All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
Spotify’s interactions with publishers and songwriters have gotten even more complicated, with the streaming service claiming that it overpaid on mechanical royalties in 2018. The Copyright Royalty Board issued its mechanical royalty payment rates in December 2018 after the music platform had already paid out almost a full year under a different rate scheme. Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice has officially opened a new review of the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI. Both performance rights organizations have operated their copyright management systems under these rules for more than 75 years. The review will examine whether the decrees should continue in their current state, receive modifications, or be ended entirely. Continue Reading
Dubset, a company offering rights management and royalties services, has secured a new partnership with Pioneer DJ. The deal will allow DJs to clear mixes and sets for select streaming services through the DJM-REC iOS app. Continue Reading
The RIAA has been doggedly continuing its legal fight against piracy, and has made progress in identifying the operators of stream-ripping sites. The trade group recently collaborated with Music Canada and the IFPI to force illegal file-hosting service DBR.ee offline. Continue Reading
Music royalty collection services company Songtrust announced that Lara Baker has joined its team as director of business development for the UK and Ireland. She will report to Molly Neuman, the company’s global head of business development. Continue Reading
Several tech and music companies have been named in a new lawsuit that aims to tackle digital distribution of unauthorized recordings. The legal action was brought by the estate of Harold Arlen, a legendary composer best known for the classic “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Continue Reading
Spotify’s launch in India’s listening market has proceeded with good news this year, but has reportedly hit a stumbling point in its negotiation with Saregama, India’s oldest record label. Continue Reading
Independent music distributor CD Baby announced a partnership with Audible Magic, a specialist in digital content identification, licensing, and monetization. Under the terms of their arrangement, CD Baby will use the RightsRx service from Audible Magic to find content rights conflicts before music is sent to a digital platform. Continue Reading
Several streaming services drew the ire of songwriting groups when they moved to appeal the mechanical royalty rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board. Although Amazon, Google, and Pandora are also participating in the appeal, Spotify has been shouldering the bulk of the critique. Continue Reading
7digital has launched two new partnerships. First, it has made its first move into connected cars through a deal with ACCESS, a software provider for entertainment devices. The second partnership is with Dubset, the rights management tech company specializing in remixes and DJ sets. Continue Reading
European Parliament has voted in favor of the Copyright Directive, a set of reforms intended to update the bloc’s rules for a digital age, but including several controversial provisions. The directive passed by a vote of 348 votes in favor and 274 against. Continue Reading
The RIAA is filing an appeal in a court case against the Russian operator of two stream-ripping websites. Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia determined that he lacked jurisdiction to take on the case against Tofig Kurbanov in a January ruling. Continue Reading