Headlines March 2023
| March 2023 | |
| INDEX | |
BIEM, ITS MEMBERS AND SISTER ORGANISATIONS - Go to Section ▼
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| BIEM, ITS MEMBERS AND SISTER ORGANISATIONS | |
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SOCAN: Notice of Intent to Amend Proposed Tariff 22.A (2014-2018)
SocanMagazine, 27 February 2023 SOCAN is publishing a Notice of Intent to Amend its proposed Tariff 22.A (2014-2018), in accordance with the Copyright Act. SOCAN will apply to the Copyright Board of Canada to limit the scope of the proposed tariff to apply only to on-demand streams and recommended streams, including streams by a hybrid service, of music videos. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ SUISA: Distribution Rules: Decision of the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property SUISA, 24 February 2023 A complete re-editing of SUISA's Distribution Rules, with a view to improving transparency and legal certainty, has been approved by the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property. Further details are discussed in the article. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ JASRAC concludes a new contract with Google regarding the use of YouTube music Full-scale start of "Content ID" utilization Yahoo, 13 February 2023 The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) has signed a new licensing agreement with Google regarding the full-scale application of YouTube's automatic content identification system "Content ID" to JASRAC-managed music on YouTube. Through this new contract, JASRAC says "We will continue to expand the possibilities of music use by video creators and enable many people who watch videos to discover new music." Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ ICE strikes deal with gaming and metaverse start-up STYNGR IMRO, 22 February 2023 ICE and gaming metaverse startup STYNGR have announced a deal covering the multi-territory use of the ICE Core repertoire. The new service offered by STYNGR allows players to choose in-game music channels and event-driven musical clips to personalise and enrich their in-game experience. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Copyright, the Council of State rejects SIAE's appeal against the Antitrust ilsole24ore, 15 February 2022 The Council of State has rejected SIAE’s appeal against the sanction imposed on it by the Antitrust Authority for abuse of a dominant position in the copyright market liberalized by the Barnier Directive. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ PPL and PRS for Music joint venture – PPL PRS Ltd – marks fifth anniversary Record of the Day, 28 February 2023 PPL PRS Ltd, the joint venture for public performance licensing from PPL and PRS for Music, is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Since its launch in 2018, PPL PRS Ltd. has distributed £1 billion in public performance revenues to music creators and rightsholders. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |
| ROYALTY & COPYRIGHT | |
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Web giants attack Belgian copyright law
La Libre, 4 February 2023 Google, Meta, Spotify and Sony Music are taking legal actions to cancel the Belgian law, which is the result of the implementation the EU Copyright Directive in Belgium. The action relates mainly to the online exploitation of press publications and the introduction of a non-transferable right to remuneration for authors and performers. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ SESAC Digital and Wise Music Australia Announce Licensing Deal Covering ‘The Rapidly Growing Southeast Asia Region’ Digital Music News, 15 February 2023 SESAC and Wise Music Australia have signed an “exclusive digital licensing deal” to bring Wise’s catalog to 20 Asian countries including Singapore, Vietnam, and India. Though Japan, China and South Korea are not included in the SESAC-Wise deal, it will reach Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Federal Judge Rejects Class Certification Motion in Artists’ UMG Copyright-Recapture Suit Digital Music News, 27 January 2023 A lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group by a group of musician plaintiffs attempting to reclaim their copyrights has been rejected by a federal judge. The artists made the decision to sue UMG over the rights to several decades-old projects based on Section 203 of the Copyright Act that is said to afford certain entertainment professionals the opportunity to terminate copyright transfers that were finalized at least 35 years back, thereby assuming full ownership of the media at hand. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Sound Credit and PPL Strike North America Neighbouring Rights Collections Partnership Music Business Worldwide, 15 February 2023 Sound Credit and sister brand Soundways have teamed up with UK-based licensing company PPL. The new partnership will allow Sound Credit and Soundways to offer their North American performer community access to PPL’s international collections service. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ EU Commission sends six states to court for not transposing copyright rules Euractiv, 15 February 2023 The European Commission has issued 11 referrals to the EU’s Court of Justice after six member states (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Portugal) failed to transpose copyright measures into national law. Formal notices of complaint were issued to 13 European countries in May 2022 as a warning that they must bring their national legislative frameworks in line with the Copyright Directive. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ |
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| NEW MEDIA | |
