News

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"

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"

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"

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"

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’"

YouTube‘s advertising business is exploding. The platform’s latest revenue figures were revealed last week as part of the Q1 results of parent company Alphabet. They show that YouTube is now … Continue reading "YouTube is now generating $2bn a month from ads – and grew faster than Netflix in Q1"

With the Oscar’s behind us, and a new year of film, TV, and music to keep our eyes fixed upon, it begs the question of how long these traditional award … Continue reading "Why NFTs Could Help Strengthen Hollywood’s Film Industry And Intellectual Property Protection"

Who would have thought major music artists would be selling their music catalogs for big money. When I looked into this a little deeper it makes a lot of sense. … Continue reading "Publishers are flipping the music industry upside down"

The Philippines, through the Permanent Representative to Geneva Ambassador Evan Garcia deposited on April 28, 2021 its Instrument of Accession to the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (BTAP). Ambassador Garcia … Continue reading "PH accedes to Beijing Treaty strengthening performers’ rights"

An Australian court has ordered mining magnate and politician Clive Palmer to pay $A1.5 million ($NZ1.6m) to the record label of heavy metal act Twisted Sister. Read More: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/441569/twisted-sister-awarded-a1-point-5m-from-clive-palmer-over-copyright-claim

The Constitution of the United States guarantees creators the right to control their own intellectual property. However, AM/FM radio seems to be the final content landscape where these constitutional rights … Continue reading "Congress: It’s Time To Side With Music Creators Over Big Radio"

On the surface, Disney and Sony Pictures Entertainment seem to be two studios heading in opposite directions when it comes to business strategy. Disney is investing huge sums of money … Continue reading "Disney-Sony Movie Rights Deal Points to Future of Film Licensing"

For years we have seen massive encroachments on our artistic freedoms in favor of globally operating digital corporations. This anti-artist prioritization is also reflected in the federal government’s current draft … Continue reading "1100 German Artists Say “The Horror Has No End” About Germany’s New Copyright Law"

The NFT sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s Free Comb with Pagoda has been pulled from OpenSea after his estate clarified that it will still retain the drawing’s license and rights. Read … Continue reading "Basquiat NFT Pulled From Sale After Estate Confirms That Highest Bidder Will Not Own Copyright"

Actors’ Equity Association has concluded its first-ever convention, from April 25 to 27. Because it is not yet safe to convene in person, the delegates met remotely to recommend policy … Continue reading "Actors’ Equity Association Concludes First-Ever Convention"

A new finance company targeting the music industry unveiled its services earlier this week, with former AIM chief Alison Wenham and veteran artist manager Tim Clark among its advisors. Read … Continue reading "Music Credit Fund launches to offer alternative finance options to music-makers"

In the latest blockbuster music-catalog deal, Downtown has sold its 145,000 owned and co-published copyrights to an affiliate of the Concord music company. Included in the deal are songs popularized … Continue reading "Downtown Sells All Copyrights to Concord in $300 Million-Plus Deal, Will Focus on Music Services"

Judge Aleta A. Trauger has denied the HFA’s motion to dismiss the copyright infringement lawsuit it’s facing from Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style – while also determining that the Blackstone … Continue reading "HFA Can’t Duck Out of the Eminem Publisher Lawsuit, Judge Rules"

An alliance of trade groups representing the copyright industries – including the music business – has called on the European Union to beef up an element of its proposed Digital … Continue reading "Copyright groups say European Union’s Digital Services Act should do more to stop piracy sites operating anonymously"

In a single announcement in February this year, Spotify effectively doubled the number of markets it is live in – leaping from 85 countries to 178 and calling it its … Continue reading "World Mapped: The Future of Music Royalties on a Global Scale"

High-profile artists including Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin have called on the UK government to implement far-reaching reforms in the music-streaming space. The … Continue reading "Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Chris Martin, More Demand That Streaming Music Platforms Pay More"

Netflix revealed that it will spend over $17 billion on content this year, according to its first-quarter earnings report. “As we’ve noted previously, the production delays from Covid-19 in 2020 … Continue reading "Netflix Reveals $17 Billion in Content Spending in Fiscal 2021"

During a quarterly earnings interview, Fidelity’s Nidhi Gupta asked the company’s top executives about their recent strategy to test blocking users who are suspected of using other people’s passwords. Specifically, … Continue reading "Netflix Boss Assures He Won’t “Turn the Screws” on Password Sharing"

Jonathan Taplin wasn’t present at the creation, but in rock & roll terms, he came close enough. He witnessed Bob Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival, saw Jimi … Continue reading "Jonathan Taplin Tour-Managed Rock Royalty. Now He’s Telling His Stories"

Apple Music caused furore on Friday (April 16) when it made some proud claims about its payouts to artists and songwriters – and, by association, some potentially damning claims about … Continue reading "Apple Music just made a lot of claims about what it pays artists. Let’s take a closer look."

