In a big win for major record labels, the Free Artists From Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act failed to pass out of the California State Senate’s Judiciary committee late on Tuesday night. The act, also called AB Bill 983, received four votes, two short of the six needed to reach a majority from the 11-member committee.
Source: FAIR Act to Overturn California’s ‘Seven-Year Statute’ Fails in State Senate
Last month, indie distributor DistroKid began testing a music-video offering called DistroVid. Now, the latter has officially launched with Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and Vevo as early partners. DistroKid unveiled the formal rollout of DistroVid this afternoon, billing the service as a means of uploading “an unlimited number of music videos to leading digital service providers for one low price.”
Source: DistroKid Officially Launches Music Video Distribution Service ‘DistroVid’
Source: Netflix Disrupted Entertainment With Binge Viewing. Now Can It Avoid Disruption Itself?
US-based physical goods distributor and wholesaler Alliance Entertainment is going to list on the New York Stock Exchange – via a merger with a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). Alliance has signed a definitive business combination agreement with Adara Acquisition Corp for the flotation.
Source: Music distributor Alliance Entertainment is going public via $480m-valued SPAC merger
A new paper by Amy Thomas, entitled “Can you play? An analysis of video game user-generated content policies” presents one of the first in-depth analyses of the copyright aspects of this new entertainment category, and its very particular user-generated content (UGC). As she points out, copyright has trouble dealing with game streaming.
Source: Copyright Has Failed For Game Streaming, So Alternatives Have Emerged
The creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens has sued an artist in Los Angeles federal court, accusing him of selling copycats that are confusing potential buyers. Yuga Labs Inc said in the Friday lawsuit that Ryder Ripps is purposely causing consumer confusion under the guise of satire and reaping millions in “ill-gotten profit” while “celebrating the harm he causes.”
Source: Bored Ape NFT maker Yuga Labs sues artist, claiming he copied tokens
The Big Three record label, and specifically its Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB) partnerships division, just recently announced the rollout of UMusic Media Network. This public launch arrives on the heels of a year-long beta, which execs say saw advertiser “content achieve millions of views from music fans globally, alongside artist content.”
Source: Universal Music Group Launches UMusic Media Network Following Beta
As companies continue to dip into the metaverse, complex implementation questions are quickly surrounding the use of music. Part of the reason is simple: just like real life, listeners want their virtual abodes to feature their favorite music. The metaverse wouldn’t feel ‘real’ without it. But while web3 developers certainly understand tech, music infrastructure presents considerable complexity.
Source: Tuned Global on What It Takes to Layer Music Into a Web3 Project
Authors are protesting Amazon’s e-book return policy, a system they say allows readers to “steal” from self-published authors. Amazon’s current return policy for e-books allows customers to “cancel an accidental book order within seven days.” But, for some readers, seven days is more than enough time to finish a book and return it after reading, effectively treating Amazon like a library.
Source: Authors are protesting Amazon’s e-book policy that allows users to read and return
An in-depth study among 50 Harvard lawyers shows that downloading and streaming pirated content is widely tolerated and even supported by some. It is certainly not seen as a form of theft by these legal experts. Based on these findings, the researchers call for a paradigm shift where entertainment providers focus more on convenience, accessibility and affordability.
Source: Harvard Lawyers Don’t Think That Piracy is Theft, Research Finds * TorrentFreak