US-based collection and licensing society SoundExchange paid $952.8m to artists and record labels in 2018. That figure was up 46.2% on 2017, when the organization distributed $652m to its recorded music members. The organization saw a very strong fourth quarter last year, distributing $345m to music creators – up by 115.7% on the same period in the prior year.
Source: SoundExchange paid $953m to artists and labels last year – an all-time record
The company’s entry into the streaming wars has generally been viewed as a pure subscription offering coming to market in close proximity to Disney’s launch of the subscription service Disney+. But the AT&T boss said the capabilities of the company’s Xandr advertising technology unit would definitely come into play. “Our model will be a two-sided model, with a heavy subscription service but some ad-supported elements as well,” he said.
Lil Miquela is a digital influencer created using motion graphics — something companies have long been capable of making. But even though she isn’t truly an AI creation, her success has inspired venture capitalists like Betaworks to invest heavily in virtual creators and work with startups to progress the technology forward. The future of influencers, according to the general director of Betaworks’ startup bootcamp, Danika Laszuk, is digital beings who actually are powered by AI.
Source: Virtual creators aren’t AI — but AI is coming for them
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is now appealing the decision to dismiss the case against defendant Tofig Kurbanov. “The court got it wrong,” says RIAA spokesperson Cara Duckworth. “Its decision represents a big step backward in the protection of American culture and the creators that fuel it. We look forward to laying out our arguments in the weeks ahead.”
Source: RIAA Appeals Dismissal of Major Labels’ Case Against Russian Stream-Ripper
PledgeMusic founder co-founder Benji Rogers has announced he will be returning to the company on a short-term basis, following reports of persistent late payments totaling in some cases nearly $100,000. In a Medium post published Tuesday (Jan. 29), Rogers shared the news, explaining he will rejoin PledgeMusic as a volunteer strategic advisor and observer to the board.
International collections at U.K. music licensing company PPL climbed to £70.9 million ($93.4 million) in 2018 — the organization’s largest ever total for overseas revenues. PPL attributed the 43 percent growth down to the strength of its members’ repertoire, sustained investment in technology and data capabilities and open and direct collaboration with other international collective management organizations (CMOs).
Source: U.K. Collection Society PPL Records Largest Ever International…
The EU’s copyright reforms will tackle the imbalance for rights holders in the digital world, says Axel Voss, German MEP and rapporteur on the EU’s copyright reform. He argues that the reforms are about trying to balance the situation between authors, performers and platforms.
Source: Axel Voss: There is an imbalance for rights holders in the digital world.
In all, about 1,000 media jobs were cut in the past week. Some are laying the blame with owners and hedge funds, but many are pointing to Facebook’s and Google’s power over the market for online ad revenue as the reason news outlets are struggling to establish a stable business model.
French authors’ rights society Sacem announced on Monday it has restructured its licensing, international and operations divisions into one department in order to “ensure greater levels of transparency and value” for its 165,000 members. Leading the consolidated effort is Cécile Rap-Vebe, who has been promoted to executive director of licensing, international and operations.
Source: France’s Sacem Restructures to Boost ‘Transparency and Value’ for…
Aside from the cost of registering their works, perhaps the biggest registration-specific challenge for individual creators is determining if a work is considered “published” or “unpublished” under copyright law. This information is required for every work being registered, and this challenge results in many creators simply foregoing registration.
Source: This One Weird Trick Could Improve Copyright Registration