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has announced the completion of its first-ever monthly distribution of mechanical royalties. The organization’s distribution – its first connected with the new blanket license … Continue reading "The Mechanical Licensing Collective Completes First Royalty Distribution"

This submission focuses primarily on the inquiry’s third question, i.e. the economic impact and long-term implications of streaming on the music industry, in particular how the shift to streaming has … Continue reading "Written evidence submitted by the Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition"

Cast your mind back to the spring of 1974, if indeed you were around to remember those days. The UK is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, and the word on … Continue reading "Abba: Why the UK gave the Swedish band ‘nul points’ at Eurovision"

It’s the song, not the album, that rules modern pop – but payment for writers is dysfunctional at best. We urgently need a new model Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/17/todays-pop-industry-cheats-songwriters-and-deters-the-risk-taking-that-made-abba

The writers of the original “Predator” movie and Disney’s 20th Century Fox Film Corp have filed dueling lawsuits in California federal courts over the writers’ move to reclaim Disney’s copyright … Continue reading "Disney, ‘Predator’ writers file suits over copyright termination"

After half a decade of streaming-driven growth the global music business hit a speed bump in the shape of the pandemic. Live music stopped in an instant, radio boomed then … Continue reading "Rebalancing the Song Economy"

Iron Maiden have hit back at a lawsuit filed by US-based e-commerce platform Viral Style that accuses one of the metal band’s companies of grabbing $200,000 from its PayPal account … Continue reading "Iron Maiden hit back at e-commerce firm accusing them of “misappropriating” $200,000"

Early Friday, Apple Music sent a carefully worded letter to artists, music labels and publishers that briefly explained “how creators earn royalties” from the streaming service, which is the world’s … Continue reading "Why It’s Misleading to Say ‘Apple Music Pays Twice as Much Per Stream as Spotify’"

As you may be aware, The MLC recently received $424 million as payment of the “inception to date” unmatched mechanical royalties held at a number of streaming platforms, sometimes called … Continue reading "What the MLC Can Learn from Orphan Works"

Ask any executive what the music business was like in the ’00s and their face may take on an expression more commonly associated with narrowly averted disasters like car accidents … Continue reading "15 Years of Spotify: How the Streaming Giant Has Changed and Reinvented the Music Industry"

The news that the Arclight Cinemas are closing permanently — part of the larger closure that includes Pacific Theaters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — hit the film … Continue reading "The Closure of Arclight Cinemas Has L.A. Movie Lovers in Mourning — and Asking, Can It Be Saved?"

Stars including Naomie Harris and Ruth Wilson have backed calls for digital body doubles not to be used in films and TV shows to make sex scenes even more explicit … Continue reading "Stars say TV shows and films must NOT use digital body doubles to make sex scenes more explicit"

“We should send a thank you note to the Bob Dylan folks,” says Charles “Jeff” Biederman, partner at law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which has a thriving music practice. … Continue reading "The Ins-and-Outs of Music Catalog Sales and the Behind-the-Scenes Players Advising Songwriters Who Cash Out"

Data is commonly referred to in the music business as “the new oil”. It is a neat analogy to a point – explaining its huge value as well as the … Continue reading "Drowning in Data: A Wake-Up Call for the Music Industry"

A copyright lawsuit alleging Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water ripped off a Pulitzer Prize-winning author has been dismissed. The lawsuit – which was originally filed in February 2018 … Continue reading "Shape of Water copyright lawsuit dismissed: Guillermo del Toro is ‘the true creator’"

In a statement issued today on the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 5 decision in the Google v. Oracle case, in which the Court ruled 6–2 that Google’s copying of Oracle’s … Continue reading "Copyright Alliance CEO Issues Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in Google v. Oracle"

Minor mistakes and oversights frequently have a material impact on artists’ careers, particularly when it comes to royalties. But creators can quickly remedy the underlying issues – and bolster their … Continue reading "Why Are Musicians Still Leaving Royalties on the Table? It Usually Boils Down to These 3 Mistakes"

The 31-year-old pop star will again make headlines this week when she launches Fearless (Taylor’s Version), a newly recorded take of the mega-successful album that catapulted her to stardom. The … Continue reading "Taylor Swift Was ‘Stripped of Her Life’s Work.’ Her Response Was a Master Class in Emotional Intelligence"

In a closely watched case about computer code, Justice Stephen Breyer warns that copyright enforcement can sometimes lead to “harm to the public” by impeding creativity and stopping innovative applications. … Continue reading "Supreme Court Hands Google a Landmark Win — and Hollywood a Huge Concern"

Actors’ Equity released new guidelines Friday for productions that have fully vaccinated workforces. Among the new guidelines is the requirement for a COVID-19 safety officer, weekly COVID-19 testing for cast … Continue reading "Actors’ Equity releases new safety protocols for vaccinated productions"

About two weeks back, multiple musicians staged protests outside of Spotify offices in the U.S. and abroad, demanding a higher per-stream royalty rate. Now, the campaign’s organizers have revealed that … Continue reading "Spotify Refuses to Offer Penny-a-Stream Royalty Payments to Artists"

Three days after an anonymous songwriters group named the Pact called for artists to stop demanding credit for songs they did not write, the group has followed with a letter … Continue reading "Justin Tranter, Emily Warren, More Songwriters Sign Letter Calling for Artists to Stop Demanding Credit for Songs They Didn’t Write"

The Ivors Academy and the Musicians’ Union have officially warned composers about the perceived pitfalls associated with offering complete buyouts of their music. The 77-year-old Ivors Academy and the 128-year-old … Continue reading "Composers Warned Against Offering Complete Buyouts of Their Music"

Here it is: The MLC is about to hear those beautiful words. They will hear it in English. They will hear it in Spanish. They will hear it in Bantu, … Continue reading "The Metadata Hot Potato: The MLC Enters the Jerry McGuire Reality"

The Pact, a newly formed songwriting group, has called for artists to cease claiming credit on songs that they didn’t author. The songwriting group levied the demand in a pair … Continue reading "Songwriter Group Tells Artists to Stop Claiming Credit on Songs They Didn’t Write"

The major media companies are ready for a post-pandemic return to theatrical releases, familiar business models, a normal awards season, and most importantly, a hybrid streaming future that still does … Continue reading "Hollywood Gets Ready For Its Post-Pandemic Closeup"

UPDATED: As the music-publishing market continues to heat up to unprecedented levels, songwriter groups have begun speaking out for more equitable treatment. On the heels of a “Pay Songwriters” petition … Continue reading "Anonymous Songwriters Group Calls for Artists to Stop Demanding Royalties for Songs They Didn’t Write"

How much app privacy do you have with music streaming apps? Apple’s new privacy policy helps us find out. Apple’s new privacy policy forces app developers to disclose how much … Continue reading "How Much Personal Data Do Music Apps Collect? Here’s the Latest Privacy Report"

The jungle of music rights acquisitions has become a crowded and expensive place. But the game just changed again – as an 800-pound gorilla enters the fray. BMG and investment … Continue reading "A new catalog acquisition juggernaut is born, as BMG and KKR strike deal to jointly buy music copyrights"

A damning parliamentary inquiry into the state of U.K. broadcasters and their battle with American streaming giants has found that domestic channels are being “let down” by antiquated legislation preventing … Continue reading "U.K. Broadcasters Have Been ‘Let Down’ in Fight Against Streamers By Outdated Laws, Inquiry Finds"

Over the past few weeks, the sales of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) attached to digital artworks and other content, including music albums, unique sports moments clips, and even Twitter CEO’s first … Continue reading "Copyright & NFTs of Digital Artworks"

Cineworld has announced it will reopen US cinemas next month, followed by the UK in May, after signing a deal with Warner Bros to show films in theatres before they … Continue reading "Cineworld to reopen with cinema-first movie deal"

After all the various discussions as part of Parliament’s review into the digital music market over how a stream should be defined, government officials at the latest hearing yesterday stressed … Continue reading "Major label dominance and making available back in the spotlight at final Parliamentary session on streaming"

Dan Kelly loves to collect. His physical treasures live on a shelf in his Nova Scotia home: old records, vintage video games, an issue of WIRED from the ’90s. Whenever … Continue reading "Non-Fungible Frenzy: Why NFTs Are Suddenly Everywhere"

Hundreds of members of music industry have signed an open letter to record labels titled “Pay Songwriters,” calling for better financial treatment of songwriters. The letter has been signed by … Continue reading "Andrew Lloyd Webber and More Sign Open Letter to Record Labels Calling for Better Financial Treatment of Songwriters"

Music metadata: it’s the oft-overlooked chore that can make a music career successful – or doom it to obscurity. Today, music metadata impacts everything in an artist’s career, including distribution, … Continue reading "As Streaming Takes Over, Music Metadata Is Becoming More Critical for Musicians. How Critical, You Ask?"

