Copyrights & Legal

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

Sirius XM wins right to appeal in New York for pre-1972 copyright suit

Posted on by Anna Washenko

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon has granted Sirius XM the right to appeal its New York lawsuit over royalties for pre-1972 recordings. McMahon wrote that she granted appeal permission because of “a critically important controlling question of law” and uncertainty about whether Sirius XM had fair use to make temporary copies of the music. She determined that the case “warrants a close look by a controlling court.” Continue Reading →

Canadian songwriters pulled in record royalties in 2014

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada announced its financial results for 2014, and revealed $299 million in revenue from domestic, international and private copying proceeds. The figure broke last year’s record high of $276 million. Within that total, the organization received $20 million in revenue from Internet streaming companies, up from $3.2 million in the previous year. Continue Reading →

Pandora and BMI have court date to settle royalty rates

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

Pandora and BMI are scheduled to go to court tomorrow and hash out the legal issues surrounding the streaming company’s royalty payments to the performing rights organization. BMI is seeking 2.5% of Pandora’s revenue for royalties, up from the 1.75% that it currently pays. Pandora wants a rate of 1.7%, comparable to the rates paid by most terrestrial radio stations. Continue Reading →

Copyright Office Issues Report on Music Licensing, Issues Include Broadcast Performance Royalties, Publisher Withdrawals from ASCAP and BMI, and Pre-1972 Sound Recordings

Posted on by Brad Hill

by David Oxenford

As we reported last week, the U.S. Copyright Office released a comprehensive review of music licensing, and made recommendations for changes. Broadcast Law Attorney offers this thorough analysis of the report’s contents.

“The report tees up many issues for consideration. So now, let the debate begin!” Continue Reading →

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U.S. Copyright Office rattles cages with profound critique of music licensing

Posted on by Brad Hill

The U.S. Copyright Office released a comprehensive critique of how music licensing works in the U.S. Criticism, by itself, is not noteworth ythese days. The document is exceptional for its detail, pedigree, and disruptive recommendations. The headline recommendation: Broadcast radio should start paying artists. Continue Reading →

Beware of Music in Your Podcasts – SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC Don’t Give You the Rights You Need

Posted on by Brad Hill

by David Oxenford

The overwhelming majority of podcasts are spoken-word programs, and it has been that way the category started. Why? Broadcast law attorney and guest columnist David Oxenford explains the legal reasons. Continue Reading →

Proposed class actions could hit Beats, Rdio, Google, and more with pre-1972 copyright judgments

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

On Thursday, Zenbu Magazines filed multiple proposed class-action lawsuits against several streaming services seeking to collect royalties on music recorded before 1972. The company targeted Beats Electronics, Sony Entertainment, Google, Rdio, Songza, Slacker, and Escape Media Group (which owns Grooveshark) in the complaints. Continue Reading →

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SoundExchange to audit Live365, iHeartMedia, CBS Radio in standard compliance sweep

Posted on by Brad Hill

When a reader and pureplay station operator sent us a government notice of SoundExchange’s intent to audit the streaming royalty payments made by Live365, iHeartMedia, and CBS Radio for 2011, 2012, and 2013, we turned to broadcast law attorney David Oxenford (author of the deeply informative Broadcast Law Blog) to find out how significant the action is. Continue Reading →