All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
Several tech companies have pitched the European Commission to request limits on behavior from Apple and Amazon that they claim are anti-competitive. Spotify CEO and Co-founder Daniel Ek and Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht both signed the letter to EU regulators asking for “a level playing field” that prevents some tech giants from “regularly abusing their advantaged position.” Continue Reading
YouTube has returned hundreds of music videos to its service in Finland, ending a temporary block on the content. The tech company stopped showing content represented by Finnish collection society Teosto starting November 30 after the two parties were unable to secure a new licensing agreement. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board has issued its cost of living adjustments for royalty rates in 2018. The new rate for ad-supported, non-subscription music streaming services in 2018 is $0.0018. Paid subscription services will pay $0.0023 per performance. The previous rates were $0.0017 for ad-supported and $0.0022 for subscription. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has signed a licensing deal to bring its catalog to Mdundo, a streaming service in Africa. The company offers both streaming and downloads, although the Warner library will only be available to stream. Mdundo has both ad-supported and paid streaming options. Continue Reading
Music Business Worldwide is reporting that two of the major labels have started legal proceedings against TuneIn UK around possible breach of copyright. Sources told the publication that the suit alleges the UK branch of the online audio company had at least 800 unlicensed music streams in that market. Continue Reading
A new coalition called Digital Music Europe will bring together several streaming music platforms and other digital music companies to represent their interests in the EU government. Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht will be the group’s president and Spotify Director of EU Regulatory Affairs Olivia Regnier will be the chairman. Continue Reading
Sirius XM secured a court win in Florida over royalties for music recorded prior to 1972. The satellite radio company was sued by Flo & Eddie, representing two members of The Turtles, in Florida, New York, and California over whether it has to pay royalties when it plays songs that were recorded before the adoption of federal copyright law. Continue Reading
Several organizations within the music industry are making an effort to create a blanket mechanical license for digital music services. David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association, introduced the latest push at the monthly meeting of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. The proposed law would streamline the process of collecting mechanical royalties as well as revising the rate-setting process. Continue Reading
European leaders are hearing continued pressure to create stronger solutions in securing the safe harbor clause. The latest move centered on a number of groups that lobby on digital rights sending a letter to Parliament calling for the clause to be eliminated from the draft of the European Copyright Directive. Continue Reading
The Fair Play Fair Pay Act has two new co-sponsors. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) have joined as co-sponsors of the current bill, which has been spearheaded by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). musicFIRST issued a statement supporting the new backers of the legislation centered on radio and performance royalties. Continue Reading
A Los Angeles-based startup called HAAWK, which specializes in rights management, copyright enforcement, and monetization for user-generated content, has announced two business developments. First, the company secured a $2.5 million seed round of financing. Second, it has acquired assets from Dart Music. Continue Reading
Apple has reportedly inked a new licensing deal with Warner Music Group. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the updated arrangement will see Apple paying a smaller share of its revenue. The tech company may also be near to a similar deal update with Sony Music Entertainment, although does not appear to have progressed in talks with Universal Music Group. Continue Reading