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Spotify Hits 205M Paying Subs, Grows Ad Revenue, But Loss Widens Amid Higher Expenses Hollywood Reporter, 31 January 2023 Spotify has exceeded its paid subs growth target for 2022, hitting 205 million premium or paying subscribers. Spotify also hit 489 million monthly active users at the close of 2022, with net additions of 33 million MAUs representing its largest-ever fourth-quarter growth. However, Spotify’s latest quarterly loss grew due to investments in podcasting growth and other factors. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Tidal And Universal Music Group Partner to Develop More Artist And Fan-Friendly Streaming Model Universal Music, 31 January 2023 Tidal and UMG are working together to explore an innovative new economic model for music streaming. Their research will explore how different economic models could accelerate subscriber growth, deepen retention, and better monetize fandom to the benefit of artists and the broader music community. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Spotify Debuts a New AI DJ, Right in Your Pocket Newsroom.Spotify, 22 February 2023 Spotify has launched a new AI DJ, a personalized AI guide that can choose what to play based on accumulated knowledge of the listener’s musical preferences. Currently rolling out in beta, the AI DJ will deliver a curated line-up of music alongside commentary around the listener’s favourite tracks and artists. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ YouTube launches its new commercial music licensing resource, Creator Music TechCrunch, 13 February 2023 YouTube’s new marketplace, Creator Music, is now fully open to all YouTube Partner Program participants in the U.S. It offers a large catalog of songs that creators can browse and purchase where the terms of the music rights are spelled out simply, so creators can understand the costs involved. Creators can also choose tracks offering revenue-sharing options. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ TikTok Launches SoundOn Distribution and Promo Platform in Australia UK The Music Network, 6 February 2023 TikTok has launched SoundOn, a distribution and marketing tool that allows Australian music creators to upload their works directly to the short-video platform and other, third-party music platforms. SoundOn reportedly pays 100% of royalties for those tunes in the first year, and offers “a range of promotional tools.” Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Songtradr Announces $23.4 Million Deal to Acquire 7digital, Sets Sights on ‘Delivering an Enhanced Offering for Our Clients’ Digital Music News, 8 February 2023 Songtradr has acquired London-based music services provider 7digital in a $23.4 million deal. 7digital head Paul Langworthy has shared his firm belief that “as part of the Combined Group, 7digital will have access to the capital, support and scale it needs to achieve its full potential.” Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Napster Takes ‘Foundational Step’ Into Web3 with Mint Songs Acquisition Billboard, 15 February 2023 Napster has acquired Mint Songs, a music NFT marketplace that aims to help artists establish a thriving Web3 presence by reaching their fans through collectibles, thus unlocking “significant new revenue streams.” Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Deezer Enters Long-Term Partnership with Sonos To Power Content For Sonos Radio Worldwide Deezer-Blog, 16 February 2023 Deezer has partnered with Sonos to power its streaming radio service Sonos Radio and its subscription service Sonos Radio HD, delivering an expansive catalog of music that’s curated for Sonos customers. Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folueira says “Through this partnership Deezer can reach new listeners in major markets around the world, including the US.” Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ House Panel Approves Bill That Could Lead to Total TikTok Ban in the US Music Business Worldwide, 1 March 2023 The US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance a bill (known as the ‘Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries Act’) that would effectively give President Joe Biden powers to ban TikTok in the US and would also allow for the control of other China-related economic activity, if signed into law. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ NetEase Cloud Music ended 2022 with 38.3m paying music users Musically, 24 February 2023 Cloud Village, NetEase Cloud Music’s parent company, reported 189.4 million monthly active users for its online music services at the end of 2022, up from 182.6 million the previous year. It also reported a particularly sharp rise in NCM’s ratio of paying users, which reached 38.3 million and the end of 2022, up from 28.9 million the previous year. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Apple clarifying concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers European Commission, 28 February 2023 The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Apple clarifying its concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers. This Statement of Objections focuses on the contractual restrictions that Apple imposed on app developers which prevent them from informing iPhone and iPad users of alternative music subscription options at lower prices outside of the app. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |
| FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY | |
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GitHub and EFF Back YouTube Ripper in Legal Battle With the RIAA
Torrentfreak, 10 February 2023 GitHub and digital rights group EFF have both filed briefs in support of stream-ripping site Yout.com, which has been accused by the RIAA of violating the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision. GitHub warns that the lower court's decision threatens to criminalize the work of many other developers, while the EFF stresses that an incorrect interpretation of the DMCA harms people who use stream-rippers lawfully. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Canadians still love to pirate music and video: report Global News, 12 February 2023 According to the most recent report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), “It is nearly impossible to overstate the magnitude of the piracy problem in Canada.” A report from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority states that 22.4% of Canadians accessed pirate services in 2022, making them some of the worst offenders when it comes to stream-ripping American copyrighted works. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ UK study finds a sharp increase in online music infringers Musically, 6 February 2023 New research published by the British government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) revealed that 25% of people surveyed in the UK had used an illegal source to get music online at least once during the last three months, up from 15% in 2021. This is the highest percentage in the last eight years of research and represents an estimated 9.2 million infringers in the UK. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ ‘Time for U.S. Lawmakers to Discuss Pirate Site Blocking’ Torrentfreak, 23 February 2023 The CreativeFuture coalition, which represents companies and individuals in the film, TV, music, and publishing industries, feels it is time for US lawmakers to revisit discussions surrounding site blocking as a measure to curb the problem of online piracy in America. Opponents feel that site blocking is a slippery slope that threatens free speech. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |