disney Releasing ‘Eternals,’ ‘Encanto’ Exclusively in Theaters"

Actor Zachary Joseph Horwitz has agreed to plead guilty to running a massive Hollywood Ponzi scheme that promised nonexistent film rights to investors. Horwitz will plead guilty to one count … Continue reading "Actor to plead guilty in $650 million Hollywood Ponzi scheme involving fake HBO, Netflix deals"

The new singing competition show from FOX, Alter Ego, features a unique twist on the old formula: rather than performing songs in front of the judges, the amateur contestants are … Continue reading "Virtual artists are an opportunity for the music business – not an enemy"

Spotify playlist curators say the platform isn’t doing enough to combat bad faith copyright abuse complaints. Curators say playlists are being reported for a variety of reasons, though oversight is … Continue reading "Spotify Playlist Curators Says Copyright Abuse Is On the Rise — And Spotify Isn’t Doing Much About It"

Apple Music announced today that it’s created a process to properly identify and compensate all of the individual creators involved in making a DJ mix. Using technology from the audio-recognition … Continue reading "Apple Music is using Shazam to solve the streaming industry’s problem with DJ mixes"

Although the contract between a makeup artist and her publisher described the artist as the author of the book, the dispute still arose under the Copyright Act because “author” is … Continue reading "Copyright case: Di Angelo Publications Inc. v. Kelley, USA"

Britney Spears’ father has filed papers in a Los Angeles court to end the 13-year conservatorship that saw him overseeing her life and finances. Jamie Spears wrote that his daughter … Continue reading "Britney Spears’ father formally files to end conservatorship"

IATSE is gearing up for a possible strike against the film and television industry, which would be the first industry-wide strike in the union’s history. The union and management’s AMPTP … Continue reading "IATSE Gearing Up For Possible Strike Against Film & TV Industry"

The Featured Artists Coalition and Music Managers Forum have today published a new white paper on the UK Parliament’s recent lengthy report on the economics of music streaming. Read More: … Continue reading "FAC and MMF publish white paper on Parliament’s big streaming report"

Nicole Scherzinger is being sued by the founder of the Pussycat Dolls after allegedly refusing to take part in the group’s previously-announced reunion. Choreographer and founder Robin Antin claims Scherzinger … Continue reading "Nicole Scherzinger sued by Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin"

Artists and bands must swap private jets for trains, festivals and venues need to generate more of their own renewable energy and gig tickets should include free public transport. Read … Continue reading "Climate change: Massive Attack gig data to cut live music impact"

Climate scientists from the University Of Manchester have made a number of recommendations on how to mitigate the environmental impact of touring. This follows analysis of data collected on Massive … Continue reading "Climate scientists make low carbon live music recommendations based on Massive Attack touring data"

LOS ANGELES — For some, she’s fondly remembered as promoter “Bobbi Flekman” in the 1984 cult classic This is Spinal Tap. Most people know her as “The Nanny.” Read More: … Continue reading "‘The Nanny’ Actress Elected New SAG-AFTRA Leader"

The PayPerformers campaign has again called for the introduction of a Europe-wide “unwaivable remuneration right for performers” in relation to streaming, arguing that “the current contractual system” for sharing out … Continue reading "PayPerformers says the “contractual system” for sharing out streaming income isn’t working"

Britney Spears’ lawyer wants Jamie Spears to resign as the conservator of his daughter’s estate, without the multimillion dollar payout that he is requesting. In a new court filing obtained … Continue reading "Britney Spears’ lawyer requests her father resign as conservator without payout"

Increasing numbers of musicians and other owners of music royalty streams are looking to capitalize on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by selling NFTs associated with music royalty streams. But selling such … Continue reading "NFTs and Music Royalty Streams: 5 Legal Issues To Be Aware Of"

YouTube’s latest blog post about the European Copyright Directive is a mix of existing stats ($4bn paid to the music industry in the last year; $30bn paid to media companies, … Continue reading "YouTube expands Copyright Match Tool to more rightsholders"

We’re caught between ‘painting the Forth Bridge’ and ‘playing whack-a-mole’ as the best metaphor for the music industry’s work fixing dodgy metadata. Perhaps it’s a combination of the two: an … Continue reading "PPL and Veva Sound to tackle inaccurate recordings metadata"

Like most copyright systems, French copyright law does not leave much room for the freedom of authors of transformative graphic works (also called “derivative works”). Three interesting cases on derivative … Continue reading "Derivative works: the Adventures of Koons and Tintin in French copyright law"

Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ finally came out on Sunday, but if you thought that would finally end the long-drawn out saga that has been the release of this album, well, you … Continue reading "Kanye West claims Universal released Donda without his approval"

As the big debate on the economics of streaming continues, today CMU Insights has published a new guide explaining if and how performers get paid whenever their performances are streamed … Continue reading "CMU publishes new guide on performer payments from streaming"

Arguably one the of the biggest challenges facing the music industry is what comes next. Streaming has provided the short term answer but how do fandom and social platforms work … Continue reading "Music’s Next Big Challenge: Licensing for the New Wave of Social Platforms"

Ever since hip-hop became pop’s lingua franca, crafty producers have created new hits using samples from obscure records, often without credit. Read More: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sample-amnesty-will-let-artists-keep-royalties-if-they-declare-material-lifted-other-musicians-10480001.html

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that California Civil Code section 980(a)(2), which grants “exclusive ownership” of a sound recording fixed before February 15, … Continue reading "A Seismic Ruling Undone: California’s Sound Recording Copyright Statute Does Not Include Public Performance Rights—Flo & Eddie v. Sirius XM (Guest Blog Post)"

Kanye West has claimed his label, Universal Music Group, released his much-delayed 10th studio album Donda without his approval. West made the allegation shortly after the album was finally released … Continue reading "Kanye West: Donda released by Universal without my say, artist claims"

Ryan Tedder is the man every pop star wants in their contact book. With writing credits for Adele, Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Lil Nas X – … Continue reading "Ryan Tedder: Classic songs are strangling new music"

Is artificial intelligence now so advanced that it could write a play? If so, should we be worried about where it is heading? Those are two of the questions we … Continue reading "Tech Tent: Can AI write a play?"

