This week, songwriters, composers, and publishers will begin lobbying the Copyright Royalty Board for larger royalty fees from streaming services. The hearing for songwriters and their professional organizations is set to start today. The CRB will be reviewing proposals from several parties as it works to determine the royalty rates paid for interactive streams over the 2018-2022 period. Continue Reading
The latest development in the unfolding legal story between Sirius XM and Flo & Eddie is about the background paperwork. Music Reports has been chosen as the royalty administrator for a ten-year license for the satellite radio company’s use of Flo & Eddie’s recording catalog and other recordings from prior to 1972. Continue Reading
Spotify appears to be testing the hi-fi audio waters. Some users of the streaming service appear to have been chosen to test a version of Spotify’s premium features coupled with lossless, CD-quality audio. According to screenshots of the A/B testing for Spotify Hi-Fi, the potential upgrade could add between $5 and $10 a month to the existing monthly cost. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research is always a source of interesting data and analysis for the music industry, and its assessment of the global recorded music revenue in 2016 is no exception. In two recent blog posts, the company explored both the overall performance of the music industry and the shares of that performance secured by each of the major labels. Continue Reading
Social audio app Anchor has released a long-awaited version 2.0 of its app, in which the push-and-pull between radio (listening) and social (creating) is slanted decidedly to radio. To some extent, the audio creation/listening app is following in the footsteps of SoundCloud. Continue Reading
Former Triton Digital COO (and co-founder) Mike Agovino has partnered with talent management entrepreneur Paul Anderson to launch Workhouse Connect, a self-described “influence marketing company.” Workhouse Connect is positioned as a sister company to Workhouse Media and Workhouse Creative, both started by Anderson. Continue Reading
For the first year, SXSW has opened a Podcast Stage for live podcast production, turning what is historically a recorded medium into performance art. It’s not a first-time breakthrough for podcasting generally, but it does start to put podcasting on an even footing with live music as a festival attraction — especially since the interactive and music agendas overlap this year. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Overview of NYC Summit; music service review; Saavn’s original content. Continue Reading
Richard Conlon, veteran executive in communications and rights management, joined SoundExchange this week as Chief External Affairs Officer. Conlon will report to SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe. This newly created role will have broad purview in SoundExchange’s pivotal position in the digital music industry. Continue Reading
Spotify used Twitter to announce its milestone of 50-million subscribers, and to thank its customers. By any standard, Spotify’s subscriber growth has been impressive. The company noted 40-million paying users in September, and 30-million less than a year ago. Continue Reading
Digital media veteran Kavi Halemane has joined iHeartRadio as GM/Digital Programming, iHeart announced. He is positioned in the product team, reporting to Chief Product Officer Chris Williams. The appointment starts immediately. Continue Reading
Pandora stock watchers have been following the dance moves of Sirius XM, which continues mentioning the leading internet radio company, even while denying any interest in acquiring it. This week, Pandora stock has dipped and bobbed a couple of times. Continue Reading