$40B lost to sound and sports piracy: New government report

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

Recorded music attains new revenue record; streaming grows from 75% to 84%

The recorded music industry reached an all-time high in total revenue for the first half of 2023 — $8.3-billion across all reported categories. Streaming accounted for $7.0-billion, 84% of the total. On average, there were 96-million music subscriptions in H1 2023. All this and more from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its annual mid-year report. Continue Reading

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Russ Crupnick: Does SirisuXM Deserve More Respect?

Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch returns to RAIN News with a bold and well researched assessment of SiriusXM, reaching a broad conclusion that the satellite/streaming service is underestimated after a challenging Q1 earnings call. Original research from MusicWatch bolsters the argument, in addition to several keen business-side observations from Russ. A thorough assessment and a good read. Continue Reading

UMG tries to block AI-generated music in 25-year flashback

Major label Universal Music Group (UMG) has asked Spotify, Apple, and other streaming platforms to block AI-generated music. Based on reporting (HERE and HERE), this is not a legal action, but an urgent request. For now, the news is framed as a request from UMG to streaming services. That stage of protest is reminiscent of major-label protests of Napster and other file-sharing platforms in the late 1990s. That tumultuous period eventually led to label lawsuits against Napster users, meant to both punish individuals and demonstrate purposeful intent to everyone. We see a significant likeness harking back to the 1990s file-sharing epoch. Click through for key facts and RAIN’s speculation. Continue Reading