royalties

Sony boss calls for better songwriter/publisher royalties from streaming

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

Martin Bandier, chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV, has added his voice to the criticism of rates paid to music publishers for streaming. “We at Sony/ATV want these digital music services to be successful because they are a great way for music fans to listen to music and have the potential to generate significant new revenues for everyone,” he said. “However, this success should not come at the expense of songwriters whose songs are essential for these services to exist and thrive.” Continue Reading →

Warner Music’s 2014 financials show streaming growth, but marginalized publishing revenue

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Warner Music Group posted its financial report for the year ending Sept. 30, and the results included some impressive figures related to streaming. The company’s revenue rose 5.2% to $3.02 billion, it’s highest number since 2009. That total was bolstered by an increase of $150 million in revenue from streaming music. Continue Reading →

2

SoundExchange identifies breakout artists in streaming

Posted on by Brad Hill

SoundExchange, the performing rights organization that collects and distributes streaming royalties to labels and artists, has released three year-end top-10 and top-20 charts. The Top Streamed Breakout Artists list is based on newness to royalty collection — specifically, qualifying recording artists can not have received SoundExchange royalty payments before September 1, 2013. Continue Reading →

2

YouTube Music Key already has enemies: Azoff questions service’s songwriter royalty rates

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The launch of YouTube Music Key is an exciting development for the streaming music sector, but it the new service already has a very vocal and powerful detractor. Irving Azoff, a music industry veteran and leader of the recent Global Music Rights venture, told The Hollywood Reporter that he is prepared to remove the works by 42 of his clients from YouTube. The threatened move could see about 20,000 copyrighted works taken away from the fledgling service, as well as from the original YouTube video platform. Continue Reading →

Audiam launches new IAMP division for timely royalty payments

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Jeff Price, founder and CEO of Audiam, has launched a new division of his company called the International Association of Music Publishers. This group aims to quickly and accurately pay publishers mechanical royalties for the digital use of their creations. The FAQ explains that IAMP aims to also identify and record mechanical royalties that were previously earned but unpaid. Continue Reading →

1

Rosanne Cash: Streaming is “dressed-up piracy”

Posted on by Brad Hill

The latest outburst in the high-profile Spotify debate does more than just criticize streaming, it condemns it. Rosanne Cash, who testified in a congressional music-licensing hearing this summer, stirred up mixed reactions with two recent Facebook posts in which she equated streaming with music piracy, and also continued her impassioned campaign to alter U.S. copyright regulations. Continue Reading →

Local broadcaster’s geo-fencing lawsuit recommended for dismissal

Posted on by Anna Washenko

A Virginia magistrate recommended dismissing the lawsuit filed by VerStandig Broadcasting against SoundExchange. Magistrate Judge Joel Hoppe suggested the dismissal due to a lack of controversy between the two parties, according to Radio World. VerStandig filed a suit against the royalty collector on claims that its use of geo-fencing should exempt it from needing to pay copyright royalties. The broadcaster claimed that it could use this technology to cap streaming content within 150 miles of its transmitter. Continue Reading →

SoundExchange Q2 data shows digital radio royalty payments slowly pulling even

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The latest quarterly data from SoundExchange revealed that non-interactive digital radio services are making progress in matching the royalties from other digital revenue streams. Last year, subscription music services such as Spotify, Rhapsody, and Beats Music posted a growth rate of 57 percent. If that rate holds, then those services will make $987 million this year. That would yield $690 million for rights holders, assuming a 70/30 split of the revenue. Continue Reading →

Vital copyright focus at RAIN Summit Indy

Posted on by Brad Hill

“The Summer of Copyright.” We’ve been using that phrase recently, borrowed from broadcast attorney David Oxenford and his series of guest articles about this tumultuous year in copyright. Will the system of music royalties be rebooted when the Copyright Royalty Board establishes new rates? Will the decades-old “Consent Decrees” which govern how publishers and songwriters receive royalties be upheld or stricken down? Will pre-1972 music receive the copyright protection it has never had? What about terrestrial radio paying performance royalties for the first time in history — will it happen, and should it? Continue Reading →