An NFT is a unit of data that certifies a digital asset to be unique and can be traced to help prevent fraud. That’s something appealing to artists, who are always concerned about fakes, copies, and plagiarism. But the main appeal is the end of the galleries as the sole gatekeepers of who gets to access the fame and money of the artists’ Olympus.
Source: Blockchain Is Democratising Art for Everyone | The Fintech Times
The acquisitive music rights company confirmed the closing of its previously announced business combination with Roth CH Acquisition II Co. (ROCC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed by Roth Capital Partners and Craig-Hallum Capital Group. That combined company’s name is Reservoir Media Inc., and it continues to be led by Reservoir’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Golnar Khosrowshahi.
Source: Reservoir is now a public company, as it successfully floats on Nasdaq via SPAC merger
Source: Hollywood Productions Halted as Covid-19 Emerges on Sets Again
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, attorneys for Johansson allege that the actress’s contract was breached when the studio opted not to debut the film exclusively in theaters, a move they claim depressed ticket sales for the Avengers spinoff. Much of Johansson’s compensation was tied to the box office performance of “Black Widow” — if it hit certain benchmarks, bonuses would kick in.
Source: Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney for Breach of Contract Over ‘Black Widow’ Release
Back in late May, songwriters demanded greater mechanical-royalty transparency from the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Now, music-creator organizations are once again expressing “strong opposition” to a proposed mechanical-rate freeze as well as “non-transparent elements” that could be introduced to the CRB by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and the Big Three record labels.
Source: Songwriters Urge CRB to Reject Proposed Mechanical Rate Freeze
Facebook has teamed up with French anti-piracy association ALPA up to protect content on its platforms from copyright infringement, the tech giant announced on Monday. As part of this partnership, Facebook will provide ALPA with its video rights identification and management tool known as Rights Manager – which enables it to automatically identify and block content that infringes intellectual property laws on Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Source: Facebook teams up with French anti-piracy association on copyright
Spotify now has 165 million premium subscribers and 365 million monthly active users according to a new earnings report released today. It’s a year-over-year increase of 20 percent and 22 percent respectively, and up from the 158 million subscribers and 356 million MAUs seen last quarter.
Source: Spotify’s paid subscribers hit 165M as podcast listening ‘improved modestly’
Music rights giant ASCAP said today that a quartet of early-stage startups/university music projects will compete in its Immersive Music Studio Challenge. The cohort aims to tackle wide-ranging music industry issues. Some have already laid out commercialization plans, while others came together for the program and haven’t thought that far down the road.
Source: ASCAP Lab highlights a quartet of early-stage music startups
Source: Live Music Is Back, but the Musicians Are Out of Practice
The sole copy of a Wu-Tang Clan record, forfeited by the infamous “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, has been sold by the US government, according to a Justice Department press release published Tuesday. Shkreli is currently serving out a seven-year prison sentence issued in August 2017 for securities fraud by a Brooklyn, New York, federal court.
Source: “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli’s Wu-Tang Clan album sold by US government