This month, NFT platform Probably Nothing announced the launch of “Probably a Label,” a partnership with Warner Records that the firms are billing as the first Web3 record label. After the music business endured decades of bruising legal and policy fights over peer-to-peer file sharing, Probably Nothing co-founder Aaron Ahmadi billed the “weird and radical” partnership as a chance for the industry to try a more liberal approach to IP.
Source: Web3 upends IP
The Google-owned company plans to let more video creators earn money from the platform, lowering the barriers to entry for its partner program, according to audio from a YouTube all-hands meeting on Thursday. YouTube is expected to make the announcement at an event on Tuesday. It “is the largest expansion we’ve done in several years creating new ways for creators to join the program,” Amjad Hanif, vice president of product management and creator products, said in the staff meeting.
Source: YouTube Opens More Pathways for Creators to Make Money on the Platform
Warner Music announced early Wednesday morning that its acquisition group has raised $535 million in a secured senior notes deal. What it intends to do with those funds, which now add up to nearly a billion dollars on hand, remains to be seen.
The NMPA asked the Copyright Royalty Board for a 32.4% increase in the headline rate to 20% of a digital service’s revenue for the term covering 2023 through 2027. That compares to the year-by-year escalating headline rate from Phonorecords III, which covered the term of 2018-2022, which culminated in 15.1% of a service’s revenue in the final year.
Source: Publishers Ask Royalty Board for 32% Rate Increase From Streaming Services
Newspapers, TV stations and other news outlets that have seen their revenue siphoned away by online platforms could get an assist from Congress under legislation that a House panel took up Friday. If passed, the legislation would grant news organizations a four-year exemption from antitrust laws to band together to negotiate compensation from online platforms that use their content, including Facebook and Google.
Source: House Panel Weighs Moves to Rein in Big Tech, Aid Media
Sony Corporation of America has announced a new subsidiary called Sony Immersive Music Studios, which is focused on “developing immersive music experiences through the power of creativity and technology”. The division is led by digital entertainment veteran Brad Spahr, who according to Sony is “an award-winning developer of next-generation experiences at the intersection of music, immersive reality, and gaming”.
Given the historical ubiquity of piracy in China, formal licensing deals weren’t an easy win, and getting royalty reports isn’t a given (the exclusive arrangements signed between the major labels and Tencent, which are said to be expiring in 2020/2021, pay out ‘minimum guarantee’ advances instead of royalties). Still, it’s a marked improvement for labels from the past situation in China – no income and no licenses.
Originally on the Sony Pictures theatrical calendar for Father’s Day weekend, the film instead will become the biggest feature film commitment made by Apple to premiere on Apple TV+. It is the latest in a growing indication that Apple is making its move, and becoming as aggressive as any streamer or studio in auctions for the acquisition of films and TV projects.
Source: Tom Hanks WWII Film ‘Greyhound’ Alters Course In Apple Deal: Film Will Premiere On Apple TV +
Twitch avoids the problematic “begging bowl” undertone that can plague artists on other direct subscription services like Patreon by offering fans something in return — an exclusive, interactive live video experience — that Olson believes has an immediate premium value in the mind of the audience.
According to the company, its PPV platform “will drive a new revenue-sharing model for both artists and LiveXLive via digital ticket sales, fan tipping, digital meet and greets, merchandise sales and sponsorship.” LiveXLive’s first pay-per-view event will be the 11E1even Group-produced virtual concert series Live From Out There, featuring more than 45 live performances starting on Friday, May 15 and continuing for four weeks until June 7.