Rights

Superstar Beyoncé has joined TikTok, and her entire catalog is now available for users of the short-form video app to utilize as backing tracks for their creations. Among her classic hits like “Single Ladies” and “Halo,” the artist’s latest single, “Break My Soul,” is also available for use. Queen B’s TikTok account has gathered more than 3.4 million followers since its July 14 morning debut, furthering her impressive social media presence. 

Source: Beyonce Licenses Her Catalog for Use on TikTok, Joins Platform

Some Nashville artists are giving back to songwriters on their records by offering up a percentage of their master royalties.  Beginning with his current single “Take My Life,” Austin Burke is giving 15% of his artist royalties from master recordings to the songwriters on his albums. By doing so, he says he’s paid out “thousands” to those songwriters to date.

Source: Why Some Nashville Artists Are Giving Songwriters a Cut of Their Master Royalties

The streaming giant wants to amend its programming deals with major entertainment studios to allow it to put content on an ad-supported version of the service. Among the studios Netflix has begun talks with are Warner Bros., which makes the hit stalker drama “You”; Universal, producer of the dark comedy “Russian Doll”; and Sony Pictures Television, producer of “The Crown” and “Cobra Kai,” the people said.

Source: WSJ News Exclusive | Netflix Seeks to Renegotiate Deals to Show Ads Next to Popular Shows

According to Cointelegraph, the NFT application in the publishing industry is so far mostly focused on books that still have royalties and are within their copyright lifespan. But there are authors whose work lives on long past both their mortal existence and that of their copyrights. Can NFTs provide their estates a means to extend the life of the book and its royalties?

Source: Books Almost Losing Copyright Gets NFT Twist to Preserve Its Status

The battle lines have now been drawn in a potentially landmark lawsuit over the scanning and lending of books. The filings come more than two years after four major publishing houses, organized by the Association of American Publishers, first filed its copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive over its controversial program to scan and lend books under an untested legal theory known as “controlled digital lending.”

Source: Publishers, Internet Archive File Dueling Summary Judgment Motions in Scan Suit

Sony is removing access to hundreds of movies and TV shows on its PlayStation Store service next month, meaning users that previously paid for titles such as Paddington and The Hunger Games will no longer be able to watch them. The shutdown affects users in Germany and Austria, according to legal notices posted on the two regional sites, and covers films produced by StudioCanal.

Source: PlayStation Store removes purchased movies from libraries after service shutdown

Comedian Lewis Black filed suit against SiriusXM-owned audio streamer Pandora on Thursday, arguing that the company ran recordings of his performances without obtaining the copyright to his written work. It is the latest escalation in the messy fight between comedians, streamers, and the performing rights organizations that have recently stepped in to standardize spoken-word copyright in the digital age.

Source: Lewis Black sues Pandora for $10 million over copyright infringement

Streaming fraud “will influence market share and the distribution of royalties across the entire ecosystem,” Hayduk explains. “Even if just 2% of fraud is slipping through, that’s a material number And I think it’s more than that.” U.S. streaming revenue exceeded $12.4 billion in 2021; if 2% of that was allocated to the wrong parties due to undetected fraud, that would be close to $250 million.

Source: Does Music Need a Middle Man to Fight Streaming Fraud?

A prominent artist claims that the biggest NFT brand on Earth is secretly run by a conspiracy of Nazi trolls. The artist sold a copycat collection of the brand’s NFTs, netting him some $1.8 million (shared among the four people working on the project). Some called it a clever political statement, others a naked cash grab. Now the brand is suing the artist, and the implications of the case could be more far-reaching than either party anticipated.

Source: Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Creators Declared War on a Vocal Critic. Could it Backfire? – Decrypt

Marco Rinaldo, founder and CEO, Rehegoo, said: “Our new streaming services are designed to take the hassle out of music licensing for businesses and creators… We also want to challenge the traditional, and often unfair, processes within the music streaming industry by putting artists first, helping them build their profiles and ensuring they get paid fairly for their work.”

Source: Rehegoo Music partners with B2B music firm Tuned Global to launch new background streaming service