Copyrights & Legal

All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.

1

Facebook unveils new rights management tool for video (and music?)

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Facebook has launched a Rights Manager tool to help monitor and protect copyrighted content on the social media network. The main focus of the discussion is “freebooting,” in which videos are easily ripped from the content creators and shared by Business Pages to grow their own online audiences to the loss of the original sources. At first glance, this isn’t an obvious musical development. But the comparisons between Facebook’s Rights Manager and YouTube’s Content ID programs are obvious and point to the broader consequences of this initial action by the social media company. Continue Reading →

Sony suing Rdio for fraud, keeping planned Pandora sale secret

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Sony Music is suing the former leaders of Rdio, claiming that the now-defunct streaming service cut it out of millions in its handling of bankruptcy and its sale negotiations with Pandora. Rdio’s former CEO Anthony Bay, General Counsel Elliott Peters, and Senior Vice President of Content Licensing Jim Rondinelli were named as defendants in the claims of misrepresentation and fraudulent behavior. Continue Reading →

1

SoundExchange’s Annual Royalty Collections Approaching $1 Billion — Due to Pandora

Posted on by Angus MacDonald

by Angus MacDonald

Intellectual property attorney Angus MacDonald was the first to calculate that Pandora paid more than half of all SoundExchange collections of royalties to record labels. In this column, he calculates a higher percentage for 2015, noting that the growth of SoundExchange royalty collections is tied closely to Pandora, and that the pace is slowing. Continue Reading →

Musicians petition Copyright Office over DMCA

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The music industry is taking a stand against the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with more than 100 artists and managers petitioning the U.S. Copyright Office to change the current safe harbor laws. The industry has submitted three letters to the office – one from music managers, one from creators, and one from artists and songwriters – explaining their concerns with the existing interpretation of the regulation and calling for change. Continue Reading →

Spotify inks NMPA agreement for songwriter royalty plans

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The National Music Publishers Association has signed an agreement with Spotify centered on songwriting royalties. The arrangement allows publishers to claim and receive royalties for certain compositions on the streaming platform where ownership details were not previously known. It also establishes a compensation fund and a path for finding rights holders who should receive royalties. Continue Reading →

Google Play Music the latest defendant in wave of royalty class actions

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

Yesh Music and John Emanuele have expanded their class-action lawsuit over unpaid royalty claims, adding Google Play Music to the growing roster of defendants. As with the suits against Tidal and Slacker Radio, the plaintiffs claim that they did not receive correctly executed notices of intent from Google about streaming their creations. Continue Reading →