Copyrights & Legal 18

Songwriters move closer toward proposing blanket mechanical licensing law

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Anna Washenko

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 lawmakers still hearing conflicting demands over safe harbor in Copyright Directive

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Anna Washenko

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 →

Fair Play Fair Pay Act gets two new co-sponsors

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Anna Washenko

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 →

Rights management and monetization startup nets seed funding, buys Dart Music assets

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Anna Washenko

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 reportedly renegotiates lower payments to Warner

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Anna Washenko

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 →

Music licensing and streaming platform Jamendo launches in the U.S.

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Music licensing platform Jamendo is launching in the U.S. The company specializes in serving independent artists, running both a licensing platform for performers and a free streaming service for private, professional use. It has been operating in Europe for more than a decade, and now is officially bringing its two-pronged business model state-side. Continue Reading →

Merlin reaches milestone $1B label distributions as market transitions to streaming

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Brad Hill

Global label agency Merlin has announced reaching a milepost of $1-billion dollars or rights payments distributed to member labels. Merlin licenses on behalf of 20,000+ indie labels in 53 countries. Continue Reading →

Spotify lands Warner licensing deal, closing out major label trifecta

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Spotify has secured a licensing deal with Warner Music Group, meaning the streaming service now has agreements with all three major labels. The Warner deal is one of the final pieces Spotify needs to progress with any means of going public. Continue Reading →

Dubset inks first major label deal with Sony Music

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Sony Music has signed a deal with Dubset, a startup that helps with the management of rights in remixes and DJ sets. This agreement will allow artists to monetize their work when it is used in those modified formats, while the creators of those remixes and sets can be legally distributed to Apple Music and Spotify. Continue Reading →

Personal Audio loses Patent Office challenge, podcasting patent remains invalidated

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Anna Washenko

The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has unanimously upheld a ruling against the Personal Audio podcasting patent. The latest court decision is another win for both the EFF and the podcasting community after a few tense years in court. Continue Reading →

RMLC wins lower license rates in SESAC arbitration

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Anna Washenko

The arbitration between the Radio Music License Committee and SESAC has yielded a new, lower licensing rate for participating stations. For the license period between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2018, RMLC-Represented Stations will see a 60% discount applied to its SESAC license rate card. Continue Reading →

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ASCAP and BMI are making a joint database of rights, licensing information

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Anna Washenko

ASCAP and BMI announced a collaboration that will see the two performing rights organizations create a single comprehensive database of musical works from their libraries. The database will contain an overview of shares and rights information for much of the music licensed in the United States, offering more clarity around music ownership. Continue Reading →