Spencer Folmar has directed four feature films and produced several others, but he hasn’t had much luck as far as getting them seen in theaters. So, as he prepares to unveil his next movie, he’s trying a new tack: buying theaters — buildings, screens and real estate — to ensure that his projects and those of other indie filmmakers will be shown.
Source: This Filmmaker Is Buying Theaters So They’ll Play His New Movie
The patent filing says the sales, consumption, and popularity of media items experience “a large amount of inequality.” Only a small number of media items become very prominent and enter the pop culture lexicon. Amazon wants to solve that problem by creating algorithms that can identify ‘early adopters’ of obscure media.
Source: Amazon Patents Technology That Predicts Future Hits & Popular Artists
Independent music body IMPALA issued a statement (see below) today (January 28) arguing that it’s “illogical not to deliver the results now”. On Friday (January 24), Tom Kiehl, Deputy CEO of UK Music (an umbrella body that represents the recording, publishing and live sectors) wrote to Skidmore “to request an urgent meeting to discuss the music industry’s concerns”.
Finding fair and legal means to regulate the consumption of music by the masses to taking back control of a rising secondary ticketing market and governing the concert experience are major issues that have united the music industry. Together, record labels, venues, streaming services and artists fight to get ahead of the technological curve and retain earnings for people that make the music possible in the first place.
Source: How Blockchain Could Save the Music Industry from the Threat of Technology – Global Trade Magazine
Impala, a leading advocate of independent record labels in Europe, is protesting the United Kingdom’s decision to not enforce the EU’s Copyright Directive. In a statement, Impala said that the Copyright Directive “brings clear benefits” and that all, including “creators, citizens, and of course start-ups,” have something to gain from the law.
Source: Impala Criticizes the UK’s Unwillingness to Enforce EU Copyright Directive
AT&T reports in its quarterly earnings this morning that its WarnerMedia division lost more than $1 billion in revenue due to investment in HBO Max, the streaming service it’s preparing to launch this May. Specifically, those losses are due to “HBO Max investments in the form of foregone WarnerMedia content licensing revenues.”
Source: WarnerMedia takes $1.2 billion revenue hit in hopes that HBO Max pays off in the long run
PMR has now revealed, via a press release, that it has filed 10 separate copyright infringement actions against other music streaming services, for “the unauthorized public performance of its members’ copyrighted musical works”. Lodged with the U.S. District Court in New York, the 10 lawsuits, filed name Apple, Google, YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Pandora, Deezer, 7digital, iHeartradio and Rhapsody as defendants.
T
echnically, most tribute acts are in fact in violation of the rights belonging to the original act, to some degree. However, the current legislation in this area fails to adequately address the issue, and as such, a grey area has been created that has been left to the courts to decide.
Source: Are Tribute Acts Actually Legal? – LawyerDrummer.com
If you’re one of the people who laments how every digital service seems to be moving toward a subscription-based model, we’ve got some bad news for you: Consumer willingness to spend money on subscriptions is only increasing. A new report from market intelligence firm SensorTower found that customers in the U.S. alone spent a whopping $4.6 billion on in-app subscriptions in the top 100 apps in 2019.
Source: It’s a subscription world now
The media consolidation wave looks like it will just keep rolling, with MGM as a potential next target to get swept up in its wake. According to CNBC, the studio has held preliminary talks with companies including Apple and Netflix about a potential acquisition. MGM currently controls valuable IP like the James Bond films, and its studio produces popular series like Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Source: Apple, Netflix among possible suitors for MGM – report