New US financial data, combined with comments from UMG boss Sir Lucian Grainge, suggest that tension is growing over TikTok’s payouts to the music industry The ginormous growth in TikTok’s advertising revenues isn’t – according to a handful of very senior figures in the music industry interviewed by MBW – being reflected in the money the platform is paying through to the record business.
Source: Why the music industry is headed for a tussle with TikTok over royalties
A court in California has ruled in favor of US performance rights organization SoundExchange in its lawsuit against Slacker, Inc. and parent company LiveOne in the US over unpaid royalties owed to creators and rights owners. SoundExchange in June sued Slacker, a music platform that offers free and subscription-based access to licensed songs via music stations, accusing the firm of failing to pay statutory royalties to creators in 2017.
Source: SoundExchange wins $9.7m royalties lawsuit against Slacker and parent company LiveOne
As part of its ongoing efforts to confront piracy and content-security issues, the Motion Picture Association’s Trusted Partner Network is revising its membership structure and introducing a new platform that will centralize information on its member companies’ security practices. The new membership model and platform are to launch in February 2023.
Source: Motion Picture Association’s Content-Security Org Launches New Membership Model, Pricing (EXCLUSIVE)
Earlier this month, leading music publishers and streaming giants including Spotify released an unredacted version of their Phonorecords IV settlement. But songwriter organizations then called for the disclosure of any “side” agreements, and the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has now ordered the parties to shed light upon deals related to (but not included in) the core settlement.
Source: Phonorecords IV Settling Parties Must File Side Deals, CRB Rules
Billion-dollar entertainment industry companies often complain about widespread copyright infringement. However, some independent creators deal with similar problems on their own. Extreme weather photographer Brandon Clement faces hundreds of thousands of rip-offs on Facebook, YouTube, and elsewhere, leading to billions of misappropriated views.
Source: Extreme Weather Videographer Faces Copyright Infringement Hurricane * TorrentFreak
IMPALA, which represents 6,000 music companies, is calling for increased digital income as industry revenues lag behind pre-streaming highs. Next, the 22-year-old organization called for the industry and European governments “to focus on growing the ‘investment stream,’” or “the term IMPALA uses for the financial resources and knowhow which labels make available for nurturing new talent and projects.”
Source: IMPALA Unveils Updated ‘Digital Strategy’ At Hamburg Meeting
Songclip, which has patented a technology solution for integrating popular licensed music as a feature in apps, claims to be the world’s only patented music clip company. Owned and operated by Clipmedia, Songclip offers music clip licensing and integration for consumer applications and platforms, with clients ranging from social platforms to dating apps and mobile games.
Source: Hipgnosis strikes partnership with Songclip, a tech platform for integrating licensed music in apps
After more than 80 years operating, in effect, as a not-for-profit organization, BMI has decided to transform itself into a for-profit commercial enterprise. This move comes on the heels of BMI — aka Broadcast Music Inc. — hiring Goldman Sachs to explore strategic opportunities earlier this year.
Source: BMI Moves to For-Profit Business Model, Eyeing Growth and New Initiatives
While many believe the proper information for royalty collection is automatically and cleanly logged with every platform as soon as a song is released by a distributor or label, it often is not the case for a variety of reasons, leaving songwriters and artists open to savvier bad actors claiming their copyrights in their absence instead.
Source: Muserk Launches AI-Enhanced Platform to Collect ‘Every Royalty Everywhere’
There is currently limited research and policy considering national differences in how copyright protects video games. Thus, the video game industry must navigate multiple jurisdictions and develop effective enforcement strategies to deal with often, unique types of copyright infringement.