All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
Genius Media Group has filed a lawsuit against Google and LyricFind, alleging that the two parties have been unlawfully taking content from its online lyrics database. The suit seeks at least $50 million in damages, as well as injunctions against both companies to bar them from continuing the practice. Continue Reading
Play it again, Congress. Legislators are making another effort to create performance royalties for radio airplay. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) have introduced the Ask Musicians for Music, or AM-FM, Act. Continue Reading
Sony has secured a licensing deal with Boomplay Music, a Chinese-owned music platform operating in Africa. This means that Boomplay now has agreements with all three of the major labels to bring their catalogs to its streaming and download platform. Continue Reading
The implementation of the Music Modernization Act took another important step forward today. The Mechanical Licensing Collective has secured a deal with the Digital Licensing Coordinator, which represents digital music services that will fund the launch and operation of the collective. Continue Reading
CISAC, the organization representing authors’ and composers’ societies, announced that it collected a record-high €9.65 billion in global royalties during 2018. Digital sources were responsible for €1.64 billion of that total. Continue Reading
TuneIn has lost a legal battle in the UK brought by two of the major labels. Warner Music and Sony Music brought a suit against the digital radio operator in 2017, charging that TuneIn was offering access to international stations that did not have the licenses to play music in the UK. Continue Reading
The IFPI and Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) announced a new deal that will see the two parties collaborate on a system for collecting recording industry data. The Repertoire Data Exchange, or RDx, is a centralized industry data exchange service that will allow record companies and music licensing companies (MLCs) to manage their recording rights. Continue Reading
RIAA released its annual list of leading copyright infringement offenders. The Notorious Markets List includes several familiar operations, including continued concerns about stream-ripping and illicit activities within legitimate mobile apps. Continue Reading
Progress continues with the Mechanical Licensing Collective, the organization formed by the Music Modernization Act to administer the new blanket licenses. The MLC has said it will need $37.25 million to build the structure and set its first-year operating budget at $29 million. Continue Reading
Royalties and payments to artists have remained one of the most complex topics with the shift to streaming models. Deezer is trying a new approach to how it makes those payments. The company’s proposed plan is a user-centric payment system that it will begin trialing next year in France. Continue Reading
The National Music Publishers Association is making a new query into how mechanical royalties are calculated at Spotify and Amazon. The trade group sent letters to both businesses seeking information about their application of the three-tier rate formula from the Copyright Royalty Board. Continue Reading
A Chinese regulator is investigating the music industry deals made by Tencent Music Entertainment, according to Bloomberg. The country’s antitrust authority, the State Administration for Market Regulation, will review Tencent’s deals with the three majors as well as other labels. Continue Reading