For years, Disney has been keeping 80% of the revenue from older shows that it distributes to streaming platforms, leaving only 20% to be available to stars and other profit participants. It does so by classifying the revenue as “home video.” Under a formula dating from the introduction of the VCR, Disney subtracts an 80% royalty to its in-house distributor to cover the costs of distribution.
Source: Disney Keeps 80% of Streaming Revenue By Calling It ‘Home Video’
Facebook announced on Wednesday that it would be investing $1 billion in the news industry over the next three years, a week after a standoff with Australia over new laws that would require it to pay publishers to share their content. “We absolutely recognize quality journalism is at the heart of how open societies function — informing and empowering citizens and holding the powerful to account,” Facebook said in a statement.
Source: Facebook pledges $1 billion investment in news over next 3 years
In recent weeks, the UK arms of the major record companies – Universal Music UK, Sony Music UK, and Warner Music UK – have filed written submissions with this Parliamentary Committee, setting out their views on a number of streaming’s most fiercely-debated talking points. Each of these submissions was published online February 23.
Source: What the major record companies really think about the economics of music streaming
Today’s hearing in the UK’s streaming economics inquiry was the long-awaited appearance of Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music to field questions from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee. There were some strong signals about where the committee is heading in terms of its likely recommendations though, and some interesting signs of willingness on the part of the DSPs to engage with them.
Source: Spotify, Apple and Amazon at the UK streaming economics inquiry
Splice, the music creation platform helping creators make and collaborate on music easily from home, has closed a $55 million Series D funding round led by Goldman Sachs Growth, Splice announced in a blog post yesterday (Feb. 22). Other investors in the round include investment firm MUSIC (a joint venture between SONGS Music Publishing founder/former CEO Matt Pincus and Liontree), USV, True Ventures, DFJ Growth and Flybridge.
Source: Music Creation Platform Splice Raises $55M Following Record Year for Payouts
More and more Hollywood studios are concealing their box office grosses amid the pandemic and ongoing theater closures, saying they don’t want to be unfairly judged for numbers that, in ‘normal’ times, would be considered anywhere from tepid to abysmal.
Source: More Hollywood Studios Start to Conceal Box Office Grosses
Source: Roku’s Revenue Surges 58% on Pandemic-Fueled Streaming Boom
Sound Hill will be overseen by Robert Brenner, Manager of Royalty Services and Label Operations at Round Hill. His team will be responsible for ensuring each artist’s repertoire is registered accurately with neighboring rights societies worldwide, tracking international income, and optimizing data.
Source: Round Hill launches Sound Hill Neighboring Rights division
Traditionally, songwriters have been reluctant to sell their publishing rights, which are often a source of personal pride as well as a revenue stream that can outlive them. That’s changing as the market heats up, tax advantages loom and touring could be stalled for some time, while music catalogs are reconsidered as not just a collection of artistic works but also as a collection of monetary assets and revenue streams.
Source: Star Track, The Next Generation: What Do Major Catalog Sales Mean For Younger Artists?
A report from investment manager Stifel – since blasted as “naive” by Mercuriadis – last month questioned the way in which the value of Hipgnosis’ acquired assets are written up after periodic NAV (Net Asset Value) re-assessments from independent valuer Massarsky. Meanwhile, possibly briefed by Hipgnosis competitors, some of the business pages of the UK’s media are becoming increasingly hostile.
Source: Merck Mercuriadis faces the future… and stares down his critics