Music

Music discovery, recommendation, creation startups at Midem

Tracklib is a new music marketplace where people discover, buy and license stems from original tracks. CEO Pär Almqvist presented its technology. “We’ve sampled since the 1970s, but getting access to separate stems is almost possible, and buying a commercial licence is very complicated and expensive,” he said.

“So DJs and producers turn to piracy… Talented producers are stuck with generic sounds, and sound designers are kinda stuck in the elevator with catalogue music.” Tracklib thinks the potential market for these “music building blocks” is enormous.

Source: Music discovery, recommendation, creation startups at #Midem

CBS Beats Lawsuit Over Pre-1972 Songs With Bold Copyright Argument

On Tuesday, a California judge handed down a big ruling that could help immunize terrestrial radio operators and others from lawsuits and upend many preconceived notions about copyright. The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson comes in a dispute between ABS Entertainment, owner of recordings by Al Green and others, and CBS Radio, which was dragged into court after others found success litigating the theory that pre-1972 songs are protected under state law and can’t be broadcast without permission.

In reaction to the ABS lawsuit, CBS tried out a response dripping with implications. According to the radio giant, it was not performing the original analog recordings, once distributed mainly through vinyl, but rather remastered versions that came out after 1972. Under this argument, the specifically performed works aren’t protected by state law, and CBS doesn’t have to pay.

Source: CBS Beats Lawsuit Over Pre-1972 Songs With Bold Copyright Argument – Hollywood Reporter

TuneCore CEO: YouTube is not the enemy – it’s a goldmine

As the major labels’ tanks rumble towards YouTube’s lawn, TuneCore CEO Scott Ackerman claims that independently distributed artists are increasingly seeing the video channel as both a goldmine and the greatest marketing weapon in their arsenal.

“Our artists see both YouTube and the streaming channels as a way to get their music out,” he tells Music Ally. “For most of our artists, that is their number one thing – they want their music heard. It’s not about money. They want their music out worldwide so everyone can hear it.”

Source: TuneCore CEO: YouTube is not the enemy – it’s a goldmine

Spotify, Musixmatch End Lyrics Partnership Over Unfavorable Terms

Lyrics disappeared suddenly from Spotify last Friday; and now we know the reason: the partnership between the music streamer and lyrics provider Musixmatch has ended. The partnership was terminated when the two companies could not come to terms over payments, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

Musixmatch also suggested that unfavorable terms are behind the split. “We regret the end of this partnership, but we must keep to our product and our users above all else. We will not allow anybody to ignore our business model'” said Max Ciociola, CEO & Founder of Musixmatch. “We want to focus on what is right for us, to protect all of you, our users. We don’t want to run the risk of Musixmatch no longer existing… What we want is to create a stand alone experience with a healthy business model that allows us, to support ourselves and our rights owners.”

Source: Spotify, Musixmatch End Lyrics Partnership Over Unfavorable Terms: “We will not allow anybody to ignore our business model” – hypebot

The Playlist That’s Helping Spotify Win The Streaming Music Battle 

The quest to give people what they didn’t even know they want has been the holy grail for streaming services, and Spotify succeeded almost by accident.

Discover Weekly actually began as a Hack Week project, but it was the technology they had from acquiring “music intelligence” firm The Echo Nest which allowed the idea to flourish. What’s genius about Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists is its personalization. It’s capable of delivering content from artists the listener hasn’t heard but should like based on their established tastes.

Source: The Playlist That’s Helping Spotify Win The Streaming Music Battle – Vocativ

Digital Music Rights, Metadata and the Blockchain

Blockchain is finding its way into a huge variety of industries. Plans and research from finance to postal delivery are considering the benefits of blockchain to improve operational efficiency and enhance security, and the latest industry to explore the concept is the music industry.

At a meeting of entrepreneurs, blockchain advocates and music industry experts at a Berlin Music Festival, will look to discuss ideas relating to metadata and the identification of rights for individual tracks and how blockchain can improve the current, less than efficient situation.

Source: Digital Music Rights, Metadata and the Blockchain

Kraftwerk loses hip-hop music-sampling copyright case 

After a decades-long battle, the Bundesverfassungsgericht (the supreme German Constitutional Court) has overturned a ban on a song that used a two-second sample of a Kraftwerk recording. In 1997, music producer Moses Pelham used a clip from 1977 release Metall auf Metall (Metal on Metal) in the song Nur mir (Only Mine) performed by Sabrina Setlur.

Pelham successfully argued that sampling is common practice in the hip hop genre and that in some cases “artistic freedom overrides the interest of the owner of the copyright.” The court agreed that imposing arbitrary royalty fees on composers could stifle creativity and that sampling should be permitted if it does not constitute direct competition to the sampled work, and does not damage the rightsholders financially.

Source: Kraftwerk loses hip-hop music-sampling copyright case | Ars Technica

Embracing Virtual Reality Could Enable Streaming Services To Finally Move Forward 

A few days ago, streaming service Rhapsody announced it was launching a VR app, with the initial content consisting mostly of performances shot at SXSW. The quality of the performances is fairly solid, and while the requirement that all videos be downloaded before being played means that live-streaming shows in the app is still not possible, it’s certainly a pleasant diversion and value add to be able to watch some shows and see what new artists might be like live.

But while this venture feels like a fun experiment, it also leads to much bigger questions — namely, is embracing VR the future of music streaming services? And if services get into the VR game, what does that mean for artists who planned on building and monetizing their own VR content?

Source: Embracing Virtual Reality Could Enable Streaming Services To Finally Move Forward [Cortney Harding] – hypebot

Blockchain Entrepreneurs, Musicians Test Ideas at Berlin Music Festival

A group of musicians, entrepreneurs and blockchain advocates is set to gather at a festival in Germany later this week with the aim of testing how the technology can change the music industry.

The Music Tech Fest Berlin is set to be held from 27th to 30th May. During this time, the MTFLabs: Blockchain initiative will bring together participants including Grammy Award winner Imogen Heap, who has been advocating for blockchain applications in the music industry since last year.

Source: Blockchain Entrepreneurs, Musicians Test Ideas at Berlin Music Festival – CoinDesk

Spotify Cuts Dubset Deal To Add Millions Of Mixes – hypebot

Dubset Media announced today that it has reached an agreement with Spotify to use its MixBANK distribution platform. The deal makes it possible for DJs to upload and legally stream their mixes and single track remixes.  In addition, the new agreement is expected to enable Spotify listeners to stream radio shows and other user generated mixes that have not been previously legally available to music fans.

The announcement was made today at the International Music Summit in Ibiza, Spain.

Source: Spotify Cuts Dubset Deal To Add Millions Of Mixes – hypebot

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