Sound Royalties says that the new touring advance program will work similarly to a “typical advance” with the company, but with customizations as it pertains to touring income versus music royalties. Each qualified performer will have the opportunity to access funding based off of their royalty streams or their guaranteed negotiated tour agreement.
Source: Sound Royalties launches advances for artists and performers seeking tour and production support
Third Act introduced an NFT marketplace specifically for theatre and was a first for the theatre industry. The company’s initial collection, released in June of 2021, featured digital collectibles from the Stellar Original production, Herding Cats. Third Act has marked yet another first for the industry, with the release of its new collection in collaboration with Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Source: Theatre’s First NFT – Third Act Launches New NFT Collection With Brian Stokes Mitchell
Merging social media, gaming, consumerism and other forms of entertainment into one innovative digital universe holds great promise for the music industry. And while the terms and technology will change, the rules have not. Music must be licensed and paid for regardless of how it is consumed, which bodes well for songwriters in this new frontier.
Source: What the Metaverse Means for Music Creators (Guest Column)
News from the World Health Organization that a new coronavirus variant, dubbed Omicron, discovered in southern Africa, was a “variant of concern” has hit the global entertainment industry with a sickening sense of déjà vu. There are serious concerns that public fears over Omicron could prove a major blow to holiday returns.
Source: Omicron Fears Shake Global Film, TV Industry as Countries Tighten Restrictions
Daniel Ek convinced labels and artists to stream their songs on Spotify, reviving the flatlining music industry. Now, after amassing a $4.4 billion fortune, he’s opening his superstreamer to storytelling, live talk and a new breed of audio creators in a bid to own the world’s digital eardrums.
Source: Spotify Has Plans To Move Beyond Music And Become The Instagram And TikTok Of Audio
The European Council’s adoption this week of the General Approach on the Digital Services Act has been met with disappointment by a coalition of rightsholders including IFPI and the MPA. Their concerns include the introduction of a “safe harbor” for search engines and the apparent detachment of due diligence obligations from liability for infringing content.
Source: IFPI & MPA Oppose ‘New Safe Harbors’ in Digital Services Act * TorrentFreak
Digital scarcity is necessary to create a unique user experience and enable fans to form longer-lasting and more profound connections with their favorite artists. As it stands, there is nothing truly unique about music on Spotify — tracks don’t come in limited editions, music connoisseurs are not able to get their hands on rare album releases, and Spotify lacks a scarcity system.
Source: Online content streaming is dead. Long live the music NFTs
The artist’s 2006 piece ‘Warning Sign’ has been reimagined as a non-fungible token (NFT) – a unique digital certificate. The holder will also own a 5% equity stake in the original piece. Media company Gloss – which owns both pieces – said the stake will “solidify” its value and drive “seismic” change in the digital and art worlds.
Source: Banksy-inspired NFT drives ‘seismic’ change in art world
Nonfungible token digital arts may be the latest crypto craze, but the real-deal mass-market use case for the technology is far from the auction houses. Software licensing and authentication seems like one of the areas where NFTs will shine, given enough time, with the bonus of possible interoperability. Corporations and individuals alike could shop for licensed software pieces on a single platform, leasing it for as long as needed.
Source: NFT art will never be mass-market — NFT licenses may be
WarnerMedia and Discovery will be under pressure to divest some assets, especially outside the U.S., to secure approval for the $43 billion spinoff pact with AT&T that will bring WarnerMedia and Discovery together. AT&T’s eagerness to move on from its swan dive into the entertainment arena could make the company a willing seller of discrete assets in order to get the complicated transaction over the finish line.
Source: Biden’s Antitrust Squeeze May Grease the Wheels for TV Deals (Column)