The RightsTech Project is pleased to announce the RightsTech Roundtable, a weekly free webinar that will be part of the Digital Entertainment World Let’s DEW Lunch webinar series. Each Thursday we will highlight the important news of the week and a deep dive into a critical topic or issue for the RightsTech community featuring expert speakers and presenters. Click here for more information on Let’s DEW Lunch, and on speaking and sponsoring opportunities.
After a week of intense criticism, the Internet Archive yesterday posted an FAQ in response to concerns raised by authors over its National Emergency Library. The FAQ claims the initiative has a basis in law, and reiterates that it is being undertaken in response to a national crisis.
Source: Internet Archive Responds, Says National Emergency Library Is Legal
Sacem says that the emergency measures include an “exceptional royalty advance” scheme worth up to €36m ($40.4m), a €6m ($6.7m) rescue fund for those most in need, and the addition of €1m ($1.12m) to an existing support program for publishers. The organization says that the operational arrangements for the emergency fund will be active as soon as Thursday, April 2.
Neeta Ragoowansi has been an entertainment attorney for over 28 years, having worked in-house at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, for the National Symphony Orchestra Association, and for the digital performance rights organization SoundExchange. She is SVP, Business Development & Legal Affairs for NPREX (National Performing Rights Exchange) and Artist Relations for RoadNation.
Source: Neeta Ragoowansi elected as new President of the Music Managers Forum-US
Who says everything in the film business has ground to a halt? Some directors are finding ways of keeping the cameras rolling. When the pandemic halted his war thriller, Timur Bekmambetov popped his leading actor inside a video game and completed the shoot from 1,200km away. Will movies now have to be made this way?
Source: Is this the future of film? How to finish a shoot when the coronavirus strikes
The economic disruption and social dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not evenly distributed. Some business face catastrophe, while others thrive. Across the entertainment industries the same is true, ranging from a temporary collapse of the live business through to a surge in gaming activity.
Source: The COVID Bounce: How COVID-19 is Reshaping Entertainment Demand
COVID-19 is spreading in the middle of broadcast networks’ program development season, wreaking havoc on this year’s ad upfront and global TV marketplace. The questions are, what will the upfront ad marketplace look like, and how will entertainment executives be able to cobble together a programming schedule at these virtual upfronts?
Source: How The Coronavirus Will Transform TV Programming And Advertising
Australian broadcasters see the potential for significant cost savings in the current year, if major sports events are canceled and remain off air. Nine Entertainment said that it would save $80 million (A$130 million) of broadcast rights costs in the calendar year to December 2020, if the National Rugby League season is scrapped.
Source: Australia’s Broadcasters Foresee Savings From Canceled Sports Events
For years, U.S. television networks have spent increasing amounts of money on “sports packages,” paying billions of dollars for the rights to show baseball, basketball and other sports exclusively. The exorbitant fees were justified because live contests offered a unique asset — unskippable real-time drama in the age of DVR. But that major virtue of immediacy is now proving to be sports-television’s great weakness.
Source: For the sports-entertainment business, coronavirus is taking a huge toll
One of the casualties of coronavirus-related social distancing measures has been public libraries, which are shut down in many communities around the world. This week, the Internet Archive, an online library best known for running the Internet’s Wayback Machine, announced a new initiative to expand access to digital books during the pandemic.
Source: Internet Archive offers 1.4 million copyrighted books for free online
Telefonica’s Movistar Plus was set to show off a pair of dramas at this year’s MipTV before the market was canceled. Now, Movistar has prepared online presentations on Monday where it will screen episodes of both series as well as conversations with producers and creatives from both series.
Source: Movistar Plus Pitches ‘La Unidad’ Digitally to International Buyers