Twenty-two years ago, in the midst of a legal dispute with the Rolling Stones, the Verve’s Richard Ashcroft signed away the rights and the royalties to ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony.’ The 1997 hit had sampled an orchestral version of Mick Jagger and Keith Ric…
Category archives: Music Royalties
Transparency Tide Continues: Sony Music Introduces ‘Real Time Royalties’ and ATM-Style ‘Cash Outs’
Once upon a time, major labels like Sony Music Entertainment kept their accounting methods close to the vest — very close the vest. Indeed, royalty audits and contentious lawsuits were once a normal event at major label groups — including Sony Music En…
The MMF and FAC Condemn PRS for Music’s “Sudden and Dramatic” Increase in Administration Fees
The Music Managers Fund doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with PRS for Music’s new fees. First, the good news. Two days ago, British collecting society PRS for Music posted $946 million in annual collection revenue. This figure marks a new record for the…
‘Non-Profit’ SoundExchange Refuses to Disclose Top Executive Salaries, ‘Black Box’ Holding Balances from 2018
SoundExchange, a US-based non-profit royalty collection agency subject to public federal disclosure laws, has refused to disclose critical financial information from fiscal year 2018 to Digital Music News. In 2017, SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe colle…
Are You Ready for the Future of Rights Management?
Three keys to 21st century rights management success. The following comes from Michael Simon, President and CEO of Rumblefish and the Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), both proud partners of Digital Music News. Working in the music industry isn’t for the f…
Spotify, Amazon, Google, Pandora Face Extreme Backlash Over Songwriter Royalties — But Do They Care?
Spotify sued the CRB to avoid paying more to songwriters. Now, the songwriter community has risen up and has urged people to switch to Apple Music. Maybe not what the streaming music giant had in mind. Early last month, the US Copyright Board (CRB) o…
SOCAN’s Non-Canadian Royalties Have Increased 70% Since 2013 — But CEO Says Songwriters Aren’t Getting a Fair Deal
The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has published its preliminary year-end results for 2018. According to the preliminary financial results, total royalties collected for its members totaled $347 million ($283 mill…
Our Latest Podcast: Fraud In the Music Industry — How Big of a Problem Is This?
It’s a scary question — with a potentially horrifying answer. What? You’re not subscribed to the Digital Music News Podcast? We’re available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and pretty much everywhere else. Or, simply listen to the embed b…
The CEO of ‘Non-Profit’ SoundExchange Makes $1.4 Million a Year
Michael Huppe, CEO and President of non-profit SoundExchange, received a $300,000 raise in 2017. Executives at non-profit organizations are routinely caught paying themselves lavish salaries. Now, it looks like SoundExchange, which enjoys tax benefits…
Teddy Bautista, SGAE’s Corrupt President, Ousted After Record Low Turnout
SGAE’s beleaguered President just didn’t want to give up making easy money. But, with its recently elected board favoring the Spanish collecting society’s previous scam, will things really get better? Things haven’t gone fairly well over at SGAE in th…