Hinting Musicians May Never Receive Their Payments at All, PledgeMusic Co-Founder Benji Rogers Pens Apology Which ‘Breaks My Heart’

In May, PledgeMusic’s embattled co-founder Benji Rogers issued a ‘heartfelt’ apology. After nearly a year of promising to return artists’ money “within 90 days,” the apparently regretful co-founder confirmed the troubled British crowdfunding platform w…

123 Artists File Amicus Brief in Led Zeppelin’s Closely Watched ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Lawsuit

The Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway to Heaven’ case is complicated, to say the least. It all started back in 2014 when a descendant of Randy Craig Wolfe, former Spirit band member and songwriter, made a ludicrous claim. Led Zeppelin allegedly ripped off Spirit’…

Amazon’s Ad-Supported ‘Free’ Service Launches in the UK

Last April, Amazon quietly introduced an ad-supported music streaming service. Unrelated to Music Unlimited and Prime Music – which both require a subscription – the still-unnamed ‘freemium’ version allows users to listen to their favorite music on Ale…

Casio Slapped With a $4.5 Million Fine for Engaging in Anti-Competitive Behavior

According to UK watchdog Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Casio apparently hasn’t played nice with other online retailers. Now, the watchmaker has received a major fine. The CMA has fined Casio Electronics £3.7 million ($4.5 million) – the agen…

To Secure Royalties at the Expense of Artists, ByteDance and TikTok Hire a Former Music Industry Advocate

For weeks, TikTok parent company ByteDance has remained locked in bitter negotiation talks with European rightsholders. To secure music licenses, the Chinese conglomerate referred collecting societies PRS for Music, STIM, GEMA, and ICE – STIM and GEMA’…

In Day One of ‘Dark Horse’ Damages Trial, Capitol Records Reveals The Label Spent $11.7 Million to Promote Katy Perry’s Hit

So, how much did Katy Perry actually earn from ‘Dark Horse?’ According to Christian rapper Marcus Gray’s attorneys, $41 million.  Universal Music’s Capitol Records allegedly received $31 million from the track’s success. According to Capitol’s defense …

Ticketmaster’s Non-Refundable Service Fees are Becoming a Problem In the Netherlands

A Dutch consumer protection group is challenging Ticketmaster’s fees. According to Consumentenbond, a Dutch non-profit consumer protection group, Ticketmaster doesn’t return consumers’ booking fees upon cancellation.  The ticketing giant is one of the …

Two Months After Getting Caught ‘Red Handed’ for Lyric Theft, LyricFind Partners With 63 UK Publishers

LyricFind has unveiled a slew of new deals. Printed Music Licensing Limited (PMLL) first confirmed the news.  A wholly owned subsidiary of the Music Publishing Association (MPA), PMLL has over 70 music publisher members. The subsidiary struck a deal wi…

Spotify’s Q2 2019 — The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Spotify has released its financial report for the second quarter of 2019 (Q2 2019). First, the good news. For the three months ended June 30th, 2019, the music streaming giant reported 232 million monthly active users (MAU), up 29% over the same period…

How Much Will ‘Coincidental’ Copyright Infringement Cost Katy Perry? Lawyers Say $41 Million

On Monday afternoon, a jury found Katy Perry, her producers, and Universal Music’s Capitol Records guilty of copyright infringement. The jury in a California federal courtroom ruled Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ outright copied Marcus Grey’s 2008 Christian hit,…