The U.S. Copyright Registrar issued a decision to the Copyright Royalty Board, ruling that Pandora’s use of its licensing deal with indie group Merlin was admissable evidence. It’s important because the Merlin deal is a lynchpin in Pandora’s argument for lower royalty rates starting in 2016. Continue Reading
SFX appeared to be pulling itself out of a financial hole last week with the announcement of $90 million in new funding. But the hits are still coming for the company. Its investors have reportedly hired a Los Angeles law firm to investigate SFX after allegations of fraud. Continue Reading
BMI announced that it will pay bonuses to the top songs on select streaming platforms. The performing rights organization’s new payment system complements the existing structures for premiums distributed to the top songs on radio and television channels. Continue Reading
One of Tidal’s artist-owners has confessed that the launch of the boutique streaming service was a bit disastrous. Win Butler, frontman of The Arcade Fire, also pointed to the major label demands as a factor in Tidal’s pricing at $20. Continue Reading
Apple Music had two big business developments break yesterday. First, the streaming service debuted a surprise mixtape by hip-hop superstars Drake and Future. Then a new commercial marked a shift in rhetoric for the streaming platform. Continue Reading
Pandora successfully acquired KXMZ radio station in South Dakota in May, but that doesn’t mean the ownership stayed on secure footing. ASCAP challenged two elements in Pandora’s action to buy the station shortly after the purchase closed, but the FCC today denied them both. Continue Reading
SFX announced that it has secured $60 million in new financing. The company also refinanced its $30 million revolving credit facilities for a total of $90 million. Its founder had made an effort to take the company private but was unable to secure backing as share prices have been dropping. Continue Reading
Pandora CFO Mike Herring participated in a session at a Goldman Sachs conference, fielding questions from one of the financial company’s analysts. His talk touched on how Pandora measures its advertising, it’s latest efforts in mobile ads, and the looming CRB decision. Continue Reading
Deezer has created its first ad spot for UK televisions. The colorful ad shows a series of characters that rhyme with the streaming service, such as geezer and crowd-pleaser. This spot is the first in a series of four, which promise to get ever-zanier with the rhymes. Continue Reading
Jacobs Media and the Public Radio Program Directors conducted the seventh edition of its annual survey to learn more about the preferences of public radio listeners. Among those respondents, public radio saw continued transitions to digital, with 19% of weekly usage happening on those channels. The survey also covered on-demand listening, mobile options, and sustaining memberships. Continue Reading
There’s a new mobile radio app on the horizon. It’s called Mr. Yep, just Mr. It’s the work of Shellanoo, the same company behind the Music Messenger program. The service bills itself as “the world’s easiest to use music radio app.” And technically, that may be accurate. Continue Reading
A new study investigated the relationship between piracy and freemium music services. CALinnovates, an advocacy organization for tech and public policy, sponsored the survey. Continue Reading