As soon as they crossed into Serbia, the map on his phone went blank. Damon Krukowski was driving with his wife, Naomi Yang. They were two-thirds of the late-’80s indie … Continue reading "Islands in the Stream"

TV actors and recording artists are pushing for a major change in California labor law, which is likely to draw stiff opposition from studios and record labels. Read More: https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/sag-aftra-california-labor-law-lorena-gonzalez-1234934340/

A California lawmaker has introduced legislation (AB 1385) that would expand the state’s seven-year limit on entertainment-industry agreements to record label contracts. California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez – who spearheaded the … Continue reading "California Introduces Legislation to Limit Record Label Contracts to 7 Years"

Working in entertainment may never look the same again. To hear numerous executives tell it, the past 12 months have shifted the paradigm for modern office life. Gone are the … Continue reading "Post-Pandemic Hollywood: Why Working in Entertainment Will Never Be the Same"

As more and more artists have learned in the nearly 15 years since Spotify first launched, the way that it pays out streaming royalties is very, very complex, based on … Continue reading "Spotify Unveils ‘Loud and Clear,’ a Detailed Guide to Its Royalty Payment System"

Multiple artists protested outside of Spotify offices yesterday afternoon to demand a more transparent payout process as well as a more sustainable per-stream royalty rate. The Union of Musicians and … Continue reading "Musicians Protest Outside Multiple Spotify Offices for Better Payments, Sustainable Income"

While it was announced during the Grammy Awards on Sunday, the formation of the Recording Academy’s Songwriters and Composers Wing was not done in secret, and the Songwriters of North … Continue reading "Industry Groups Call on Recording Academy to Eliminate ‘Archaic’ Music-Publishing Provision"

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are all the rage in the music industry right now. DJs like 3LAU and Steve Aoki have sold theirs for seven-figure sums. Kings Of Leon just racked … Continue reading "NFTs for copyrights: Why non-fungible tokens could transform who gets paid from music rights, and how"

In a reversal of traditional roles, the streaming giant is reported to have had talks with ViacomCBS and NBCU about running original shows and movies on their networks Read More: https://www.nexttv.com/news/netflix-has-reportedly-discussed-licensing-shows-to-media-companies

In the hardest year, Hollywood’s unions had their finest hour. Together and separately, they navigated those first uncertain days of the entertainment industry shutdown a year ago this week and … Continue reading "Hollywood’s Unions Had Their Finest Hour In The Year Of Pandemic"

The often controversial Spanish collecting society SGAE has been readmitted into global grouping CISAC nearly two years after it was temporarily expelled. The latter’s board decided to allow the former … Continue reading "CISAC readmits Spanish collecting society SGAE"

The producer of the old ‘Live From Abbey Road’ TV show has told a court that he could be £600,000 out of pocket as a result of a legal dispute … Continue reading "Live From Abbey Road producer says costs associated with Universal legal battle are disproportionate and unjust"

Paris – 10th March 2021 – The Spanish authors’ society SGAE has been re-admitted to CISAC after implementing a series of reforms that have transformed the society and its operations. … Continue reading "SGAE is re-admitted to CISAC following reforms to its operations"

Google has announced that it “may begin withholding U.S. taxes on earnings” deriving from stateside YouTube viewers as soon as June of 2021 for creators who reside outside the United … Continue reading "Google Announces Plans to Automatically Deduct Taxes From YouTube Creators’ U.S. Royalties"

CreativeFuture dispatched a letter earlier this week to every member of the new Congress. A broad coalition of more than 350 leaders of Hollywood’s creative community has sent a letter … Continue reading "Hollywood Coalition Asks Congress to Strengthen Copyright Laws"

The landmark legislation includes an extension of unemployment and mixed earner benefits, tax relief and health care subsidies, among other provisions. The House of Representatives passed a landmark $1.9 trillion … Continue reading "Congress Passes $1.9T Relief Bill: Here’s What’s in It for Music Workers"

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Our God Is Marching On! March … Continue reading "User Centric As Competitive Advantage: The Arc of the Moral Universe is Bending — Music Technology Policy"

The following MBW op/ed comes from Adam Parness, the former Global Head of Music Publishing at Spotify from 2017 to 2019. Parness left Spotify just as it was revealed that … Continue reading "Why Spotify’s ex-Global Head of Music Publishing thinks streaming services should be paying songwriters more money"

