Copyrights & Legal

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

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YouTube Music Key already has enemies: Azoff questions service’s songwriter royalty rates

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The launch of YouTube Music Key is an exciting development for the streaming music sector, but it the new service already has a very vocal and powerful detractor. Irving Azoff, a music industry veteran and leader of the recent Global Music Rights venture, told The Hollywood Reporter that he is prepared to remove the works by 42 of his clients from YouTube. The threatened move could see about 20,000 copyrighted works taken away from the fledgling service, as well as from the original YouTube video platform. Continue Reading →

David Oxenford: Noncommercial Webcasters Royalty Rate Proposals for 2016-2020

Posted on by Brad Hill

Noncommercial webcasters are often forgotten in the discussion of the current proceeding to set Internet radio sound recording royalties. But, along with the royalties for commercial webcasters, the current Copyright Royalty Board proceeding will also set the rates for noncommercial webcasters. Broadcast attorney and frequent guest contributor David Oxenford explains everything. Continue Reading →

Universal prepares for ongoing legal licensing fights, hires performing rights special advisor

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Universal Music Publishing Group announced that it has hired a special advisor on performing rights. The new post will be filled by Richard Conlon, who will advise the publisher on matters tied to advocating, protecting, and maximizing the value of performing rights for its songwriters. Conlon led the label’s digital new media licensing divisions as a former senior vice president at BMI. Continue Reading →

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BMI tells Pandora it’s not expecting publisher withdrawal

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

A legal tug-of-war between Pandora and performing rights organization BMI has been in progress since a ruling last December, and it took a new twist last week when BMI reportedly advised Pandora that it does not expect any major music publishers to withdraw their catalogs at the end of 2014. This communication was strong on reassurance but weak in specifics. Continue Reading →

Kobalt’s songwriters got more money from Spotify than iTunes in Q1

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Publisher Kobalt announced that for the first time, its writers received greater royalties from Spotify than from iTunes. During the first quarter of 2014, Spotify royalties in Europe were 13% higher than those earned from iTunes downloads in the region. We’re still a long way from declaring victory for the streaming financial model, since this change has only been observed in Europe for Kobalt’s stable of about 6,000 songwriters and artists. However, Spotify’s first success over the long-dominant Apple-owned store is still a notable milestone. Continue Reading →

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Azoff PRO challenges ASCAP/BMI, seeks better rates for songwriters

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Copyright has been the hot-button topic of this year, and the role of performing rights organizations has been a central topic of debate. While some of the top publishers like Sony and Universal Music Group are looking for a chance to break from the outside management of their compositions by ASCAP and BMI, the top two PROs embroiled in consent decree rules, there is still some opportunity for shuffling within that business and legal infrastructure. Continue Reading →

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Pandora proposes lowering music royalty rates based on “steering” in Merlin agreement

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a revealing document submitted to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), Pandora argues for lowered music licensing rates in the 2016-2020 statutory royalty period. The proposed rate range is about half the amount suggested by SoundExchange in its submission to the CRB. The key argument discloses aspects of Pandora’s private music licensing agreement with Merlin, a coalition of 20,000 music labels. Continue Reading →

Audiam launches new IAMP division for timely royalty payments

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Jeff Price, founder and CEO of Audiam, has launched a new division of his company called the International Association of Music Publishers. This group aims to quickly and accurately pay publishers mechanical royalties for the digital use of their creations. The FAQ explains that IAMP aims to also identify and record mechanical royalties that were previously earned but unpaid. Continue Reading →

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Webcast Rate Proposals Now Public for 2016-2020; What Will the Copyright Royalty Board Consider?

Posted on by Brad Hill

by David Oxenford

As webcasters have submitted their royalty-rate arguments to the Copyright Royalty Board, the fight for favorable music licensing rates shifts into high gear. Broadcast law attorney Davide Oxenford takes stock of key points in the submitted briefs, clearly summarizing complex considerations. Continue Reading →

Pandora announces new general counsel

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Pandora has appointed Steve Bené as its new general counsel. Bené joins the online radio service from Electronic Arts, where he held the same position and worked on negotiations with music and movie studios. In his role at Pandora, Bené will be a member of the company’s executive leadership team and will oversee all legal operations. Continue Reading →