All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
The U.S. Recording Academy is planning a grassroots initiative to help promote the Fair Pay Fair Play Act. The campaign will see more than 1,600 of the Academy’s members visiting their local representatives and policy-makers on Oct. 14 to voice their support for the legislation. Continue Reading
Subscription access to entertainment is becoming more prevalent, but different international markets face different challenges in executing that vision. For instance, people in the EU bloc may have difficulties accessing their digital services when traveling across country borders. A study by the European Commission found that cross-border access to entertainment subscriptions is important for nearly one in three Europeans. The research also had some data points specifically about music listening habits in the EU. Continue Reading
Yesterday, we reported on PRS for Music’s lawsuit against SoundCloud. Today, the plaintiff got a statement of support from their fellow Brits at BASCA. “We acknowledge that streaming is a fantastic means of listening to and enjoying music but SoundCloud’s intransigence in refusing to be licensed through PRS For Music means their model financially damages our members,” CEO Vick Bain said. Continue Reading
We heard rumblings that SoundCloud might face legal action from the major labels, but the one to strike first is actually a UK collection society. PRS for Music is suing the online audio platform because SoundCloud does not have a license for the UK or Europe to play tracks that include material it represents. Continue Reading
ASCAP announced this morning that Mark Sperling, a seasoned executive with strategy, partnership, and merger specialties, will join the performing rights organization as SVP, Strategy and Business Development. Sperling has a deep financial transaction background in mergers, partnerships, and IPOs. Continue Reading
Judge Philip Gutierrez has chosen not to add the latest pre-1972 royalty lawsuit to his docket. ABS Entertainment filed a suit against CBS, Cumulus, and iHeartMedia in an effort to collect royalties for those radio groups’ use of songs recorded prior to the adoption of federal copyright law. The plaintiff tried to have the case transferred to Gutierrez since it focused on potential infringement under the same statute as the suit filed by Flo & Eddie against Sirius XM. Continue Reading
Traditional radio is now a litigation target over music licensing of pre-1972 recordings, thanks to an action filed in a California state court by ABS Entertainment. Will the lawsuit reach beyond the webcast streams of the radio groiups targeted? Continue Reading
Apple has filed a patent application for a concept of gifting “digital mixed tapes” that could be a future addition to its music department. The application suggests a system for creating customized complication albums and then gifting them to another person. These albums could include some unique features, such as revealing a track’s title only as it is played or limiting the ability to fast forward. The patent also suggests options for incorporating multimedia content to the audio experience. Continue Reading
SoundExchange announced that it has surpassed $3 billion in digital royalties paid to recording artists and labels since 2003. Last year, the organization issued payments of $773 million, representing about 16% of total revenue from the entire U.S. recorded music industry. Continue Reading
The IFPI has thrown its hat into the ring to discuss streaming royalties paid to artists. The group’s CEO Frances Moore penned a blog post about this delicate subject based on IFPI’s own research into the music industry’s financial situation. “The issue is not that artists are getting lower royalty payments from digital services – they are not – but that the overall recorded music market has shrunk, which means smaller revenues for all involved,” she wrote. Continue Reading
A federal judge has denied Pandora’s request to reverse an earlier rate-setting ruling, and allow Pandora to pay lower music royalties to BMI. The decision is a mile-marker along a twisting path that involves the market-leading Internet radio service (Pandora), both government-regulated PROs (BMI and ASCAP), and South Dakota radio station KXMZ. Continue Reading
Another chapter in the saga between Sirius XM and Flo & Eddie has unfolded and potentially concluded. Following the satellite radio company’s settlement with the RIAA for $210 million in royalties for playing songs recorded before federal copyright law took effect, the former Turtles members tried to argue that the settlement would impede its class action efforts against Sirius. The duo made an effort to change the settlement payout, but yesterday received a ruling that the deal with the RIAA did not impact Flo & Eddie’s class action efforts. Continue Reading