Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has taken pains to reassure labels that the company’s direct-licensing deals with independent artists should not be seen as a threat to labels, tying it back to Spotify’s ‘two-sided marketplace’ strategy.
July, 2018
New bill would repeal mandated carriage of broadcast networks for cable companies
The bill would repeal provisions from the Communications Act that mandate the carriage and purchase of broadcast signals by cable operators, satellite providers, and their customers. It would also repeal the Communications Act’s retransmission consent provisions and the Copyright Act’s compulsory license provisions, allowing affiliates to more easily sell the programming they license.
Source: New bill would repeal mandated carriage of broadcast networks for cable companies
YouTube Is Offering 7-Figure Deals to Top Creators — Thanks to IGTV
Looks like Instagram’s newly launched video platform IGTV is putting some serious heat on YouTube — and introducing serious competition for top creators. YouTube now appears to be taking the threat of a new platform seriously. Rumors suggest that the company is offering its popular creators six and seven figure sums to stay where they are, instead of jumping ship.
Source: YouTube Is Offering 7-Figure Deals to Top Creators — Thanks to IGTV
How Instagram Became the Art World’s Obsession
Over the past eight years, the platform has become an indispensable, all-purpose tool for everything art related. Dealers increasingly report making sales to collectors whose interest has been piqued by seeing work on the app. For museums and galleries, it’s an essential, cost-effective way to build audiences and market shows.
SingularDTV Exec “Optimistic” Blockchain Firm Will Get SEC Blessing To Add Crowdfunding To Its Platform
An executive at blockchain specialist SingularDTV said the firm is “optimistic” it will gain regulatory approval to enable crowdfunding. Letting members of the company’s online community directly invest in film, TV and music projects would close a key loop, said Kim Jackson, co-founder and head of entertainment for the company.
Blockchain startup Tron closes BitTorrent acquisition
BitTorrent is now officially a part of Tron, the file sharing service confirmed in a blog post today. The news confirms rumors that have been floating around since the middle of last month. BitTorrent didn’t confirm any specifics, but Tron, a relatively new entrant in the wild world of blockchain startups, was said to have paid around $126 million in cash for company.
Source: Blockchain startup Tron closes BitTorrent acquisition
Hollywood urges Congress to bring Google to testify
The industry believes that platform companies like Google and Facebook don’t take enough responsibility over what happens on their services, enabling widespread illicit activity, including online piracy. Ruth Vitale, the CEO of CreativeFuture, says that Congress should step in to make the platforms legally liable for illegal content found on their sites.
Eleventh-hour proposal could torpedo Music Modernization Act, backers warn
SESAC’s pitch to change the MMA stems from the company’s concern that creating a new licensing collective would make companies that administer such licenses obsolete. SESAC owns the licensing firm the Harry Fox Agency, which it purchased in 2015 from the National Music Publishers Association with eyes on expanding the services it could offer member songwriters.
Source: Music Modernization Act: Eleventh-hour proposal could torpedo landmark bill, backers warn
Spotify: The global music copyright business grew by $1.5bn in 2016
In the calendar year of 2016, the latest year we can capture across all income sources, the global value of music copyright in worldwide revenue terms was nearly $26bn – representing growth of $1.5bn (+6.1%) on 2015. That’s a much bigger figure than IFPI’s value of recorded-music-only in the same year, at $16bn.
The $1.5bn annual growth is exciting when you consider that, in the prior year, the total annual global copyright revenue figure grew by a significantly smaller amount – $941m.
Source: How the global music copyright business grew by $1.5bn in 2016 (and why that’s amazing news today)
Royalty Exchange Takes New Tactic to Royalties Investments With Cage the Elephant’s Publishing Catalog
According to Royalty Exchange, under private syndicates the company is able to create special purpose vehicles designed to hold music catalogs like that of Cage the Elephant. Accredited investors can then buy shares of that entity, which grants them a proportional share of the royalty income it generates.