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The bold initiative, called Creator Credits, is being led by a heavyweight alliance that includes Max Martin’s MXM Music, Avid Technology, Universal Music Group and DDEX.  Session, led by co-founder (and ABBA member) Bjorn Ulvaeus and CEO Niclas Molinder, is corralling the circle of power-players. “I’m convinced that the best way to involve the creators in the data collection is as early as possible in the creation process,” Ulvaeus said during the unveiling.

Source: Max Martin, UMG, Avid, DDEX, Session Announce the ‘World’s First End-to-End Music Credits Ecosystem’

ReDigi is now before the U.S. Supreme Court in a legal battle over the reselling of digitized copyrighted works. The company, which attempted to launch an online marketplace for secondhand iTunes songs, has written a letter to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg requesting an extension to May 13 to file its cert petition.

Source: Supreme Court Will Be Asked to Permit Resales of Digital Music Files

European Union countries on Wednesday endorsed an overhaul of the bloc’s copyright rules which would force Google and Facebook Inc to pay publishers for news snippets and filter out copyright-protected content on YouTube or Instagram. A majority of EU diplomats agreed to the revamp while Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland refused to back the deal and two other EU countries abstained.

Source: EU countries back copyright reforms

European Union negotiators agreed Wednesday on codified language in a new set of sweeping copyright-reform rules — including a provision that would mandate YouTube and other internet platforms block copyrighted material when it’s uploaded. YouTube in particular has been particularly vigorous in opposing the proposed changes to the laws.

Source: EU Approves Revamped Copyright Rules, Which Would Force Internet Companies to Proactively Block Protected Content

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is now appealing the decision to dismiss the case against defendant Tofig Kurbanov. “The court got it wrong,” says RIAA spokesperson Cara Duckworth. “Its decision represents a big step backward in the protection of American culture and the creators that fuel it. We look forward to laying out our arguments in the weeks ahead.”

Source: RIAA Appeals Dismissal of Major Labels’ Case Against Russian Stream-Ripper

EU efforts to reform copyright rules hit a roadblock on Monday as a meeting of lawmakers and officials was called off, prompting criticism of Google from publishers after it and other tech giants lobbied against the changes. European Parliament lawmakers, representatives from EU countries and Commission officials were scheduled to meet on Monday to reconcile their positions on the topic.

Source: In win for tech giants, EU copyright reforms stalled

A group of prominent representatives of the audiovisual and sports sectors, including the MPA and the Premier League, are calling for a suspension of the current Article 13 negotiations. The companies suggest that a case currently before the EU Court of Justice may give them a ‘better deal’ than the copyright reform proposal.

Source: Rightsholders Call for Suspension of Article 13 – TorrentFreak

With the technology reaching a tipping point, several companies are clamouring — sometimes by way of the courts — to create a hologram performance that can be as engaging as a human one. In the process, they hope to unlock vast amounts of money in the back catalogues of the 20th Century’s biggest artists.

Source: Dead musicians are touring again, as holograms. It’s tricky — technologically and legally

Executives at Netflix, Amazon and Apple are spending wildly for content, which has created a sense of urgency among their rivals at broadcast networks and cable channels. And like their midcentury predecessors, they have been aggressive about buying up ready-made programming to fill their expanding slates. These days, that means podcasts.

Source: In the Race for Content, Hollywood Is Buying Up Hit Podcasts

The United States Copyright Office has formally kicked off the process to establish the MMA’s Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) by putting out a request for information to help inform its choice for designating both the members of the MLC and Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC). In doing so, it is giving interested parties until March 21, 2019 to submit written proposals, and until April 22 for the public to comment on those submissions and related issues.

Source: U.S. Copyright Office Begins Process to Create Music Modernization Act’s Licensing Collective