Copyrights & Legal 19

Mechanical royalties debate sparked once again for Spotify

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Songwriter and publisher royalties have appeared once again as a sticking point for the Spotify streaming service. The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson is reporting that music publishers and songwriters are looking to receive a portion of Spotify’s equity when the company either goes public or finds an interested buyer. According to her sources, the National Music Publishers Association has been deeply interested in the question of equity since Spotify has been more seriously preparing for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Continue Reading →

Spotify reportedly lands licensing deal with Sony

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Spotify has reportedly reached a licensing agreement with Sony Music Entertainment. Unnamed sources told Billboard that the streaming service has inked its second major label deal this year, after announcing an agreement with Universal Music Group in April. Representatives for both Spotify and Sony have declined to comment thus far on the rumored development. Continue Reading →

TuneIn sues Pandora over ad sales deal

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Anna Washenko

TuneIn has filed a lawsuit against Pandora, alleging a breach of contract surrounding an ad deal, according to a report by Billboard. The radio streaming platform claims that did not meet ad sales goals or deliver payments during Q1 2017. Continue Reading →

Apple seeking lower revenue share payouts to labels

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Apple is reportedly looking to renegotiate its deals with record labels in a move that could reduce the share of revenue it needs to pay out to those industry players. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the talks cover both Apple Music and iTunes. The current deals are slated to expire in June, but could be extended if new terms are not reached, according to the sources. Continue Reading →

Pandora sells its South Dakota terrestrial radio station

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Pandora has sold its terrestrial radio station. It has handed off the South Dakota station KXMZ 102.7 to Haugo Broadcasting for $300,000. Pandora initially purchased the station from Connoisseur Media in 2015 for $600,000. The sale brings an end to a convoluted chapter in the audio company’s legal and licensing history. Continue Reading →

ASCAP, YouTube ink new performance rights deal

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Anna Washenko

ASCAP announced that it has entered a multi-year U.S. performance rights deal with YouTube. This arrangement is designed to help members of the performing rights organization to get paid for use of their work on the video platform. Continue Reading →

Spotify settles class action for mechanical royalties

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Spotify has settled a class-action lawsuit over mechanical royalties with the creation of a fund for compensating the artists and labels who have not been paid those fees. If approved by the court, Spotify will set up a fund worth $43.4 million for payouts around compositions that it played without paying mechanical royalties. Continue Reading →

Justice Department files for full-works licensing in BMI consent decree

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Anna Washenko

The Department of Justice is appealing a September decision by federal judge Louis Stanton which contradicted the DOJ on the issue of fractional licensing. The DoJ filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, an action it had been planning to take for months. Continue Reading →

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Live365 is back for real, emerging into public webcaster sign-up

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Brad Hill

Iconic webcasting platform Live365, which went out of business in January, 2016, and reemerged under new ownership in August, has announced that the platform is now open to webcaster sign-ups following a limited roll-out that began in January. Continue Reading →

Universal looking to rescind deal for Prince catalog rights

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Just months after securing the rights to a large portion of Prince’s catalog, Universal Music Group is looking to cancel the deal. According to a letter sent to Minnesota’s Carver County District Court, UMG is now calling on the court to rescind the deal and to get back the $31 million it paid for the rights. Continue Reading →

Warner inks YouTube deal despite “difficult circumstances”

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Warner Music Group has signed a global licensing deal with YouTube, but the major label still reportedly expressed reservations about working with the video platform. CEO Steve Cooper has reportedly shared an internal memo with WMG that said the YouTube deal was signed “under very difficult circumstances.” Continue Reading →

Kobalt shares executive shuffles

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Anna Washenko

Rights administration specialist Kobalt Music Group has announced some updates to its top leadership. First, Richard Sanders has stepped down as the company’s president and chief revenue officer. Laurent Hubert, who heads the company’s platform and investments team, will be replacing Sanders. Continue Reading →