Key figures from major broadcasters, streaming services and unions in the British TV industry have joined forces to pledge to improve working practices for freelancers in across the sector in … Continue reading "BBC, Amazon, Sky, Channel 4 & More Sign Charter To Improve Working Practices For UK TV Freelancers – Edinburgh"

Spencer Elden, the man who was photographed as a baby on the album cover for Nirvana’s Nevermind, is suing the band alleging sexual exploitation. The cover depicts Elden as a … Continue reading "Nirvana sued by the baby from Nevermind’s album cover"

John Fithian, the chief of the National Association of Theater Owners, is here to reiterate one thing: Moviegoing is not dead. Yes, it’s been a bleak 28 months since CinemaCon, … Continue reading "Theater Owners Chief John Fithian Doubles Down on Streaming Debate: ‘Simultaneous Release Does Not Work for Anyone’"

CinemaCon 2021: New releases appear on torrent sites faster than ever thanks to rapidly improved technology Read More: https://www.thewrap.com/cinemacon-warning-movie-piracy/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking_news_5678745

The proposed Film Censorship Ordinance gives the city’s censors wider powers and increases the maximum jail sentence to three years for illegal screenings. Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/hong-kong-censorship-2-1235002085/#recipient_hashed=3a259dd7948fa5cf81748fd59fbfdb0cdc19448cf6f4bf505f19cde98578e9d3

Spotify announced a second billion dollar stock buy back last week which means they have $1 billion in free cash that they will spend, not for paying artists, not for … Continue reading "It’s All About the Stock: Tone deaf Spotify Insiders Vote for Stock Buyback to Juice Their Share Price While Congress Questions Streaming Payola — @ArtistRights Watch"

California has some of the most artist-friendly law in the land, and it may get friendlier if Sacramento passes a bill allowing musicians and episodic TV actors to exit exclusive … Continue reading "Musicians And Actors Love California’s FAIR Act – But Companies Eye Exit If It Passes"

Spotify announced a second billion dollar stock buy back last week which means they have $1 billion in free cash that they will spend, not for paying artists, not for … Continue reading "It’s All About the Stock: Tone deaf Spotify Insiders Vote for Stock Buyback to Juice Their Share Price While Congress Questions Streaming Payola"

New York (CNN Business)Disney is releasing more details about the financial performance of “Black Widow” as the company pushes to have a lawsuit brought by Scarlett Johansson — the film’s … Continue reading "‘Black Widow’ streaming numbers fire up the ScarJo vs Disney lawsuit"

John Lydon has lost a High Court battle to stop the Sex Pistols music from being used in a new TV drama. Former drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones … Continue reading "John Lydon loses court battle to stop Sex Pistols songs being used in a new TV series"

Spotify announced a second billion dollar stock buy back last week which means they have $1 billion in free cash that they will spend, not for paying artists, not for … Continue reading "It’s All About the Stock: Tone deaf Spotify Insiders Vote for Stock Buyback to Juice Their Share Price While Congress Questions Streaming Payola"

China has never had a more powerful presence in the global music industry. In 2020, according to IFPI data, China was the seventh biggest recorded music market in the world, … Continue reading "China is banning music that ‘insults or defames others’ in its 50,000 karaoke venues"

There are now more than two million creators monetizing their content through YouTube’s Partner Program. In a blog post this morning, the platform’s chief product officer Neal Mohan revealed the … Continue reading "There Are Now 2 Million Creators In YouTube’s Partner Program"

As it turns out, the CRB extended the filing deadline for comments due to what they said was a technical difficulty, although we have yet to meet anyone who couldn’t … Continue reading "#FrozenMechanicals Crisis: Unfiled Supplemental Comments of @helienne Lindvall, @davidclowery, @theblakemorgan and @sealeinthedeal"

SESAC, the US-headquartered Performing Rights Organization, has majority-acquired streaming royalties collection agency Audiam. A controlling stake in Audiam has been sold to SESAC for an undisclosed fee by Canadian licensing … Continue reading "SESAC acquires royalty collection platform Audiam from SOCAN"

The Ivors Academy has published a new report estimating the size of the global song streaming data gap – streaming royalties for songs that are unallocated or misallocated due to … Continue reading "Black box disorder: Ivors Academy research reveals £500m streaming data gap"

Remember record clubs? 20 CDs by hit artists for 1¢? These were the absurd organizations run by some of the smarmiest of the smarmy in our business that could not … Continue reading "@ddayan is the Only Journalist Who Gets the Deep Implications of Scarlett Johansson’s Streaming Lawsuit Against the Happiest Place on Earth"

When Scarlett Johansson unleashed a lawsuit last week against the Walt Disney Company over her compensation for the movie Black Widow, opinion-havers on the internet immediately dismissed it as millionaires … Continue reading "The Implications of Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel Lawsuit"