Over the last 12 months the online concerts market has grown at an incredible rate. We’re seeing a huge variety of online events, from major live concerts reaching large audiences … Continue reading "Online Live Concerts – Call for views"

LOS ANGELES — What awaits Hollywood on the other side of the pandemic? As vaccines have rolled out around the world, many film executives and theater operators have been predicting … Continue reading "After Pandemic, Film Industry’s Hollywood Ending May Have to Wait"

Pursuant to the Musical Works Modernization Act, title I of the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (MMA), and after soliciting public comments through a notification of inquiry and notice of proposed … Continue reading "Music Modernization Act Notices of License, Notices of Nonblanket Activity, Data Collection and Delivery Efforts, and Reports of Usage and Payment"

News that the company overseeing the estate of Theodor Geisel—better known to generations of children and parents as Dr. Seuss—will stop publishing new copies of six of the late author’s … Continue reading "OPINION | COLUMNIST: Copyright and Dr. Seuss"

Jack Dorsey-led financial services company Square, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority ownership stake in music streaming platform, TIDAL. Square expects to pay a mix … Continue reading "SQUARE TO BUY JAY-Z’S TIDAL FOR $297M"

“We all just wanna be big rock stars / And live in hilltop houses, driving 15 cars.” The wisdom of Nickelback, there, in the 2005 single Rockstar. It’s a parody … Continue reading "To make it in music, be prepared for the pitfalls"

In a recent roundtable discussion, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Paul McCartney said that artists’ streaming payments should increase, besides expressing the opinion that it’s harder for … Continue reading "Sir Paul McCartney Says Streaming Should Pay Artists More: ‘It’s Such a Small Percentage’"

One of the most hotly-debated concepts in the modern music rights business is user-centric licensing. This model sees streaming royalties paid out based on individual subscriber behavior – with a … Continue reading "SOUNDCLOUD IS ABOUT TO REVOLUTIONIZE STREAMING PAYOUTS, LAUNCHING USER-CENTRIC ROYALTIES FOR 100,000 INDIE ARTISTS"

Dangling $86.9 million in front of some big-ticket projects from Oscar winners and former Desperate Housewives, the California Film Commission was feeling particularly generous this morning. Read More: https://deadline.com/2021/03/eva-longoria-coen-brothers-steven-soderbergh-reese-witherspoon-jason-bateman-tax-credits-california-film-1234703726/

Last year we identified a small but crucial metric from Spotify’s annual report: the share of all streams accounted for by majors and independent licensing body Merlin. It was crucial … Continue reading "Smaller independents and artists direct grew fastest in 2020"

The British High Court has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block four stream-ripping websites – including Russia-based FLVTO.biz, which is also engaged in a years-running courtroom confrontation with the … Continue reading "British High Court Orders ISPs to Block Multiple Stream-Ripping Sites"

The 2021 Otis College of Art and Design Report on the Creative Economy, detailing the impact of COVID-19 on California’s creative sectors, reveals that motion picture and video production has … Continue reading "Film and Video Production Lost Nearly 92,000 Jobs During Pandemic, Study Says"

The Spanish matador Miguel Ángel Perera was delighted by the manner in which he fought and dispatched a four-year-old, 539kg bull by the name of Curioso in June 2014. But, … Continue reading "Spanish court rejects matador’s copyright claim over ‘work of art’"

Ahead of its planned stock market debut, Florida-based performing rights organization Pro Music Rights (PMR) has filed several additional documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/24/pro-music-rights-ipo-update/

The MBW Review is where we aim our microscope towards some of the music biz’s biggest recent goings-on. This time, we juggle some very interesting numbers revealed by Spotify at … Continue reading "OVER 60,000 TRACKS ARE NOW UPLOADED TO SPOTIFY EVERY DAY. THAT’S NEARLY ONE PER SECOND."

Senior executives from Spotify, Apple and Amazon were grilled live on camera by British politicians today in the final session of a UK Parliamentary inquiry into the economics of music … Continue reading "WHAT THE MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES REALLY THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF MUSIC STREAMING"

The U.S. Copyright Office has established a new group registration option for musical works, sound recordings, and associated literary, pictorial, and graphic works contained on an album. This option is … Continue reading "Group Registration of Works on an Album of Music"

As part of a long presentation called “Stream On,” Spotify announced that it will be introducing a hi-fi option later this year, among other benefits for fans and creators. CEO … Continue reading "Spotify to Launch HiFi Option Later This Year, Paid Out $5 Billion in Royalties in 2020"

As recently as fifteen years ago, the term “content” was heard only when people were discussing the cinema on a serious level, and it was contrasted with and measured against … Continue reading "Il Maestro By Martin Scorsese: Federico Fellini and the lost magic of cinema"

For many stuck inside during lockdown, streaming services have kept the movie-going experience alive – offering a safe alternative while cinemas remain shut. But film director Martin Scorsese isn’t such … Continue reading "Are streaming algorithms really damaging film?"

