Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook company, is further expanding into podcasts with the addition of approximately 100,000 of podcasts, totaling 5 million episodes to its service. The shows will be offered for free streaming to Audible members and non-subscribers alike, Audible says.
One Clear Casualty of the Streaming Wars: Profit
Streaming generates only 1/6 as much revenue per streaming home as pay TV generates per pay TV home for two reasons: on average, streaming homes are only subscribing to ~2 services; and half of all streaming time is ad-free. Even under optimistic assumptions about increased streaming subscription take rates and ad monetization, it is hard to see how streaming will come close.
Amuse expands AI-driven royalty advances of up to $300,000 to independent artists’ collaborators
Swedish Independent music distribution and artist services company Amuse is expanding its data-driven royalty advance service, Fast Forward. Amuse, which offers completely free music distribution for independent artists to services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and others, launched Fast Forward in February last year to pay eligible self-releasing artists advances on future royalties.
Source: Amuse expands AI-driven royalty advances of up to $300,000 to independent artists’ collaborators
RIAA’s YouTube-DL Takedown Ticks Off Developers and GitHub’s CEO
An RIAA takedown request, which removed the YouTube-DL repository from GitHub, has ticked off developers and GitHub’s CEO. Numerous people responded by copying and republishing the contested code, including in some quite clever ways. Meanwhile, GitHub’s CEO is “annoyed” as well, offering help to get the repo reinstated.
Source: RIAA’s YouTube-DL Takedown Ticks Off Developers and GitHub’s CEO * TorrentFreak
RIAA Sued By YouTube-Ripping Site Over DMCA Anti-Circumvention Notices
A company operating a YouTube-ripping platform has sued the RIAA for sending “abusive” DMCA anti-circumvention notices to Google. According to the complaint and contrary to the RIAA’s claims, the Yout service does not “descramble, decrypt, avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair” YouTube’s rolling cipher technology.
Source: RIAA Sued By YouTube-Ripping Site Over DMCA Anti-Circumvention Notices * TorrentFreak
‘Justice At Spotify’ Campaign Calls for Increased Royalty Rates, More Transparency
A group of musicians has launched a new campaign, called Justice At Spotify, to try to gain support for a series of changes they would like to see the world’s largest streaming service make. Along with a mission statement and a petition that at press time has been signed by more than 6,000 people.
Source: ‘Justice At Spotify’ Campaign Calls for Increased Royalty Rates, More Transparency
BMG on its expansion into live music: ‘This is the opposite of a 360 deal.’
If the concert business is indeed having its “Napster moment” right now, one wonders if the music companies making the most cash mid-pandemic – a.k.a the major rightsholders – will be tempted to more heavily invest in the live space, which has born the brunt of Covid-19’s unforgiving impact.
Source: BMG on its expansion into live music: ‘This is the opposite of a 360 deal.’
Pro Music Rights Settles Streaming Collusion Suit with Connoisseur Media
Pro Music Rights has settled its massive collusion suit with Connoisseur Media months after reaching agreements with iHeartMedia and Napster. The performance rights organization first submitted the 120-page-long complaint in March of this year, naming Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, and an array of other prominent music-industry companies as defendants.
Source: Pro Music Rights Settles Streaming Collusion Suit with Connoisseur Media
Twitch, Amazon Slammed by RIAA and Major Industry Groups for Using Unlicensed Music
Twitch, the rapidly growing livestreaming platform, and its owner Amazon received a blistering letter on Thursday signed by multiple major U.S. music organizations including the RIAA, the Recording Academy, the National Music Publishers Association, the Music Managers Forum, the American Association of Independent Music, SAG-AFTRA and more than a dozen others over its lack of licensing deals with many major music rights-holders.
AT&T CEO Sees ‘Choppy’ Recovery for Movies, Concedes ‘Tenet’ Was Not ‘Home Run’
AT&T chief John Stankey sees a “choppy” recovery ahead for movies, and he concedes that the release of “Tenet” was not “a home run.” During AT&T’s third quarter earnings call, Stankey acknowledged that the studio’s decision to release Christopher Nolan’s drama “Tenet” in the U.S. on Sept. 3 was underwhelming. But he does not regret the decision to be the first major studio to release a highly anticipated film in theaters during the pandemic.
Source: AT&T’s John Stankey Sees ‘Choppy’ Recovery for Movies, Concedes ‘Tenet’ Was Not ‘Home Run’