All about copyright, understanding music licensing, and government regulations.
Audible has drawn a lawsuit for its upcoming Captions feature. The Captions tool uses machine learning to transcribe the spoken words in Audible recordings. This update sparked a lawsuit from several publishers based on claims that Audible has not acquired the needed licenses to reproduce the content of physical books and ebooks. Continue Reading
A group of streaming services is facing a new patent challenge, the latest in a long line of legal attacks related to vague claims for intellectual property around audio technology. Post Media Systems has filed separate lawsuits against Apple Music, Pandora/Sirius XM, and Google in Illinois. Continue Reading
YouTube is making a change to its Content ID system that may lead to a spike in the number of blocked videos. In a blog post, the video platform announced that it would no longer let rightsholders use its manual claiming tool for monetizing “creator videos with very short or unintentional uses of music.” Continue Reading
The Department of Justice has closed the open comment period for its review of the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI. Both of the performing rights organizations have submitted their views on the subject, as have other groups from the music and audio industry. Even though the topic was recently addressed by the DOJ, the sector still has deeply divided interests in how these rules may or may not change. Continue Reading
SoundExchange announced that it is offering a new licensing solution for putting music in podcasts. The organization is collaborating with SourceAudio to create a solution for Podcastmusic.com, making the works of SoundExchange members available for podcast creators to license. Continue Reading
Human review of voice assistant recordings has been a fiery topic of late, and actions are already being taken to improve privacy for their users. Apple announced that it will globally suspend its grading program, while Google has stopped the practice in Europe. Continue Reading
After all three of the main developers of voice assistant platforms have faced privacy breaches, either through whistleblowers or through human or mechanical errors, a member of Congress is moving to address the risks to consumers. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) has introduced a new act that would give people recourse for when smart speakers and smart doorbells collect data in violation of their terms of agreements. Continue Reading
YouTube is making some adjustments to its Content ID platform. The new changes are related to manual claims in the system for copyrighted audio. While they may make things clearer for people making content for YouTube, copyright holders will have an additional step to take. Continue Reading
Merlin has entered an agreement with Jaxsta, an Australia-based business specializing in technology and music credits. Under the terms of the commercial data access agreement, the global indie label and rights management network will provide Jaxsta with official data about the music creations of its members. Continue Reading
The U.S. Copyright Office has made an important step forward in enacting the provisions passed by the Music Modernization Act last fall. The office selected the group led by the National Music Publishers Association to manage the creation and operation of the Mechanical Licensing Collective. Continue Reading
Spotify’s interactions with publishers and songwriters have gotten even more complicated, with the streaming service claiming that it overpaid on mechanical royalties in 2018. The Copyright Royalty Board issued its mechanical royalty payment rates in December 2018 after the music platform had already paid out almost a full year under a different rate scheme. Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice has officially opened a new review of the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI. Both performance rights organizations have operated their copyright management systems under these rules for more than 75 years. The review will examine whether the decrees should continue in their current state, receive modifications, or be ended entirely. Continue Reading