One thing you can say about Big Tech apologists Complete Music Update is they are consistent. Yes, the Pravda of music tech can always be counted on to come up … Continue reading "CMU, THE BLACK BOX, ENRON AND THE MMA"

New York-based Round Hill Music has launched a new neighboring rights division called Sound Hill. Round Hill has been collecting its own label share of neighboring rights since 2015 and … Continue reading "ROUND HILL LAUNCHES SOUND HILL NEIGHBORING RIGHTS DIVISION"

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that Uber drivers are legally workers, not self-employed contractors as Uber has argued in courts around the world. The ruling means … Continue reading "UK Supreme Court says Uber drivers are not independent contractors"

A broad entertainment industry coalition Friday begged Senate leadership to push ahead with Federal aid for pandemic insurance since it’s near impossible to get back to work without it, especially … Continue reading "Coalition Of Hollywood Producers, Guilds Asks Senate For Targeted Pandemic Insurance Relief, And Fast"

The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but in the case of radio’s legal fight with Global Music Rights, the pandemic has all but brought them to a stop. The … Continue reading "Radio Will Not Have Any Resolution To Its GMR Royalties Fight Until 2022."

One of the questions that immediately comes to mind with the announcement of the MLC’s $424 million black box payment is how did they get away with owing so much … Continue reading "Will the @CommonsDCMS Committee Ask How Apple and Spotify Got Away With Hundreds of Millions in Black Box for So Many Years?"

Paris – 18th February 2021 – An education campaign created in the United States to inform creators on the growing practice of copyright buyouts is being extended globally with a … Continue reading "Your Music Your Future partners with CISAC to educate creators globally on royalties and copyright buyouts"

The UK live music industry has joined together for the first time to formally launch its own industry body, LIVE. It follows a year of devastation due to Covid-19 and … Continue reading "Amid the Covid crisis and Brexit, a major new industry body emerges to represent the live sector"

Universal Music Group has announced the launch of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, a “new global network delivering premium and flexible artist and label services to the industry’s most … Continue reading "Universal Music Launches Virgin Label and Artist Services Division"

The all new mechanical rights collecting society in the US yesterday announced that it had received a neat $424,384,787 relating to past streams on 20 digital platforms where songs were … Continue reading "New mechanical rights society in the US has $425 million in past royalties to distribute"

Nearly two years have passed since the adoption of the Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market 2019/790 (DSM Directive). As it was probably bound to happen, the discussion … Continue reading "Five considerations for the transposition and application of Article 17 of the DSM Directive"

Martin Scorsese criticizes streaming platforms and the movie business in a new essay for Harper’s Magazine entitled Il Maestro. While the piece is an homage to director Federico Fellini, Scorsese … Continue reading "Martin Scorsese Discusses Cinema Being ‘Devalued’ as ‘Content’ in New Essay"

Although they were easy to miss in the end of year kerfuffle, serveral new copyright bill and proposals were not only announced, but in some cases have already gone into … Continue reading "Answers to questions about Copyright in 2021 [Electronic Frontier Foundation]"

High-ranking representatives of the European Commission’s DG Connect will brief EU lawmakers as part of an ‘in camera’ meeting on Friday (12 February), after a contingent of parliament members wrote … Continue reading "Commission and Parliament in ‘secret talks’ on EU copyright directive"

It’s tax season, and if you’re a working musician, don’t forget to write off all of your music-related expenses so you can lower your taxes and keep more of the … Continue reading "Tax write-offs for the working musician"

The Copyright Small Claims bill which passed through congress as part December’s mid-month spending bill is frequently referred to as a “copyright small claims court,” although it isn’t really a … Continue reading "Copyright small claims court is coming! But it isn’t exactly a court…"

The Department for Professional Employees, a coalition of Hollywood labor unions affiliated with AFL-CIO, announced on Thursday a new policy agenda to lobby for bills that will promote diverse hiring … Continue reading "Hollywood Unions Lobby for Tax Incentive to Promote Diverse Hiring in the Industry"

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has announced that the U.S. streaming giant will open a new office in Canada and hire a content chief dedicated to commissioning local originals. In a … Continue reading "Netflix To Open Canadian Office After Spending $2B In The Country Since 2017"

LONDON – A YouTube executive refuted claims that the video platform compensates artists less than competitors like Spotify, while acknowledging a “problematic” lack of transparency in the share of industry … Continue reading "UK Parliament Member Presses YouTube Exec On Artist Payments: ‘You’re Not Being Transparent’"

Most of you know that the music streamers are all losing money. Spotify was born 15 years ago, has over 345 million users, and they still can’t make a profit. … Continue reading "Fact: Streaming Royalties Will Never Be Fair. But There Is a Solution!"

