Rights-holders can be reluctant to change because they like their existing business models. But in any direct-to-consumer business, you have to start with a focus on the consumer and develop a business model around that.
Source: New Pandora CEO Roger Lynch On the Future of On-Demand Subscriptions & Taking On Radio | Billboard
Through their remix licensing model, Remix Hits will offer DJs, producers, and remixers the ability to purchase and download licensed ‘stems’ (isolated instrument tracks and vocals) from Sony Music. Creators can then legally release their mixes via the Remix Hits Platform.
Source: DJs Finally Get a Break as Sony Music Starts Licensing Its Stems
Congressional aides familiar with the Nafta talks say U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer is eager to boost intellectual property provisions in Nafta, a pact that includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico, potentially at the expense of internet businesses and broadband service providers.
Source: U.S. Floats Nafta Proposal That Could Erode Copyright-Liability Protection | Fox Business
Two more members of Congress in the US have formally backed the legislation that is attempting to force American radio stations to pay royalties to record labels and artists as well as music publishers and songwriters.
Source: More US politicians back American record industry’s bid for radio royalties | Complete Music Update
Royalty Exchange has formed a new company and signed a letter of intent to buy at least a 15 percent slice of an income stream of royalties derived from Eminem music, with plans to buy other musical assets and take the company public.
Source: Fans Will Soon Be Able to Invest In Royalties From Eminem’s Catalog | Billboard
The European Commission paid €360,000 (about $428,000) for a study on how piracy impacts the sales of copyrighted music, books, video games, and movies. But the EU never shared the report—possibly because it determined that there is no evidence that piracy is a major problem.
Source: The EU Suppressed a 300-Page Study That Found Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales
ImageRights International, the global leader in copyright enforcement services for photo agencies and professional photographers, today announced the launch of a dedicated copyright registration service.
Source: Leading Copyright Enforcement Service Imagerights Announces Dedicated Copyright Registration Service
The main driver of this jump was full paid subscription, which jumped 49.5% year-on-year in retail sales terms, hitting $1.49bn in the first half of this year. ‘Limited’ (ie. not fully on-demand) paid services generating $224.7m in the six months – up by a whopping 224.7% year-on-year.
Source: US recorded music industry revenues grew 15% in first half of 2017 – Music Business Worldwide
The curtain will be going up next week on the second annual RightsTech Summit. Part of the two-day New York Media Festival the Summit will feature over 40 speakers from around the world and will bring together rights owners, creators, technology developers, policymakers and investors from across the full range of media sectors, for a unique, high-level discussion focused on technology innovation around the registration, management, licensing,
Jim McKelvey
and tracking of media rights and royalties on digital platforms.
Featured topics will include:
Robert Kasunic
The Summit will also feature special keynote conversations with Jim McKelvey, the artist and entrepreneur who went on to disrupt the system of credit-card payments by co-founding Square; and Robert Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice at the U.S. Copyright Office.
The full agenda for the Summit can be found here. The full list of speakers is available here.
The agendas for all four conferences that make up the New York Media Festival can be found here.
Both the Festival and the Summit will be held at the Museum of Jewish History at 36 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan.
For information on how to register click here.
See you in New York!
EventChain will be bringing their Blockchain expertise to a sector of the entertainment business that could benefit hugely from an immutable ledger such as the Ethereum Blockchain.