EXCLUSIVE: Discussions are underway between Amazon Studios executives and all of the studio’s upcoming U.S.-based series productions about making Covid vaccinations for actors as well as those who come into … Continue reading "Amazon Studios In Talks About Covid Vaccine Mandate For Cast & Rest Of Zone A On All Upcoming U.S. Series"

We’ve seen in the UK how effective a grassroots artist campaign can be with #BrokenRecord, and now another to keep an eye on is the #FrozenMechanicals campaign, which appears to … Continue reading "US songwriter groups at loggerheads with government and major labels over “frozen mechanicals”"

Instagram Stories are easy to make, but they can require a lot of thought if you want to make them truly entertaining. Thankfully, Instagram offers a number of tools to … Continue reading "How to Add Music to an Instagram Story"

Netflix is expanding its vaccination mandate. The streamer will require that workers at its offices be vaccinated for COVID-19,The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. That includes its Los Gatos, California, headquarters, … Continue reading "Netflix to Require Vaccinations for Office Workers"

More than 20 members of US Congress have signed a letter to Twitter boss Jack Dorsey calling on him to implement robust content protection technology across his company’s platform, so … Continue reading "Congress members hit out at Twitter over rights management systems and lack of music licences"

(CNN)Sharon Stone wants a fully vaccinated set on her next gig, and says she’s being threatened she’ll lose the job because of it. The actress claims in a campaign video … Continue reading "Sharon Stone says her calls for a fully vaccinated set have put her job in jeopardy"

A judge in New York has sided with Bob Dylan in his legal dispute with the estate of a former collaborator which sought a cut of the $300 million the … Continue reading "Bob Dylan wins in legal battle with former collaborator’s estate over his $300 million catalogue sale"

A bipartisan group of 22 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter Monday to Twitter chief Jack Dorsey, demanding the social network address “the ongoing problem of copyright … Continue reading "Twitter Is Turning a Blind Eye to Music Copyright Infringement, Group of U.S. Reps Says"

About six weeks after publicly backing the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), New Jersey-born singer Dionne Warwick has called on Congress to pass the legislation – and taken aim at … Continue reading "Dionne Warwick Tells Radio Stations: If You Play My Music, Pay Me for My Music"

New York (CNN Business) – Like other changes to entertainment distribution through the years, the studio shift toward streaming — hastened by the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic — has … Continue reading "Hollywood’s shift to streaming is rewriting the script for stars’ big paydays"

Actress Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday that alleges Disney breached her contract by releasing the highly anticipated superhero film “Black Widow” on its … Continue reading "Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over ‘Black Widow’ Disney+ release"

The most famous virtual artist in the West – as in, an AI-generated performer – is perhaps Lil Miquela, with her 3 million Instagram followers and hundreds of thousands of … Continue reading "This virtual artist just inked a major record deal in China. One-off gimmick – or a sign of the future?"

A new agreement on Broadway safety protocols from the Actors’ Equity Association and the Broadway League mandates that theater workers be vaccinated. The deal, which was announced Thursday, requires vaccination … Continue reading "COVID Vaccines Mandated for Broadway Workforce in New Actors’ Equity and Broadway League Deal"

Netflix will require actors and those who come in close proximity to them to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in accordance with Hollywood’s new return-to-work protocols. Read More: https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/netflix-vaccination-requirement-actors-1235029774/

Hollywood was in a collective state of shock last month when Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment forged a multiyear deal to make movies for Netflix. Two years ago, the legendary director … Continue reading "Netflix’s Film Chief Scott Stuber Is Shaking Up Hollywood: ‘The Movie Business Is in a Revolution’"

Hey Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia! What’s taking you so long … Continue reading "European Commission ramps up pressure on EU states to implement the copyright directive"

The former vocalist of American metal outfit Bad Wolves, Tommy Vext has launched a lawsuit against the band’s manager, Allen Kovac. Vext accuses Kovac of forcing him out of the … Continue reading "Bad Wolves and manager Allen Kovac hit back at lawsuit from former vocalist"

An assortment of organizations representing songwriters in America and beyond – led by the Songwriters Guild Of America, the Society Of Composers & Lyricists and Music Creators North America – … Continue reading "Songwriter groups formally call on US Copyright Royalty Board to reject NMPA’s mechanical royalty rate proposals"

EXCLUSIVE: As production rebounds despite the continuing impact of the pandemic, SAG-AFTRA members earned a record-setting $1.5 billion during the first four months of 2021 — “the highest amount ever … Continue reading "SAG-AFTRA Members Earned Record $1.5 Billion In First 4 Months Of 2021; Jobs Also Hit “Record High”"

Britney Spears’ agent and longtime friend, Cade Hudson, has become the latest member of her inner circle to speak out against the conservatorship battle she’s currently facing. Read More: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/leylamohammed/britney-spears-agent-conservatorship-instagram-post

Earlier this year, when a person with the username “JeffBezosForeskin” paid around $40,000 for Monty Python actor John Cleese’s NFT — a crude iPad sketching of the Brooklyn Bridge complete … Continue reading "NFTs May Seem Like Frivolous Fads. They Should Be the Future of Music"

John Lydon told the High Court in London yesterday that legal documents “terrify” him, that he didn’t understand what a Sex Pistols band agreement he signed in 1988 was all … Continue reading "John Lydon says he doesn’t remember signing “terrifying” Sex Pistols band agreement as sync deal dispute continues"