Less than one month ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to change the 80-year-old BMI and ASCAP consent decrees. The music industry is already petitioning the ruling, however, and … Continue reading "The Music Industry Is Already Petitioning the DOJ’s ASCAP/BMI Consent Decree Ruling — And Retailers, Radio, and Tech Aren’t Happy About It"

The Directive on Copyright in a Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive) is due to be implemented by the Member States of the European Union by 7 June 2021. The 27 … Continue reading "The Challenge to Article 17 CDSM, an opportunity to establish a future fundamental rights-compliant liability regime for online platforms"

The world’s biggest music publishing company is no longer called Sony/ATV. It’s now Sony Music Publishing. The re-brand of the US-headquartered pubco sees the Sony Music Publishing name return for … Continue reading "SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING RETURNS WITH A ‘MODERN VISION’ – VIA A RE-BRAND OF SONY/ATV"

Country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam is suing his label Warner Music Group (WMG) for not handing back the rights to his early recordings. Read More: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/legal-and-management/9524712/dwight-yoakam-warner-music-group-lawsuit-reclaim-early-recordings/

Regular readers of Music Business Worldwide won’t need a refresher on who Merck Mercuriadis is – or his predilection for buying big music rights, for big sums, at Hipgnosis Songs … Continue reading "INVESTMENT FUNDS FORCING ARTISTS TO NAME THEIR PRICE IS… NOT A GREAT IDEA."

The following MBW op/ed comes from Didier Martin, the CEO of Outhere Music. Outhere is a Paris-headquartered music company that is home to classical record labels such as Alpha Classics, … Continue reading "MUSIC STREAMING MUST SWITCH TO A FAIR AND LOGICAL PAYOUT MODEL. THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE."

The U.S. Copyright Office will be holding public roundtables as part of its study to evaluate best practices that the newly established mechanical licensing collective may implement to identify and … Continue reading "US Copyright Office: Unclaimed Royalties Study"

In a quiet, unsuspecting office in Valley Village, California, the year-round staff of 65 people at the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund diligently processes more than $60 million annually in artist … Continue reading "There’s a Little-Known Jackpot of $60 Million In ‘Non-Featured’ Musician Royalties Collected Every Year — Is Some of It Yours?"

A musicians’ group has obtained important High Court declarations in its long-running dispute with a record companies organisation over sums payable to performers from licence fees collected for the public … Continue reading "Musicians group get court declarations over pay for performers from public broadcasts"

When Donald Trump revealed his desire to ban TikTok in August of last year, his words sent the app’s creators and influencers into a frenzy, and many began to eye … Continue reading "Universal Music and Triller Are Duking It Out Over a Failed Deal"

A number of artists are scoring paychecks – and potentially career-changing exposure – from film, television, and video-game sync placements. But according to one veteran music supervisor, it’s also possible … Continue reading "Yes, Composers Can Make Money In Sports — Meet One of the Top Programmers In the Field"

The creators of This Is Spinal Tap have set up a licensing body to exclusively manage the cult film’s rights. Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, creators … Continue reading "‘THIS IS SPINAL TAP’ CREATORS SET UP LICENSING BODY TO EXCLUSIVELY MANAGE FILM’S RIGHTS"

The creators of ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ have announced that they will launch a new company on Friday to manage the licensing of the cult film and all rights related … Continue reading "Spinal Tap creators set up new licensing company following settlement of Vivendi dispute"

Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, creators of the iconic mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap”, have set up a wholly owned entity to manage the licensing of … Continue reading "‘Spinal Tap’ Creators Set Up Licensing Body To Manage Exploitation Of Their Iconic Motion Picture"

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #09: Safe harbour"

Three women have been nominated for best director at the Golden Globe awards – the first time more than one has been shortlisted in a single year. Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55916772

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #08: Royalty Chains"

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #07: Music Rights Data"

The coronavirus pandemic devastated movie theaters, canceled premieres, shook up awards shows, and changed the $100 billion industry. Read More: https://www.insider.com/hollywood-is-dying-pandemic-2021-1?utm_medium=10today.media.wed.20210203.436.1&utm_source=email&utm_content=article&utm_campaign=10-for-today—4.0-styling

