As rumored, Pandora has settled with the RIAA for use of pre-1972 music through this year and next. Settlement cost is $90-million. This development comes a few months after Sirius XM, likewise a defendant in cases focusing on performance use of oldies, settled with major labels and other litigants through 2017, at a coast of $210-million. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: 7digital CEO talks new music models; Indian digital music round-up; why RIAA still values retail data. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Crunching RIAA numbers; the value of ad-supported listening; streaming milestone; the return of Earbits; Deezer’s announcement. Continue Reading
With yesterday’s release of music industry revenue for the first half of 2015, a definitive picture emerges of two things: How streaming has eclipsed CD sales over three years, and how ad-supported streaming delivers more revenue than music subscriptions. Continue Reading
Streaming had a strong performance in the first half of 2015, according to the latest RIAA report. Overall wholesale revenue rose 0.8% to $2.3 billion compared with the year-ago period, and overall retail value inched down 0.5% to $3.2 billion. While those percentage changes are small, they do still mark a contrast from the group’s 2014 mid-year report, where the market’s wholesale revenue dropped 2.5% as streaming growth wasn’t enough to balance the losses in other sectors. Continue Reading
Another chapter in the saga between Sirius XM and Flo & Eddie has unfolded and potentially concluded. Following the satellite radio company’s settlement with the RIAA for $210 million in royalties for playing songs recorded before federal copyright law took effect, the former Turtles members tried to argue that the settlement would impede its class action efforts against Sirius. The duo made an effort to change the settlement payout, but yesterday received a ruling that the deal with the RIAA did not impact Flo & Eddie’s class action efforts. Continue Reading
The RIAA and the BPI have issued their 200 millionth URL takedown request to Google. The RIAA has submitted 19,569 total requests and the BPI has made 295,730. These requests seek to remove pirated content from the web. The two record industry organizations for the U.S. and UK, respectively, have been pushing for the tech company to adopt stricter measures to prevent this type of music piracy. Continue Reading
The RIAA released sales and revenue numbers for the first half of 2014. At the top line, a decrease of 4.9% in overall revenue. Streaming posted 28% growth during the half-year — those services supplied 27% of total industry revenue during the front half of the year, drawing close to the 28% share represented by physical music sales. Click through for more. Continue Reading
A mere month after Grooveshark announced that it would be supported on the Chromecast dongle, the streaming service was suspended for violating Google’s Terms of Service. The problem stemmed from allegations by the RIAA that Grooveshark was infringing on artists’ copyright. Continue Reading
REELRADIO, which streams radio airchecks, announced that it received a copyright compliance notice from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The company notes that structural and technical facts make compliance difficult. Continue Reading
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) released its report of 2013 sales and revenue today. (PDF here.) The main bullet point is that streaming is the fastest-growing segment of the recorded-music industry, and its revenue contributes to keeping the industry stable. Streaming has contributed a continually escalating percentage of total revenue since 2007. Continue Reading
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR.gov) has released a daunting report: “2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy.” In it we see dozens of online piracy operations; the 61-page report describes each of them, their general purpose and particular specialties. The documentation might seem depressing, but there is a ray of light. Continue Reading