As the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, the entertainment industry has heeded health notices and travel restrictions by canceling events and postponing productions planned for the near future. Countless jobs will be affected by the virus, and financial reverberations for individuals, companies and economies will last months, at the least.
Source: Coronavirus is shutting down movies, tours and festivals. Here’s where things stand.
Citing concerns about the potential spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Reed Exhibitions has canceled this year’s London Book Fair. Yesterday Reed Exhibitions had said the show would proceed. The turning point seems to have come when major U.K. divisions of the large international publishers decided not to send their local staffs to the fair.
Source: London Book Fair Canceled
The U.S. recorded music business generated $11.1 billion in revenue in 2019, according to the RIAA’s annual year-end report, a 13% year-over-year increase from the $9.8 billion it reached in 2018. That represents the fourth straight year of double-digit growth for the sector, and a faster rate of growth over 2018, when it increased 11.9% over the prior year.
Source: US Recorded Music Revenue Reaches $11.1 Billion in 2019, 79% From Streaming: RIAA
Independent music body IMPALA issued a statement (see below) today (January 28) arguing that it’s “illogical not to deliver the results now”. On Friday (January 24), Tom Kiehl, Deputy CEO of UK Music (an umbrella body that represents the recording, publishing and live sectors) wrote to Skidmore “to request an urgent meeting to discuss the music industry’s concerns”.
New legislation introduced in both houses of Congress on Thursday brings artists one step closer to receiving performance rights royalties on radio airplay. The Ask Musicians for Music Act (AM-FM) would require radio stations to get consent from recording artists to play their music.
Source: Congress Introduces AM-FM Act to Get Artists & Labels Paid for Radio Play
Publishers, songwriters and performance rights organizations are at odds over other aspects of the DOJ’s consent decree review beyond the danger of potential unwanted legislation coming from the publishers’ request for the selective withdrawal of digital rights from ASCAP and BMI’s blanket licenses.
Source: Competing Publishing Industry Wishes, Concerns Give DOJ Plenty to Ponder In Consent Decree Review
When Microsoft terminated its ebooks store — a service — it did not have to recall the books it had vended; instead, it terminated access to them. In essence, although the books continue to exist as intellectual property, those copies of the books just went away at the sole discretion of the provider, subject only to any contractual obligations.
Source: Microsoft brought book burning into the digital age — and you should be worried
ASCAP has launched the Advanced Research & Innovation Initiative to explore how advanced technologies, new business approaches and creative collaborations can drive value for its music creator members and music consumers. The new program will help to identify and develop new areas of growth and efficiency through technology accelerators, prototyping research projects, cross-pollination with the startup community, and knowledge-sharing through a bi-monthly speaker series.
Source: ASCAP Launches Research & Innovation Initiative With Startup Summits, Speaker Series, More
Funds focused on music royalties are gaining traction as investors stray from the beaten path in a hunt for yield. Such funds buy the rights to music catalogs and generate royalty payments for investors when songs are bought, streamed or performed. The firms behind the funds say they actively manage these assets, seeking licensing deals that allow songs to generate greater income.
Source: Investors in Search of Yield Turn to Music-Royalty Funds
When Microsoft terminated its ebooks store – a service – it did not have to recall the books it had vended; instead, it terminated access to them. In essence, although the books continue to exist as intellectual property, those copies of the books just went away at the sole discretion of the provider, subject only to any contractual obligations (which Microsoft has sought to ameliorate by reimbursing its customers, although to be fair, it is not clear that the company is under any legal obligation to do so).
Source: Microsoft is discontinuing their service of e-books from their online store.