The U.S. recorded music business generated $11.1 billion in revenue in 2019, according to the RIAA’s annual year-end report, a 13% year-over-year increase from the $9.8 billion it reached in 2018. That represents the fourth straight year of double-digit growth for the sector, and a faster rate of growth over 2018, when it increased 11.9% over the prior year.
Source: US Recorded Music Revenue Reaches $11.1 Billion in 2019, 79% From Streaming: RIAA
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) last week published the comments it received as part of its public consultation on the impact and implications of artificial intelligence technology on intellectual property policy and practice. From an initial sampling of comments from primarily copyright-focused groups it’s pretty clear where the early policy battle lines will be drawn up.
Source: WIPO: How to Train Your A.I.
Evidently the beautiful game has never been more popular, but for every fan in the stands at Old Trafford, Anfield or Stamford Bridge, there are many more scattered around the globe. These fans might live thousands of miles from where their chosen teams play, but as significant contributors to the clubs’ coffers via the sale of overseas TV rights, shouldn’t their voices be heard too? Blockchain could be the solution.
Source: How blockchain is changing the face of soccer – Decrypt
While Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google may be the barbarians at the gate looking to disrupt traditional media, the NFL probably isn’t ready to sell exclusive rights to streamers, according to people familiar the matter. Instead, the current players — Disney (which owns both ESPN and ABC), Comcast (which owns NBC), ViacomCBS (which owns CBS) and Fox — will probably just pay the league a lot more money for what they already have.
Source: Here’s how NFL TV rights are expected to shake out for the rest of the decade, according to sources
The latest in how coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting world publishing events, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is postponed until May. Anticipated to bring more than 1,400 exhibitors and some 30,000 trade publishing and professionals to Bologna, the fair is considered the world’s most influential in children’s and young-adult content.
Source: Coronavirus: Bologna Children’s Book Fair Postponed to May
The rise of streaming has fattened the wallets of superstar writer-producers like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, while also giving chances to unproven writers. But the medium’s shorter seasons and unpredictable cadences have made it harder for writers in Hollywood’s middle class to plot out a year’s work in a way that doesn’t leave them nervous when mortgage payments are due.
Source: Streaming TV’s Boom Is a Mixed Blessing for Some Hollywood Writers
According to a flurry of new SEC filings, financial giants have acquired big chunks of the streaming service. SEC documents show that exactly 65 percent of Spotify was owned by just six parties: the firm’s co-founders, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon (30.6 percent of ordinary shares between them); Tencent Holdings Ltd. (9.1 percent); and a run of three asset-management specialists: Baillie Gifford (11.8 percent), Morgan Stanley (7.3 percent), and T.Rowe Price Associates (6.2 percent).
Source: Who Really Owns Spotify?
The Rick Astley-inspired emote is only a week old, and already the problems have started. Epic Games just issued an update to PC users to allow the music to be muted. Several content creators have complained about getting copyright claims over the licensed track. Previously, Epic Games has drawn criticism from creators like Chance the Rapper for lifting dances. Epic Games is even facing at least three lawsuits over stolen dances.
Source: Fortnite’s Rickroll Emote Quickly Becomes a Copyright Nightmare
Seattle-based music licensing startup SyncFloor, co-founded by 20 year Microsoft veteran Kirt Debique (pictured) and veteran IP attorney Cestjon McFarland has been accepted as part of Betaworks Audiocamp program. Betaworks is a New York-based startup studio and seed stage venture capital company.
Beatroot Music, a distribution company based in Memphis, has announced that it is administering the unpaid royalties of former Dart Music, which filed for bankruptcy in 2017 with debts totaling $2.57 million. According to Beatroot, agreeing to administer these funds allows the company to fulfill pending royalty payments to hundreds of rightsholders who distributed their works through Dart’s services.