One of the distinguishing features between the metaverse and real world is that everything in the metaverse will have been 100% manufactured and, therefore, will have a “creator” of some shape or form. Consequently, almost all elements of the metaverse are likely to be someone’s intellectual property (IP), which raises the “IP is everywhere” problem.
Source: The metaverse and artificial intelligence: the ‘IP is everywhere’ problem
Hipgnosis says it has acquired “100% of all of Timberlake’s copyright, ownership and financial interests of the Writer and Publisher’s Share of Public Performance income, and the catalog of musical compositions written by Justin Timberlake”. Also included in the sale to Hipgnosis are the worldwide administration rights to the compositions, subject to the remaining Term of Universal Music Publishing Group’s administration rights.
Source: Justin Timberlake sells song catalog to Hipgnosis and its $1bn-backed Blackstone fund
Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is officially waiving unrecouped debts for more artists and songwriters, CEO Rob Stringer has announced. “First major for artists and songwriters to announce and implement pay-through on legacy unrecouped earnings,” the remuneration portion of the document states. “Potential to impact thousands of our artists & songwriters. Plans to expand the program in the upcoming year.”
Source: Sony Music Entertainment to Waive Unrecouped Debts for More Artists
Books and magazine articles have long provided the IP Hollywood depends on, but until recently, authors played little role in the process. Now, lit agencies and publishers are changing the rules and shortening the page-to-screen pipeline.
Over 216 comic strips, several videos, and one alarming free-to-play visual novel, Robbins — a writer and comedian whose credits include stints on I Think You Should Leave and The Eric Andre Show — starts with a goof about a guy who’s married to Betty Boop and steers it into a hilarious, sometimes existentially troubling interrogation of what’s fascinating about fandoms and dumb about copyright law.
Source: Meet the sicko behind Mr. Boop
While a federal court is now deciding how to dispatch with Maryland’s library e-book law, lawmakers in Rhode Island this week have advanced the state’s own library e-book bill. On May 18, the Rhode Island Senate’s education committee unanimously voted to recommend passage and advanced the state’s library e-book bill, SB2842, out of committee and to the floor for a full vote.
Reasoned opinions were today sent to Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, France, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, reprimanding them for their failure to codify the Copyright Directive into their national law. Reasoned opinions are formal communications by the Commission stating that a country is failing to fulfil its duties under EU law, and act as an official call for compliance.
Source: Commission chides 13 states for failure to transpose Copyright Directive
More music companies than ever are pitching tools for creators and rights to track the usage of copyrighted works and enable rights holders to claim royalties they’re owed and collect them. Many of them are impressive – and the music business can’t work properly without them. Sometimes, though, the music business also needs what you might call hammers – tools that can make services that use music pay creators and other rights holders.
Source: For the Record: The Music Business Doesn’t Need Calculators — It Needs Hammers
Various organisations representing French artists, performers and labels have welcomed an agreement finalised last week regarding the sharing of streaming monies. That agreement follows years of negotiations between artist and label groups which first began when the French government announced an initiative in 2015 that sought an industry-led solution to ensure the ‘fair development of online music’.
Source: French performer and label groups reach voluntary agreement regarding digital remuneration
According to LimeWire, as part of this partnership with UMG, the major will provide licences to allow LimeWire to partner with UMG artists in order to launch music-based NFT projects using the LimeWire marketplace. LimeWire Co-CEOs Paul and Julian Zehetmayr tell MBW that “the partnership is a true demonstration of the pace at which the music industry is embracing Web3”.