If you’re racking up Spotify streams, then knowing roughly how much other artists are earning per play is a must. The following information – sourced from Spotify royalty data shared … Continue reading "How Much Does Spotify Pay Per Stream? Here’s the Latest Data (Updated for 2021)"

YouTube viewers already have three ways to support their favourite creators by paying: Super Chat, Super Stickers, and channel subscriptions. Now there’s a fourth, Super Thanks, and unlike the first … Continue reading "YouTube’s latest tipping feature focuses on individual videos"

Amazon is acquiring the legendary MGM studio catalog. Warner and Discovery are merging. AMC Entertainment received a $250 million infusion of cash to update its theaters and buy new properties. … Continue reading "How the Creator Economy Is Transforming Hollywood (Guest Blog)"

Colby Bachiller remembers “crying my eyes out to another fellow script coordinator” about mounting bills when she got the idea for a hashtag advocating for higher wages in her role … Continue reading "Without “Clear Ladder” to Advance, Hollywood Support Staff Seeks Living Wage"

Last month, in a move that won widespread applause, Sony Music announced that it was to disregard unrecouped balances for a swathe of heritage recording artists on its books. The … Continue reading "Now Sony Music Publishing disregards unrecouped balances for heritage songwriters"

A legal battle between three former members of the Sex Pistols has begun in the High Court in London. Guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook are suing frontman John … Continue reading "Sex Pistols in legal dispute over Danny Boyle’s new TV series"

A new documentary about Anthony Bourdain has ignited a debate, after film-makers revealed they had used an AI simulation of the late chef’s voice. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain … Continue reading "AI narration of chef Anthony Bourdain’s voice sparks row"

On the eve of the Season 2 premiere for its 20-time Emmy nominee Ted Lasso, Apple sent a note to attendees announcing it will require “proof of full-vaccination and a … Continue reading "Hollywood Events Now Requiring Proof Of Vaccination, Negative Covid Tests Amid Rising Cases, Cancellations Due To Infection"

Johnny Rotten, whose real name is John Lydon, is refusing to grant permission to use the songs in an upcoming TV series about the anarchic punk icons. Read More: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/anarchy-uk-court-singer-johnny-rotten-sued-ex-sex-pistols-n1274082

The music industry is weighted against artists, with even successful pop stars seeing “pitiful returns” from streaming, a committee of MPs has said. They are calling for a “complete reset” … Continue reading "MPs call for complete reset of music streaming to ensure fair pay for artists"

A group of performers from across Europe – all of whom back the pan-European PayPerformers campaign – have published an open letter in response to the letter recently sent by … Continue reading "Dear fellow performers – an open letter on performer remuneration from streaming"

On a per stream basis, Peloton blasting your favorite song during a workout supports the artist who made it more than clicking play on the top music streaming services. Read … Continue reading "Peloton Pays Out Musicians Better Than Spotify, Apple"

Facebook and Instagram will pay $1 billion to creators through 2022 as an incentive to use the platforms, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. “We want to build the … Continue reading "Facebook, Instagram Plan to Pay $1B in Creator Incentives"

MRC Data disclosed the noteworthy stat in its recently published mid-year analysis, covering January 1st through July 1st, 2021. The comprehensive breakdown details several interesting trends from across 2021’s first … Continue reading "Catalog Releases Now Account for Two-Thirds of All US-Based Music Consumption"

Go ahead: picture a film producer. What does this mental image look like? Well, if you’ve allowed the pop culture’s idea of “movie producer” to influence your vision you’re probably … Continue reading "Rebecca Green on Creating the Producers Union and What it Means for the Industry"

For the few in need of a reminder: the ‘black box’ refers to the pile of performance and mechanical royalties from around the world that, due to industry failings, don’t … Continue reading "Could this technology, built by a Grammy-winning producer, blow up music’s ‘black box’ once and for all?"

One of the first world problems with the Copyright Office unmatched report (and frankly the legislative history) is that the Office seems to confound matching transitory royalty payments with building … Continue reading "The Sound and the Fury: The Copyright Office Unmatched Report’s Confused Thesis"

On Friday, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a new state budget – including a provision that makes the state’s film, TV, and streaming incentive program permanent by removing the expiration date … Continue reading "Contact Governor Baker TODAY!"

Midia Research has published its latest estimates for the size of the global music streaming subscriptions market, with figures from the end of the first quarter of this year. No … Continue reading "Report claims YouTube Music is fastest growing music DSP"

As voice cloning technology has become ever more effective, it is of increasing interest to actors… and cybercriminals. When Tim Heller first heard his cloned voice he says it was … Continue reading "Voice cloning of growing interest to actors and cybercriminals"

As just about everyone knows, the suits in Washington D.C. have it out for Big Tech these days. Listen to the cocktail conversations about antitrust reform. Or watch the marches … Continue reading "Netflix Quietly a Huge Winner in Biden’s Order Targeting Big Business"

New York City– The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), and the Music Creators of North America (MCNA) coalition enthusiastically welcomes yesterday’s announcement that … Continue reading "Music Creator Organizations Applaud Copyright Office “Best Practices” Recommendations"

The United States Copyright Office has officially released a report designed “to recommend best practices” for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) as it works to resolve unmatched royalties and make … Continue reading "Copyright Office Recommends Mechanical Licensing Collective Delay First Unclaimed-Royalties Distribution"

As directed by the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the United States Copyright Office, in consultation with the Government Accountability Office, has issued a public report to recommend best practices that … Continue reading "Unclaimed Royalties Study"

It might seem reasonable to expect a professional songwriter to have two songs officially released over the course of a year, and certainly within five or 10 years. But as … Continue reading "MDRCs: The ‘Archaic’ Contract Clause That’s Harmed Many Songwriters"

Some of streaming’s biggest breakout hits today are coming from outside of Hollywood. Netflix’s heist thriller “Money Heist” originated in Spain and is being remade in Korea. “Lupin,” the drama … Continue reading "Some of Netflix’s biggest hits come from outside the US. International TV producers describe how streaming deals are structured and how the market is changing."