Big tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are concerned about restrictive copyright legislation being implemented around the world. Industry groups warn that these changes, including Article 17 of … Continue reading "Tech Giants Warn US of Hostile Copyright Environment in EU and Russia"

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #06: Transparency"

The world of apps holds huge potential for music sync opportunities, with new releases being brought to market on a daily basis. Plenty of apps increase engagement by adding music … Continue reading "NEGOTIATING DEALS IN THE APP SYNC MARKET"

Back in August of 2019, Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style levied a massive copyright infringement lawsuit against Spotify. Now, Digital Music News has obtained an exclusive copy of a new … Continue reading "Preliminary Schedule Set in Eminem Publisher’s Unpaid-Royalties Lawsuit Against Spotify"

Kobalt and Sony Music unveiled their “definitive agreement,” which encompasses Kobalt Neighboring Rights in addition to AWAL, this morning. As part of the multimillion-dollar purchase, the former Kobalt holdings “will … Continue reading "Sony Music Acquires AWAL From Kobalt In $430 Million Deal"

Last Wednesday, January 27th, PRS for Music officially launched a licensing platform for small-scale livestreams in the UK. A number of organizations and artists promptly criticized this platform (including because … Continue reading "PRS Changes Its Livestreaming Licensing Rules After Massive Indie Backlash"

Our sister site Artist Rights Watch fielded a Mechanical Licensing Collective Awareness Questionnaire during January targeting songwriters attending our MLC webinar. (MLC Awareness Questionnaire 1/31/21 n=120.) The purpose of the … Continue reading "Results and Recommendations of the Artist Rights Watch MLC Awareness Survey"

Anyone that has worked in royalties at a record label knows royalty accounting isn’t simple. There’s a myriad of activities and entities involved in the process and often things just … Continue reading "5 Reasons Why You Should Undertake a Royalty Audit"

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #05: User-centric royalty distribution"

British songwriters Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch have asked the good old Ninth Circuit – everyone’s favourite circuit, surely – to revive their song-theft lawsuit against that notable – although … Continue reading "British songwriters who accuse The Weeknd of song-theft take dispute to the Ninth Circuit appeals court"

An illustrated book titled “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” did not make transformative use of Dr. Seuss’s copyrighted pictures and stories, although Lanham Act claims were properly dismissed under … Continue reading "Copyright case: Dr. Seuss Enterprises LP v. ComicMix LLC, USA"

MBW’s World’s Greatest Managers series profiles the best artist managers in the global business. This time, we speak to John Branca, who as well as managing the legacy of Michael … Continue reading "‘Artists need to pay attention to their legacy and be very specific about it.’"

In a joint statement, SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America and the Joint Policy Committee announced that film, TV and commercial shoots in Los Angeles will be able to resume … Continue reading "SAG-AFTRA, Producers Guild Give Los Angeles All Clear to Resume Film Shoots"

One of the things that’s been clear in the debate about user-centric models for paying out streaming royalties is that we need more studies based on recent data from big … Continue reading "French study offers new data on impact of user-centric payouts"

Yesterday, PRS for Music unveiled an online portal through which livestream licenses can be purchased for small-scale remote gigs in the UK. Now, many organizations, artists, and venues are speaking … Continue reading "PRS’ Livestream License Faces Serious Backlash — “The Worst Possible Decision at the Worst Possible Time”"

The UK’s Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition have again criticised collecting society PRS for announcing a licensing rate for livestreamed shows without widely consulting the artist and songwriter … Continue reading "Artists, managers and venues hit out at new PRS royalty rate for small-scale livestreamed shows"

Today, the French Government presents the second report on content recognition tools on digital sharing platforms commissioned by the Conseil Supérieur de la Propriété Littéraire et Artistique (High Council for … Continue reading "Article 17: (Mis)understanding the intent of the legislator"

Remember when Spotify was granted a patent for personality tracking technology, and how unsettling it was? Published in October 2020, the filing explained that behavioural variables, such as a user’s … Continue reading "Spotify’s latest invention monitors your speech, determines your emotional state… and suggests music based on it"

PRS for Music announced its one-stop licensing portal today, via a formal release that was emailed to Digital Music News. The 107-year-old UK collecting society created the platform due to … Continue reading "Now There’s a Licensing Platform for Small-Scale Livestreams In the UK"

We are currently reviewing and dissecting submissions made to the UK Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into the economics of streaming. Based on the five years of research CMU Insights has undertaken … Continue reading "Dissecting The Streaming Inquiry #03: The recording / song split"