Music

SoundExchange Debuts Search Tool for Song Codes

Need to find an important piece of metadata for a particular recording? SoundExchange has announced the launch of an online tool for looking up the ISRCs, or International Standard Recording Codes, related to the nearly 20 million recordings in its database. ISRC is the standard for identifying sound recordings. Countries have their own ISRC agency that assign the unique numbers.

Each number is comprised of a two-letter country code, a three-character code for the registrant, two numbers for the year, and five numbers assigned by the registrant. The RIAA oversees the ISRC system in the United States and its territories. The IFPI oversees ISRCs globally.A correct ISRC helps ensure the correct label or artist is paid a performance royalty when the recording is streamed by webcasters such as Pandora and satellite radio service SiriusXM Radio.

At any given time, SoundExchange has tens of millions of dollars in undistributed royalties because it has received inaccurate or incomplete data from a service.

Source: Billboard

NBC Changes Contract to Adam Levine’s ‘Songland’ After Claim of Rights Overreach

NBC dialed back the rights it is claiming for applicants to Adam Levine‘s new songwriting competition, “Songland,” in the wake of a Wrap story that pointed out overreaching with potential contestants.

The words “if I am selected to be a participant on the Program” were added to the submission application signed by songwriters vying to be on the show after TheWrap published a story on Saturday pointing out that the network was claiming royalty rights for all submissions, whether or not they became contestants.

Source: The Wrap

Would ‘100 Percent Licensing’ Unshackle the Market for Music, or Make it Worse?

As we’ve covered in recent months here at the R Street Institute, the U.S. Justice Department is in the midst of its review (and possible modification) of the agreements (called “consent decrees”) that govern the operation of the nation’s two leading performance rights organizations (PROs).

These groups – the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) – are responsible for collecting and distributing royalties from the performance of musical compositions under copyright.

The agreements place restrictions – originating from antitrust concerns, on the one hand, and fear of heavy-handed regulation, on the other – on the two entities’ operations, through which the vast majority of our nation’s musical works are licensed. While no one would describe this system as an inherently good or logical one, it’s important to weigh how any modifications would affect the tenuous balance currently in place.

Source: R Street

We Can Work It Out: How Brands Can Master Music Rights

If a picture paints a thousand words, then a well-placed soundtrack can bring those visuals to life and create a lasting emotional connection.

Think of the use of The Velvet Underground’s malevolent Venus in Furs in a Dunlop TV spot for tyres. At the other end of the musical spectrum, soft and gentle cover versions by Lily Allen and Aurora are likely to become forever synonymous with Christmas, gifts and John Lewis.

However, if music appears to be an easy win for advertisers, this overlooks the complexities of what goes on beneath the surface, where the music rights business can often jeopardise the creative ambitions of even the best marketers.

Many brand teams fall in love with one song, for example, and are held to ransom on commercial terms. That or a they’re forced to accept restrictive licences that lack the permissions needed for the rollout of their global campaign.

From my experience brokering deals for brands, this disconnect is frequently the result of poor planning and leaving the licensing process to the last minute. However, it need not be a nightmare.

Source: The Guardian

Imagem Allies with Chinese Distributor, as New Online Content Rules Loom in China

Independent music publisher Imagem has signed a deal with Chinese digital distribution firm R2G, which will see the distributor handle the licensing of the publisher’s repertoire in the Chinese market. Imagem is the latest music firm to ally with a Chinese partner in a bid to access royalties now being paid by various digital music set-ups in the country.

Source: Complete Music Update

How the Blockchain Can Change the Music Industry (Part 2)

1l-vzpqvsl0r9mh7apum-waI could never have imagined that the article I wrote would have the impact that it has, and I am humbled, stunned, and excited by the outpouring of interest and support that has come my way.

In the short time since it came out, I have been overwhelmed by offers to speak publicly, offers of help and even offers to fund “what you are building.”