SAG-AFTRA wants to remind you that wage rates for work done under the 2020 TV/Theatrical Contracts and 2020 TV/Basic Cable Animation Agreements increased July 1, 2021. Please consult the rate … Continue reading "TV/Theatrical/Animation Rate Increase as of July 1, 2021"

Our panel of economic experts unpicks the confusion around the current music streaming debate. They presented research results on the Artist Growth Model proposed by AIM and examined different propositions … Continue reading "Watch back ‘How to Fix Streaming – An Introduction to the Artist Growth Model’"

Find out how much you’ll earn from the most popular streaming music services – Pandora, Napster, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and more. Based on information directly received from artists and … Continue reading "What Streaming Music Services Pay (Updated for 2021)"

It is interesting to me how regulations that are economically harmful for musicians are often couched in terms of fairness and freedom, sentiments which quickly become rallying cries but often … Continue reading "ON THE IMPACT OF PROPOSED BILL AB 1385 TO THE CALIFORNIA MUSIC COMMUNITY"

If you upload a video containing copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim. In this post, we’ll break down what this means and what to do … Continue reading "Understanding YouTube Content ID Claims and Disputes"

We’ve been covering artist efforts to increase their Spotify streaming royalties, including demands to pay one penny per stream. Now, we’re getting a better sense of how Spotify really feels … Continue reading "Spotify Executive Calls Artist ‘Entitled’ for Requesting Payment of One Penny Per Stream"

The introduction last week of a bill that would give artists and music companies a way to collect performance royalties for FM/AM airplay makes the addition of more House member … Continue reading "Eleven More House Republicans Come Out Against A Proposed Radio Royalty."

Music artists are launching a lobbying assault on Capitol Hill in hopes of securing radio royalties, sparking fierce resistance from the broadcasting industry. Read More: https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/560639-musicians-broadcasters-battle-in-congress-over-radio

The iconic musician noted that artists like him “can afford to go to Europe,” but for younger or lesser-known artists, who have already been struggling following the shutdown of the … Continue reading "Elton John Calls U.K. Government “Philistines” Over Post-Brexit Touring Issues"

If you’ve followed the frozen mechanicals debate, you’ll know that one of the asks from commenters was that the Copyright Royalty Board not restrictively parse who could and could not … Continue reading "Update: Copyright Royalty Board Calls for Public Comments on the Frozen Mechanicals Private Settlement"

Over the last six weeks, the Trichordist has chronicled the frozen mechanicals saga occurring at the Copyright Royalty Board in the government’s rate setting for the compulsory mechanical license commonly … Continue reading "A Foreseeable Result of the Phonorecords IV Private Settlement: Opening Pandora’s Box"

Britney Spears has called her conservatorship “abusive” and said that it leaves her unable to “live a full life”. Speaking over the phone at a court hearing in Los Angeles, … Continue reading "Britney Spears calls for “abusive” conservatorship to be ended"

The long-running wrestling match over radio royalties is showing few signs of slowing down, as lawmakers are preparing to introduce the American Music Fairness Act, an answer to the NAB-backed … Continue reading "The Wrestling Match Over Radio Royalties Continues — Introducing the American Music Fairness Act"

Universal Music Group (UMG) parent company Vivendi has secured overwhelming support from its shareholders for its proposed public listing of UMG later this year. Yesterday (June 22), at Vivendi’s Annual … Continue reading "As Vivendi shareholders back UMG spin-out, Sir Lucian Grainge says: ‘We’ve only just begun.’"

As I’m sure you already know, Reprtoir has been working to help record labels and music publishers who manage music copyrights, royalties and music catalogs through our software suite. By … Continue reading "What is the difference between US Copyright and French Copyright?"

Dash, 50, is the subject of legal action from his former record label, Roc-A-Fella Records – which he co-founded with the 99 Problems artist and is still a minority share … Continue reading "Jay-Z files lawsuit against Damon Dash over attempt to sell copyright to his first album Reasonable Doubt as an NFT"

One potential solution to the crisis with performer compensation from streaming is an expanded remuneration right paid directly to performers and featured artists by streaming platforms. Remember–the session musicians and … Continue reading "Riding the Third Rails: Making the case at WIPO for performer streaming remuneration — Music Technology Policy"

If you’ve followed the frozen mechanicals debate, you’ll know that one of the asks from commenters was that the Copyright Royalty Board not restrictively parse who could and could not … Continue reading "Update: Copyright Royalty Board Calls for Public Comments on the Frozen Mechanicals Private Settlement"

With a valuation greater than $40 billion, UMG is easily the biggest record label and music company in the world. But who exactly who owns Universal Music Group? The answer … Continue reading "Who Owns Universal Music Group? Here’s a Quick Overview"

The French media conglomerate finalized a deal to offload a 10 percent stake in the music major to a blank check company of Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square. Read … Continue reading "Vivendi’s Universal Music to Sell 10 Percent Stake to Bill Ackman SPAC, Valuing Label at $41B+"

One potential solution to the crisis with performer compensation from streaming is an expanded remuneration right paid directly to performers and featured artists by streaming platforms. Remember–the session musicians and … Continue reading "Riding the Third Rails: Making the case at WIPO for performer streaming remuneration"

With no sign of vinyl sales slowing–in fact, they’re picking up–we’re running into supply and production issues. The result could be long delays for releases and inevitably higher prices. Just … Continue reading "Are we headed for a shortage of vinyl records? It looks like it."

