The Spanish Competition Authority (CNMC) plans to initiate antitrust proceedings against Spanish Authors society SGAE, for alleged “abuse of dominant position.” The investigation is being launched at the request of Unison, a Barcelona-based Independent Management Entity (IME) organization.
Source: Spanish competition authority to open antitrust case against authors society SGAE
New York-headquartered digital collectibles platform Blockparty has struck its first major label partnership with Warner Music Group (WMG). The news follows WMG’s NFT-related global partnership in April last year with Genies, which dubs itself “the world’s largest avatar technology company.” Blockparty claims to have created “a new class of digital collectibles across art, music, and sports” which it says will “enable users to share and earn value together”.
Source: NFT Platform Blockparty strikes first major label partnership with Warner Music Group
Digital rights startup SuperBam announced it has paid out more than $10 million in reclaimed ad revenue to content creators who make their livings on YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Facebook. SuperBam, works with creators and companies to help them track down those mashups, compilations, reuploads, and reposts on YouTube and claim the revenue those videos generate.
New York-based Reservoir Media has acquired the publishing and recorded music catalogs of two-time Grammy award-winning Country singer-songwriter Travis Tritt. According to a media release announcing the news, the deal with Travis Tritt includes shares of Tritt’s entire body of work, up to his most recent album, Set In Stone.
Source: Reservoir acquires publishing and recorded music catalogs of country star Travis Tritt
The deal, which SME calls a “landmark agreement”, concluded in July 2021 and comprises the entirety of Bob Dylan’s recorded body of work since 1962, beginning with the artist’s self-titled debut album and continuing through 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways. Today’s news follows Sony Music Group‘s deal struck last month with another superstar artist, Bruce Springsteen.
Source: Sony Music acquires Bob Dylan’s recorded music catalog
After months of heated debates and clashes, the French film industry has set new windowing rules for movies that are released in local theaters. Netflix is the only streamer to have signed the agreement and will therefore benefit from having access to fresh movies 15 months after their theatrical release, in comparison to the 36 months under previous windowing guidelines.
Source: France’s Revamped Windowing Gives Netflix Earlier Access to Fresh Movies
Last month, a troubling report revealed that live concerts were grappling with a serious no-show problem, with 20 percent of ticketholders opting not to attend certain big-name gigs. Now, ahead of a jam-packed event schedule for the remainder of 2022, the figure has spiked to 50 percent for indie music venues, according to the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).
Source: Indie Music Venues Grapple With 50% No-Show Rate In the United States
Investors apparently decided all at once that they’re not into deficit-financed companies, in streaming video or any other wildly overvalued corner of technology. What that means when all the major streaming services plan to spend billions more than they’re bringing in to fuel a brutal arms race for attention is suddenly much more complicated.
Netflix has pumped billions of dollars into original programming — but overall, its library of older licensed TV shows far outperforms homegrown hits like “Squid Game” or “Bridgerton.” In 2021 on Netflix, “Criminal Minds,” the crime-drama procedural that aired on CBS from 2005-20, scored as the most-viewed TV show among U.S. streaming platforms tracked by Nielsen.
Source: Surprise! ‘Criminal Minds’ Was 2021’s Most-Streamed TV Show in the U.S.
The European Parliament has approved the Digital Services Act (DSA), including several key changes. The proposed legislation adds a right for people to use and pay for online services anonymously. However, the amendments to ban site blocking and ‘dumb’ upload filters were voted down by the majority.
Source: EU Parliament Adopts DSA Without Banning ‘Dumb’ Upload Filters and Site Blocking * TorrentFreak