The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board has announced new mechanical royalty rates for the creative side of the music industry — songwriters and music publishers. The new rates apply to 2026 and 2027. They are the final two years of the current rate-setting period. Click for details. Continue Reading
Two days ago we posted news of a settlement between performance rights organization (PRO) BMI and the Radio Music Licensing Committee. That hard-won agreement resulted in a rate increase for BMI. Today, ASCAP puts out news of a similar agreement, following a similar lawsuit. Continue Reading
Kobalt, the world’s largest independent music publisher, has acquired an equity stake in leading music licensing company Slipstream. The result is a licensing/content behemoth. The announcement from Slipstream says the deal “brings together complementary technology and expertise to serve the entire music publishing ecosystem, from the world’s top songwriters to brands and creative businesses of all kinds. This significant alliance comes on the heels of Slipstream’s acquisition of Anthem Entertainment earlier this month, also covered by RAIN. Continue Reading
“Years of negotiations.” That’s how performing rights organization (PRO) BMI describes its patience and perseverance in royalty dealings with SiriusXM. With patience and perseverance evidently expired, BMI filed a legal action to determine what it calls “fair and appropriate fees.” Click for details — all from BMI’s perspective. No public word from SiriusXM at posting time. Continue Reading
Global music publishing revenues will grow over 60% between 2023 and 2031 — an eight-year span of uninterrupted, incremental upticks. This according to Mark Mulligan, Managing Director of MIDiA Research. And the ticks are sizable. Click through for an illustrative graphic and details Continue Reading
In what seems like a protest action in addition to a logical finance decision, Spotify will raise its subscription rate in France to compensate for a new tax levied by the French government. A public blog post which is both aggressive and defensive makes a case for the streaming giant. “Se simply can’t absorb any additional taxes.” Spotify also disputes whether taxed revenue in France gets where it is supposed to go — assisting artists. Continue Reading
In ASCAP’s just-released annual report for 2023, the performing rights organization announces record-breaking royalty collections on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publisher members. Click for details and charts. Continue Reading
Called the Catch Point Catalog Acquisition Program, the goal is to allow mid- and lower-level songwriters monetize their compositions. The company hopes to realize long-tail value which can be accumulated through many purchases of small catalogs. Click for details. Continue Reading
Jeff Price, indefatigable advocate for independent musical artists, has produced an information/fact sheet which explains how Spotify royalty calculations and payments work. This effort comes after the streaming company made significant changes to its payment allocations. Carrying the weighty title “The Definitive Guide to Spotify’s Changes In Sound Recording Royalty Calculations — And Its Impact on Artists,” the 26-page PDF (available HERE) is part explainer, part statistical sheet, and part accuser. It’s deep, complex, illuminating, and freely available. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced change to its royalty payout calculation, limiting royalty eligibility to tracks which exceed 1,000 streams per 12-month period. Whereas in the past, sub-1,000 tracks earned negligible royalties, now those tracks will be taken out of the calculation entirely. This change will create meaningful results. Continue Reading
Rights management and revenue distribution company BMI has released its annual report (HERE). While the public document does not contain a detailed financial breakout, some success metrics are described by President and CEO Michael O’Neill. BMI is a PRO (Performance… Continue Reading
The new royalty attribution method recently deployed by Universal Music Group and streaming music platform Deezer seeks to make royalty calculation more fair. But the change is not universally applauded. Two digital distribution companies Believe and TuneCore, whose customers are mainly indie musicians, calls the system “reverse Robin Hood.” Continue Reading