A Philadelphia news anchor’s fight with digital giants, including Facebook, who hosted an unauthorized image of her in ads, raises novel questions about likeness rights and has drawn the attention … Continue reading "Is a Famous Face a Form of Intellectual Property?"

Nielsen has released a new measure of TV usage that shows streaming platforms pulled in a bigger share of viewers’ time in May than broadcast networks did. Netflix and YouTube … Continue reading "Streaming Outdraws Broadcast TV, Nielsen Figures Say"

The noteworthy statistic came to light in a survey published today, which indicated that 47 percent of Americans age 13 and up “subscribe to an audio service” as of 2021. … Continue reading "Nearly Half of All Americans Are Now Paying for Audio of Some Kind, Study Finds"

LUXEMBOURG (CN) — European internet service providers can hand over the personal details of customers who are accused of illegally downloading content, the EU’s top court ruled Thursday. The Court … Continue reading "EU Internet Providers Can ID Customers Accused of Illegal Downloads"

The 2021-2022 DGA Network Agreement Rate Cards for Associate Directors, Stage Managers and Production Associates working in News, Sports, Operations and Local (NY and LA) are now available online in … Continue reading "New Network Agreement Rate Cards Available Online"

Today, together with the Musicians Union, the trade union representing musicians working in the UK across all sectors of the music business, we are delighted to share our joint guidance … Continue reading "FAC, Musicians’ Union & Kelli-Leigh delighted to share joint guidance for session musicians and featured artists"

Labour MP Kevin Brennan yesterday presented a Copyright (Rights And Remuneration Of Musicians etc) Bill to Parliament which seeks to amend UK copyright law so to “create a new right … Continue reading "Kevin Brennan MP proposes “a new right to fair remuneration” from streaming for musicians in private members bill"

Netflix’s market share in the U.S. may be declining with the addition of services such as HBO Max, Peacock and Discovery+, but the SVOD pioneer is still on track to … Continue reading "Report: Netflix to Generate 31% of All 2021 U.S. SVOD Revenue"

Jay-Z is suing the photographer who shot the cover of his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt’. The rapper accuses Jonathan Mannion of infringing his image rights by selling copies of that … Continue reading "Jay-Z accuses photographer of infringing his image rights"

The Jesus and Mary Chain – and specifically brothers James Reid and William Reid, the act’s founding members and chief songwriters – just recently submitted the firmly worded complaint to … Continue reading "The Jesus and Mary Chain Sues Warner Music Group for $2.55 Million for Refusing to Return Copyrights"

The Jesus And Mary Chain latest artists to sue their former label over US termination right Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-latest-artists-to-sue-their-former-label-over-us-termination-right/

EXCLUSIVE: Documentary+, the non-fiction streaming service established by studio XTR, is to share viewership data with its filmmakers, potentially becoming the first digital platform to reveal ratings. Read More: https://deadline.com/2021/06/documentary-share-viewership-data-with-filmmakers-first-streamer-to-reveal-ratings-1234773988/

The artist and management community have both welcomed a move by Sony Music to start paying through royalties to artists with record contracts that pre-date 2000 even if said artists … Continue reading "Artist and management community welcome Sony Music’s decision to pay royalties to artists on unrecouped pre-2000 record deals"

Sony Music has cancelled the debts of thousands of artists who signed to the record label before the year 2000. It means that many will now, for the first time, … Continue reading "Sony Music writes off artists’ decades-old debts"

Since the 2000s, the development of download platforms, then streaming services, has both contracted and expanded the music market. However, despite recently accelerating growth, the value thus created is not … Continue reading "International Federation of Musicians Statement on Streaming Royalties (Or lack thereof)"

A bunch more legendary artists have joined the call for a change to UK copyright law that would result in so called performer equitable remuneration being paid on streams. The … Continue reading "The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison among 76 new artists joining call for ER on streams"

Some 26 months after the European Council gave final approval to the European Union’s controversial, much-debated Copyright Directive, the legal act’s implementation deadline has arrived. However, European songwriters are now … Continue reading "European Songwriters Criticize Copyright Directive Implementation Delays — “Only a Handful of EU Member States Have Transposed the Directive”"

A bunch more legendary artists have joined the call for a change to UK copyright law that would result in so called performer equitable remuneration being paid on streams. The … Continue reading "The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison among 76 new artists joining call for ER on streams"

It will be old news to MTP readers, but Spotify has yet another feature that smacks of pay to play, or what is sometimes called “payola.” We’ve seen all of … Continue reading "The 50 Dollar Handshake Goes to Washington: Payola, Spotify and Steering Agreements"

Two members of the US House Of Representatives have written to Spotify boss Daniel Ek stating that the streaming firm’s new Discovery Mode initiative raises “significant policy issues”. With that … Continue reading "US Congress members say Spotify’s Discovery Mode raises “significant policy issues”, ask Daniel Ek five key questions"

Today, after several months of waiting and with the deadline for the national transposition of the DSM Directive being just a weekend away (it will be on Monday, 7 June), … Continue reading "Commission unveils Article 17 Guidance: 3 highlights"

