Rights

Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and YouTube have been handed a procedural victory on their appeal to a 44% royalty rate increase for songwriters and publishers, sources tell Billboard. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. that reviewed the digital services’ appeal on the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) mechanical rate determination has thrown out the rate structure cobbled together by a majority of the board’s three judges.

Source: Appeal Ruling on Publisher Royalty Rate Hike Looks Like it Favors Digital Services Contentions: Sources

Bezos’ uncertainty about whether Twitch has licensed its music or not has raised a lot of eyebrows in the music industry and The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA), an artist-run, nonprofit fighting for songwriters and musicians, is now seeking public clarification on the matter directly from Amazon’s CEO. In a letter sent to Bezos August 10, ARA states that it is “appalled” by Bezos’ “inability or unwillingness to answer even the most basic question about Twitch’s practices”.

Source: Artists challenge Jeff Bezos on Twitch royalty practices

A newly published statement from the Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) is drawing additional attention to the U.S. Copyright Office’s Unpaid Royalties Study – and prompting some music industry voices to ask whether the Office’s overarching “Black Box” royalty-recovery initiative is destined for failure.

Source: Is the US Copyright Office’s Black Box Initiative Doomed to Fail?

Neil Young to Donald Trump: Not so fast rockin’ in the free world. On Tuesday, the legendary musician filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump’s campaign for playing his songs at campaign rallies. Young alleges that Trump’s campaign lacks license to publicly perform the compositions entitled Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk.

Source: Neil Young Sues Donald Trump Campaign for Copyright Infringement

New York-based publisher Round Hill Music is suing DIY distributor TuneCore and its parent Believe, alleging that the latter two companies “reproduced and distributed musical compositions owned or controlled by Round Hill… despite knowing that [these] compositions were never properly licensed”.

Source: Round Hill sues TuneCore and parent Believe in $32.8m US lawsuit, alleging copyright infringement

French anti-piracy agency Hadopi has published its latest annual report, revealing data on its fight against pirates using P2P systems such as BitTorrent. Since its inception 11 years ago, the agency has sent 12.7 million warnings to pirates generating 87,000 euros in fines. Over the same period, the agency itself has cost French tax payers 82 million euros.

Source: French Anti-Piracy Agency Generated €87,000 in Fines From €82m in Public Funding * TorrentFreak

Muserk, the AI tech-driven global rights management agency for music and video, has partnered with leading Japanese marketing and media research company Video Research on a new joint venture designed to cut down on piracy of Japanese content worldwide.

Source: AI-Driven Rights Management Agency Muserk Forms Joint Venture to Reduce Piracy of Japanese Content

The Shanghai Film and Television Copyright Services Center was set up in December 2019 to offer a full value chain of services, such as the valuation of copyright and guidance for derivatives development, as well as technology, talent and information research support. It has brought together relevant industry bodies, production sites, financial institutions, colleges and law firms to provide professional service for a wide range of industry participants.

Source: Curtain rises on future of film and TV copyright

As the pandemic continues to impact the country, Penguin Random House has announced that it is extending its temporary digital license terms for libraries through December 31, 2020. The news comes after PRH last month announced that it is also extending its Open License for online story time and read-aloud videos through December 31.

Source: Penguin Random House Extends Temporary E-book, Digital Audio Terms for Libraries

Facebook has inked deals with music giants that will let its billions of users watch hit music videos alongside viral cat clips and political rants, the company said Friday. Official music videos from artists such as Nicki Minaj, Bob Marley and the Jonas Brothers went live on the social network Saturday thanks to Facebook’s new partnerships with labels including Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and BMG.

Source: Facebook to showcase music videos after inking deal with record labels