All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
In March we covered the first ruling in a years-long court case against Michael Robertson, founder of MP3Tunes.com. The verdict went badly for Robertson, who faced a bill for $48-million in damages and punitive compensation. Now the presiding judge has reduced the punitive component of the verdict to one-tenth of its original size — from $7.5-million to $750,000. Continue Reading
Sirius XM was on the receiving end of some bad copyright news last week, and this week the recipient is Grooveshark. Universal Music Group is pushing for a summary judgment, claiming that it is the owner of pre-1972 recordings played on the streaming service. Since Grooveshark’s users are the ones uploading content and since labels can issue takedown notices, the platform has argued that it is covered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbors and thus is not liable for infringement. Universal is arguing that this provision should not apply to the music dating before 1972. Continue Reading
“This is a very surprising decision,” writes broadcast attorney David Oxenford in this comprehensive analysis of a federal court ruling in California. Looking forward, much depends on whether the surprising decision is upheld in appeal, and whather it is replicated in other courtrooms and states. “If this decision were upheld, the potential ramifications for business in California could be great.” Oxenford, who wrote about “The Summer of Copyright” this year, declares the start of what could be an equally contentious new season — “The Autumn of Copyright has begun!” Continue Reading
A California judge has delivered a result in the Turtles vs. Sirius XM class action case, in which the oldies band sought damages for Sirius XM’s failure to pay royalties for use of pre-1972 music. The court issued a summary judgment in favor of the artists, striking a blow to Sirius XM and sending tectonic shock waves across the streaming music landscape. Although the ruling is clear, its impact is not. The case centers on discrepancies between state and federal music-licensing laws, and lack of clear regulation in both realms. Continue Reading
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), a performing rights organization that collects and distributes music royalties on behalf of publishers and composers, announced record-breaking revenue and distribution for the fiscal year ended June 30. Revenue totaled $977-million, and royalty distributions were accounted at $840-million. Continue Reading
A Virginia magistrate recommended dismissing the lawsuit filed by VerStandig Broadcasting against SoundExchange. Magistrate Judge Joel Hoppe suggested the dismissal due to a lack of controversy between the two parties, according to Radio World. VerStandig filed a suit against the royalty collector on claims that its use of geo-fencing should exempt it from needing to pay copyright royalties. The broadcaster claimed that it could use this technology to cap streaming content within 150 miles of its transmitter. Continue Reading
Personal Audio won its patent infringement lawsuit against CBS. The company is commonly seen as a patent troll, holding intellectual property rights for what it claims is an essential part of podcasting. A jury in Marshall, Texas, supported Personal Audio’s claims and awarded it damages of $1.3 million. The company has outstanding patent suits against the FOX and NBC networks. Continue Reading
Spotify’s director of economics, Will Page, spoke at the Bigsound conference in Brisbane, Australia, about the impact of legal streaming services on piracy. His data showed that, in the year from December 2012, the volume of BitTorrent files downloaded by Australians dropped by more than 20%. Spotify launched in Australia on May 21, 2012. Since then, he said one in six Aussies have tried out the music service. Continue Reading
Pandora has signed a U.S. license agreement with music rights management company BMG for its complete catalogs of both ASCAP and BMI music. Few details about the multi-year agreement were disclosed in Pandora’s press release, but it did point to mutual business and marketing perks for all parties involved. Continue Reading
Most of the top online radio and streaming services place their focus squarely on individual people as their listeners. Feed.fm is turning the idea of digital music into a B2B product with its “music as a service” offerings. VentureBeat reported that Feed.fm recently secured a $1.2 million round of financing that will go toward hiring new talent for the six-person team. Continue Reading
Universal Music Publishing Group has followed through on the plans it made earlier this summer to list its catalog online. For starters, the online Song List only includes the portions of its catalog written by members of the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC performing rights organizations. The company plans to expand the list over time. Continue Reading
The International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies, better known as CISAC, has a new director general. Gadi Oron, who previously served as CISAC’s general counsel, is now helping the organization of musical publishing collecting societies. Continue Reading