I started my career as a composer, writing jingles and interstitial TV music. I was used to hearing my work out in the world, but I was still surprised when, … Continue reading "Most Content Creators Are Still Underpaid — It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way (Guest Column)"

In a letter to its members sent out today (June 2), songwriters and board members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), Steve Bogard, Lee Thomas Miller, and Liz Rose, … Continue reading "NSAI Songwriters Respond To Criticism Of Decision Not To Challenge Physical Royalty Rates"

Paris – 2nd June 2021 – CISAC, the global network of authors’ societies, today releases its 2021 Annual Report, calling for stronger rights for creators and detailing a year of resilience … Continue reading "CISAC publishes its Annual Report 2021"

It is difficult to understand the reasons why, but the current proposal for mechanical royalty rates before the Copyright Royalty Board do not include an index for inflation. Until a … Continue reading "Folie à deux: Will the Copyright Royalty Board Share the Madness of Pretending That Songwriters Aren’t Affected by Economic Inflation?"

Can fictional characters be protected by copyright? This is a question that is both intriguing and difficult to answer, as the variety of tests adopted by courts in different jurisdictions … Continue reading "Copyright Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: A Fistful of Dollars vs Rango before the Court of Rome"

Well, it’s been quite a week for the frozen mechanicals issue on The Trichordist (once again cementing its leadership role in providing a platform for the voice of the people). … Continue reading "Healing with Sunlight: A Rate Based Solution for the Frozen Mechanicals Dilemma"

Alan Wolk: While the MGM sale may seem like it’s a part of the so-called ‘streaming wars,’ the game Amazon is playing remains a whole lot bigger than just TV … Continue reading "Why Amazon Buying MGM Is Part of a Much Bigger Scheme Than Just Besting Netflix"

Much of the coverage of Amazon’s $8.45 billion deal to acquire MGM has focused on the company’s film attributes and the impact on theatrical distribution. Read More: https://deadline.com/2021/05/unscripted-boom-tv-reboot-frenzy-could-follow-amazons-mega-deal-for-mgm-1234764894/

The explosion in the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin has had an interesting side effect: Surging demand for NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. Investors everywhere are asking themselves whether owning the … Continue reading "Are NFTs Worth Investing In?"

SoundExchange has paid out more than $7 BILLION in royalties to date. They are the sole organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for … Continue reading "What is SoundExchange and How Does it Benefit You?"

An alliance of groups representing artists and songwriters have welcomed a commitment by the US Copyright Royalty Board to publish and accept comments about a proposed settlement regarding the mechanical … Continue reading "Songwriter groups urge US Copyright Royalty Board to open submissions on proposed new mechanical royalty rate on discs and downloads"

The Senate will begin the debate on their budget Tuesday, May 25.  Join fellow SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters members and other production workers for a sign holding rally to show … Continue reading "Films = Jobs Rally at the State House May 25"

A group of songwriter organizations from around the world wrote to the Copyright Royalty Board last week opposing a proposed private “settlement” between the major labels and the major publishers … Continue reading "Copyright Royalty Board Responds to Coalition of Songwriter Groups on Frozen Mechanicals"

As readers may know, Germany passed their implementation of Article 17 of the Digital Single Market (DSM) Copyright Directive on Thursday 20th May 2021. This new copyright legislation is controversial … Continue reading "De minimis uses and the German implementation of Art 17 DSM Directive"

As readers may know, Germany passed their implementation of Article 17 of the Digital Single Market (DSM) Copyright Directive on Thursday 20th May 2021. This new copyright legislation is controversial … Continue reading "De minimis uses and the German implementation of Art 17 DSM Directive"

Since the 2000s, the development of download platforms, then streaming services, has both contracted and expanded the music market. However, despite recently accelerating growth, the value thus created is not … Continue reading "International Federation of Musicians @fim_musicians Statement on Online Music, the Big Pool and User Centric"

On April 15th, Hollywood writer and director Kevin Smith announced that he was putting an unreleased film of his, “Killroy was Here” up for sale via NFT (i.e. ‘Non-Fungible Token’). … Continue reading "NFTs and copyright: An uncomfortable conjunction?"

To Your Honors: As a US-led coalition representing hundreds of thousands of songwriters and composers from across the United States and around the world, we are writing today to express … Continue reading "Coalition of Songwriter Groups Call on Copyright Royalty Board for Fairness and Transparency on Frozen Mechanicals"

At its meeting on the 21st of April 2021, the Nordic Musicians Union, NMU, discussed the issue of copyright buyouts. Technological development has been rapid in connection with digitalisation and … Continue reading "Press Release: Nordic Musicians Union Condemns Copyright Buyouts"

LONDON — Germany’s parliament approved controversial copyright laws that could make it harder for music rights holders to agree to future license deals with clip-focused sites like TikTok and Triller, … Continue reading "Germany Passes Controversial EU Copyright Reforms, Sparking Ire"

Björn Ulvaeus, co-founder of Swedish music group ABBA, discussed copyright buyouts for TV series and streaming services and how royalties allowed him to write “from 9 to 5” with Billboard … Continue reading "ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Says Royalties Allowed Him to Write ‘From 9 to 5’"

The Ninth Circuit appeals court in the US has upheld a lower court ruling that declined to make a classic royalties lawsuit being pursed against Warner Music by singer Lenny … Continue reading "US appeals court declines to make Warner streaming royalties dispute a class action"

What exactly is lost in translation when TV shows and films are subbed or dubbed into a new language? It’s a hard question to answer, but for the team at … Continue reading "Deepfake dubs could help translate film and TV without losing an actor’s original performance"

