All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
Attorneys from Universal Music Group have responded to an investigation that the label colluded with other leading music companies to push out free, ad-supported tiers from streaming services. In a letter responding to a subpoena, UMG denied having any agreements with Sony Music, Warner Music Group, or Apple to “impede the availability of third-party free or ad-supported music streaming services.” Continue Reading
Pandora is now legally free to acquire KXMZ, a South Dakota radio station. the FCC has ruled against a petition to deny Pandora’s application, saying that ASCAP failed to establish its case. Continue Reading
Paul Resnikoff of Digital Music News has uploaded a copy of the agreement SoundCloud is allegedly negotiating with the National Music Publishers Association. The two-year deal offers advances of about $350,000 to the participating publishers. In exchange, SoundCloud would get a license allowing its creator partners to monetize and promote their uploads. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate-setting process, currently in the trial phase, did not conclude on Friday as originally scheduled. Instead, broadcast law attorney David Oxenford tols RAIN News, the proceeding will continue for three days this week. Click through for the new schedule. Continue Reading
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez has approved class action status for Flo & Eddie’s lawsuit against Sirius XM. The new class action certification means that other artists whose music was recorded before the advent of federal copyright law can join the lawsuit to seek damages. Sirius XM had argued that it would be difficult to calculate damages for the different artists joining the suit, but was unable to convince the judge. Continue Reading
Yesterday, we briefly reported on the contract between Sony and Spotify that was leaked online earlier in the week. We learned today that the International Music Managers Forum used the contract lead as a catalyst for an open letter to the European Commission in an effort to demand more transparency in digital deals. Continue Reading
Electronica producer Madeon has been using Twitter this week to jab a sharp stick into his label’s side, over a reported Soundcloud takedown action. The tweet protest illustrates how rights-holder decisions about streaming access to music can conflict with artist values, especially in the EDM category. Continue Reading
Robert Ashcroft, CEO of PRS for Music, spoke about the concerns for UK publishers and songwriters at the performing rights organization’s annual general meeting. His critiques were focused on online platforms that thrive on user-generated content, such as YouTube and SoundCloud. Ashcroft said those services have been unfairly benefiting from safe harbor laws. Continue Reading
In a Manhattan U.S. District Court, a ruling in the BMI vs. Pandora royalty rate case went in BMI’s direction late yesterday, raising the rate at which Pandora must pay for BMI-represented music by 43%. Continue Reading
Rdio has added a new subscription tier focused on mobile listening to its available offerings. Rdio Select offers elements of both lean-back and on-demand listening on mobile devices for $3.99 a month. It is an innovative, carefully considered competitive gambit. Continue Reading
The RIAA and the BPI have issued their 200 millionth URL takedown request to Google. The RIAA has submitted 19,569 total requests and the BPI has made 295,730. These requests seek to remove pirated content from the web. The two record industry organizations for the U.S. and UK, respectively, have been pushing for the tech company to adopt stricter measures to prevent this type of music piracy. Continue Reading
In a slow-moving patent lawsuit about the right to use HD Radio technology, defending radio groups have been dismissed from the case. the case dismissal was ordered “with prejudice,” meaning that it cannot be re-introduced. Continue Reading