Facebook Will Stop Ripping Down Music Videos — Effective Immediately

Facebook won’t be ripping down music videos anymore — at least if they involve songs owned by Universal Music Group. If there was one deal that needed to get done in 2017, this was it. According to an email from Universal Music Group, Facebook ha…

Breaking: Federal Appeals Court Rules Against DOJ’s ‘100% Licensing’ Requirement

US publishers just scored a major victory against the DOJ’s 100% licensing requirement. Please note: the following is a breaking and developing story.  We’ll be adding more details as we learn them.  Last update: Dec 19th 9:00 am PT. Americ…

Your Local Pizza Place Pays 4 Different Companies to Play 1 Song. That’s Stupid.

If you don’t have contracts with multiple PROs, your tiny shop can be sued for infringement.  But why does this have to be so complicated? I managed three different contracts for three different performance rights licenses at my former company.  …

‘Sound Alike’ Industry Freaking Out After $400,000 Eminem Court Decision

There’s an entire ‘sound alike’ sub-industry that revolves around making music that sounds just like something famous.  Eminem may have just ended that. It’s a niche industry based around a clever idea.  Instead of paying millio…

‘Sound Alike’ Industry Freaking Out After $400,000 Eminem Court Decision

There’s an entire ‘sound alike’ sub-industry that revolves around making music that sounds just like something famous.  Eminem may have just ended that. It’s a niche industry based around a clever idea.  Instead of paying millio…

Music Publishers Want to Create a Comprehensive Song Database — 15 Years Too Late

Last week, the largest music publishers in the world disclosed a plan to create a centralized song database.  Seriously? It’s getting harder and harder to feel sorry for music publishers. In July, we wrote about an extremely suspect deal that maj…

Are You a Music Publishing Executive? Spotify Wants to Hire You.

Spotify’s billion dollar war with music publishers is intensifying.  Can the right people fix this problem? As Spotify’s pre-IPO valuation soars to $16 billion, there’s a pesky fly in the ointment.  Major labels are receiving billions in guarantees annually, but music publishers are crying foul.  The result is a raft of lawsuits — with potentially billions […]

The post Are You a Music Publishing Executive? Spotify Wants to Hire You. appeared first on Digital Music News.

The Easiest Way to Fix the Streaming Mechanical is to Get Rid of It

More than 500 songwriters and publishers are seeking punitive damages for Spotify’s failure to pay mechanical royalties.  How did we get here? Interactive ‘streaming mechanicals’ were invented by stakeholders in 2008 to address the concern that streaming would cannibalize record sales which would, in turn, vanquish mechanical royalties.  So they imposed a replacement that mollified […]

The post The Easiest Way to Fix the Streaming Mechanical is to Get Rid of It appeared first on Digital Music News.

How To Get Your Copyrights Back From Your Label or Publisher

There’s a little known section in the US Copyright Act of 1976 enabling any copyright owner to get their rights back after 35 years. Meaning, if you wrote or released a song with a label or a publishing company after January 1st 1978, you can terminate your agreement and get all your rights back. It […]

The post How To Get Your Copyrights Back From Your Label or Publisher appeared first on Digital Music News.

A List of 500+ Musicians Demanding Better Royalties from Spotify

Earlier this week, more than 500 musicians and songwriters demanded more royalties from Spotify.  Now we have the list. It’s all part of a huge pushback from one of the largest music publishers in the world.  That publisher is Wixen Music Publishing, and they have a lot of very substantial artists, songwriters, and sub-publishers.  None […]

The post A List of 500+ Musicians Demanding Better Royalties from Spotify appeared first on Digital Music News.