Your Honors: As a US-led coalition representing hundreds of thousands of songwriters and composers from across the United States and around the world, we are writing today to express our … Continue reading "MCNA letter regarding fairness and transparency on frozen mechanicals"

The calculation of damages for copyright infringement is something that this Kat finds to be curious, sometimes sending her into a fuurrry, and other times she’s left wondering why the … Continue reading "Shady’s back: Quantifying damages for copyright infringement of Eminem’s album"

Well, it’s happened again. The Internet has spoken—all extra cash is going to be devoted to curing cancer, distributing COVID vaccinations, world peace, child health and…oh, no wait. It’s going … Continue reading "Performer Payments for NFTs"

Organizers of the Sundance Film Festival said Thursday that next year’s fest will run January 20-30, 2022 and be a mix of in-person and virtual. The news comes after this … Continue reading "Sundance Film Festival Sets Dates For Hybrid 2022 Edition"

Who can forget how Taylor Swift stood up for songwriters, producers and artists against Apple’s bizarre decision to impose a royalty-free three month trial period on the launch of Apple … Continue reading "What Would @TaylorSwift13 and Eddie @cue Do? One solution to the frozen mechanical problem"

When the music industry’s NFT craze hit its fever pitch earlier this year, it seemed nearly everyone was rushing to mint the crypto collectibles in one form or another. The … Continue reading "Why NFT Sales in the Music Business Are Still the Wild West — and How It Might Be Tamed"

On a recent mid-spring morning in Tennessee, Alex Kline is learning to live again in her Nashville home. A week earlier, Tenille Arts’ “Somebody Like That” — a pulsing, pop-friendly … Continue reading "How Virtual Songwriting Sessions Became the Nashville Norm"

As the pandemic started to impact early last year, the first and most obvious casualty in music was the concert business as touring and festivals were cancelled. The other area … Continue reading "Film and TV Music Royalties: What’s the Score?"

An actor is suing TikTok for using her voice in its text-to-speech function. It converts writing into speech, which can then be played over videos uploaded to the app, often … Continue reading "Actor sues TikTok for using her voice in viral tool"

In case you haven’t noticed, songwriter mechanical royalty rates are about to be set again at a faraway Congressional operation called the Copyright Royalty Board. You may say, hold on–I … Continue reading "@thetrichordist: Will the Copyright Royalty Board Leave Songwriters In the Deep Freeze?"

Netflix, which received more nominations (42) and wins (10) than any other studio or network at the 78th Golden Globe Awards in February, is “stopping any activities” with the Hollywood … Continue reading "Golden Globes: Netflix “Stopping Any Activities” with HFPA Unless and Until Further Reforms Are Made"

The 107-year-old UK collecting society – which in late January launched a licensing platform for small-scale livestreams, before walking back the pivot due to criticism from indie creators – just … Continue reading "PRS Issues a 10% Backdated Livestream Tariff — Not Everyone’s So Thrilled With the ‘Discount’"

Services like Spotify and Apple Music pulled the business back from the brink. But artists say they can’t make a living. And their complaints are getting louder. When the pandemic … Continue reading "Musicians Say Streaming Doesn’t Pay. Can the Industry Change?"

A new survey conducted The Actors Fund sheds more light on COVID-19’s impact on the entertainment industry. The organization surveyed 7,163 people who sought its assistance during the pandemic. The … Continue reading "Actors Fund Study Details Devastating Impact of COVID-19 on Entertainment Industry"

The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) has officially called for “both policy makers and all stakeholders in the music sector to promote a fairer and more transparent ecosystem for … Continue reading "Songwriters Demand a Streaming Music Overhaul — “There Is No One Single Magic Solution But Rather Several Key Changes Required”"

AI-powered social media experience Triller and next-generation music company SoundCloud announced a new integration that will uniquely showcase and support emerging independent artists with the launch of a dedicated SoundCloud-curated … Continue reading "SoundCloud, Triller Partner to Amplify Emerging Artists"

Nirvana have been sued by the granddaughter of a British man who created the circles of hell image that has been used on the band’s merchandise since the 1990s. She … Continue reading "Nirvana sued over circles of hell image"

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and SAG-AFTRA have distributed a record high of $70 million to non-featured performers via their Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund (IPRDF). Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/05/05/sag-aftra-distributes-70-million/?mc_cid=952928efcd&mc_eid=bc3b3ee17f

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kid Creole and the Coconuts have become the latest artists to cash in on their catalogue of hits, selling the rights to songs including Californication … Continue reading "Red Hot Chili Peppers sell rights to catalogue of hits to Hipgnosis"

In the last year where full accounts are available, 2019, the UK’s de facto songwriter and publisher PRO, PRS For Music, said its annual costs amounted to 11.0% of the … Continue reading "Is a reckoning coming to the way collection societies spend songwriters’ money?"

TIDAL is now majority-owned by Jack Dorsey’s Square, after a deal was reportedly finalized between Dorsey and Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter on Friday (April 30). The acquisition was for more money … Continue reading "Jay-Z reportedly finalizes TIDAL sale to Jack Dorsey for $302m (UPDATE)… as platform boasts of paying ‘4X more per stream’ than rivals"

As part of a recent discussion with Steve Stoute, Pharrell Williams compared record-label advances to “illegal” loans, specifying that “no one should own you.” The 48-year-old voiced his critical opinion … Continue reading "Pharrell Compares Label Advances to ‘Illegal Loans’ — ‘No One Should Own You’"