Sony Pictures saw a “bit of a boom” in interest from Hollywood creatives who want to work with a studio committed to theatrical releases, according to the company’s CEO. The uptick in interest comes just after WarnerMedia announced its 17 movies planned for 2021 will premiere on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters.
Source: Sony says it’s already seeing some benefits from WarnerMedia’s big HBO Max bet
Source: Publishers Feel Validated by States’ Google Antitrust Lawsuit
Sen. Thom Tillis on Tuesday unveiled an overhaul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is intended to make it easier to stamp out pirated content online. The bill seeks to revamp the current “notice and takedown” system — whereby copyright owners submit infringement notices to online service providers — with a “notice and stay down” provision.
Source: Sen. Thom Tillis Proposes ‘Notice and Stay Down’ Rewrite of Online Copyright Law
A phishing scam with unclear motive or payoff is targeting authors, agents and editors big and small, baffling the publishing industry. Whoever the thief is, he or she knows how publishing works, and has mapped out the connections between authors and the constellation of agents, publishers and editors who would have access to their material.
Source: Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?
If theatergoers have learned one thing this year, it’s that watching live productions online isn’t a substitute for seeing the performances in person. That’s also why theaters shouldn’t see streaming as a threat. It’s an opportunity.
Source: Streaming Isn’t a Threat to Live Theater, It’s an Opportunity
On Friday, the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers tweeted an interesting tool. “You paid Spotify $120 this year if you had a premium subscription,” the tweet begins. “Guess how much of that went to the artists you love? Guess how much of that went to the executives, shareholders, and artists you didn’t even interact with?”
Source: Under 30% of My Spotify Premium Sub Went to Artists – What About You?
YouTube says it has found a “smoking gun” to prove that a class-action lawsuit filed by Grammy award-winning musician Maria Schneider and Pirate Monitor Ltd was filed in bad faith. According to the Google-owned platform, the same IP address used to upload ‘pirate’ movies to the platform also sent DMCA notices targeting the same batch of content.
Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week.
This year, studios threw out their playbooks. Leadership structures were overhauled, eight-figure deals came out of virtual film festivals, executives navigated COVID-19 production halts, and the crumbling theatrical window was shattered.
Source: How Each Film Studio Tackled Dealmaking Amid the Pandemic
After Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package Monday evening (Dec. 21), the music industry came out in force to celebrate a number of measures included that specifically benefit the music business. “The Recording Academy is pleased that Congress heard the call of thousands of music creators and included protections for the music community in the omnibus bill,” said Recording Academy chair and interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. in a statement.
Source: Music Biz Applauds Pandemic Aid Package: ‘These Relief Provisions Will Save Lives and Livelihoods’