So I need to be clear here before we begin: this is not something that I am building. I am the CEO of an amazing company PledgeMusic whose amazing women and men solve what I refer to as the “first mile” problem of the music industry, by eliminating risk, creating engagement and giving artists both money and data to go off and make their music. In short, we help create the rights that the proposed .bc (or dotblockchain) format seeks to codify.

This is a full time job, and it is one that I love deeply. The “last mile” problem, which is the one that this project seeks to solve, is something that I care so very deeply about but that I could not solve on my own (even if I didn’t have a job already). This needs to be solved by all of us, an industry-wide initiative to fix the very problems that we created. I will do all that I can — mornings, lunches, nights and weekends — to advocate for it, but it’s not one person’s job. It’s our job, and that includes you who are reading this.

Source: Cuepoint

Rumblefish Streamlines Rights Management for Digitally Imported

rf_logo_stdRumblefish, the nation’s leading provider of rights management solutions for the music industry, has entered into an agreement with Digitally Imported, the premier online radio destination for electronic music fans around the world. Rumblefish, recently merged with The Harry Fox Agency’s (HFA) Slingshot rights management service, will streamline Digitally Imported licensing and royalty processes, in support of its music streaming business model.

Tapping Rumblefish allows Digitally Imported to focus on creating an unparalleled listening experience by eliminating the need to manage thousands of licensing relationships, manage copyright administration staff and program complex royalty formulas.

Digitally Imported will rely on Rumblefish for its U.S. interactive streaming licensing needs, including the royalty calculations, statements and distributions.

All the Music, All Year Long: Art-List Gives You Access to Their Entire Library for $200

You need something nuanced yet epic, and with the quality of a symphonic Rachel Portman.

Also, it needs to be licensed commercially. Oh, and did you mention you’re on a super tight budget? Familiar with this quandary, filmmaker Ira Belsky co-founded Art-List, a new subscription-based music licensing platform for independent filmmakers, offering you all the music you want for a yearly flat fee.

Catering to the world of independent filmmakers constantly in need of music that’s neither too MIDI nor too expensive, the subscription idea behind the Art-List sounds pretty enticing. Instead of a licensing fee per song, there is a yearly fee of $199 that gives get unlimited access to everything in the Art-List catalogue, which as of right now has around 1000 songs.

Considering you can often pay $100 to license a single high quality song, this could be a great resource. And having a subscription based model with no restrictions on how (and how often) you can use the tracks is a winning proposition for video professionals who are regularly producing content that needs music.

Source: NFS

Three Startups Trying to Transform the Music Industry Using the Blockchain

A gang of computer programmers – united by the Bitcoin technology – are trying to revolutionize an industry after 15 years of disruption which began with Napster and was cemented by BitTorrent.

Bitcoin’s blockchain – a decentralized system powered by a network of computers – serves as the transparent backbone of the Bitcoin network. The blockchain, which functions as a public ledger, maintains the accounting of the Bitcoin network, timestamping each transaction and assigning a unique ID.

Numerous individuals and companies are excited about the future of the blockchain and the music industry. Three companies, PeerTracks, Bittunes and Ujo Music, each claim their business model will liberate musicians from being under the thumbs of overbearing music labels and streaming services.

Source: Bitcoin Magazine

This Company Thinks It Can Turn Music Pirates Into Paying Customers

The music business has traditionally taken a hard-line approach to online music pirates.

Once upon a time, of course, it sued them directly – but that didn’t work out too well for anyone. These days, the general consensus at rights-holders is that a stern but educative series of warnings from a user’s ISP is the best route to stopping individual infringers – whilst simultaneously forcing broadband providers to block torrent sites in the courts.

But could there be another, kinder approach? Is the music business missing out on revenues by trying to warn, rather than directly convert, torrent site users online?

Content protection and data-analytics solutions specialist MUSO believes so.

Source: Music Business Worldwide

Get the latest RightsTech news and analysis delivered directly in your inbox every week
We respect your privacy.