Headlines May 2023
| May 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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PRS for Music and ORFIUM enter into partnership for licensing across the African continent
PRS for Music, 17 April 2023 PRS for Music has partnered with ORFIUM, a music rights and metadata management software platform, to expand its licensing coverage to music users in Africa. ORFIUM will license the PRS repertoire and provide technology infrastructure for public performances, radio, cable TV, and online services. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ CISAC and JASRAC Hold Joint Press Conference - Challenges and Initiatives Described on Returning Remuneration to Creators in the Digital World JASRAC, 19 April 2023 CISAC and JASRAC held a joint press conference in Tokyo to discuss remunerating creators in the digital world and the GDSDX initiative. The conference included CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron, and JASRAC President IZAWA Kazumasa. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ PRS for Music reports record breaking revenues in 2022, up by 22.9% on 2021 to £964m PRS for Music, 25 April 2023 PRS for Music, the UK-based rights management organization representing over 165,000 music writers and publishers, collected a record £964m in 2022, up 22.9% YoY, indicating a significant recovery from the pandemic and an increase of £154m from the previous high of £810m achieved in 2019. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Snapchat Inks UnitedMasters, Buma/Stemra Licensing Deals, Ends SUISA Copyright Dispute Digital Music News, 13 April 2023 Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has signed licensing deals with music rights organizations UnitedMasters, the Netherlands’ Buma/Stemra, and SUISA, having evidently resolved a legal dispute with the Swiss organization that occurred in May 2022. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ IFRRO adopts Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence IFRRO, 29 March 2023 The IFRRO Board has approved a Position Statement on AI, addressing the legal and moral challenges that arise with the use of copyright-protected materials in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The statement emphasizes the need for real protections for authors, artists, publishers, and other rightsholders, to ensure the balance between advancing AI technology and protecting copyrighted works. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ ARTISJUS paid HUF 8.67 billion to the authors Kultura, 27 April 2023 In 2022, ARTISJUS, the Hungarian music rights organization, paid HUF 8.67 billion in royalties to authors of songs and musical works, a 29% increase compared to 2021, but still below pre-pandemic levels. The organization paid royalties to a record 18,414 domestic authors in 2022. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ GEMA wants to pay out one billion euros for the first time Zeit, 4 April 2023 Munich-based music collecting society, GEMA, achieved a record result in 2022 and plans to pay out one billion euros to composers, lyricists, and publishers. Total revenues in 2022 rose by 13 percent to just under 1.2 billion euros, exactly 1.009 billion of which is to be passed on to creators and rights holders. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Sonos goes on a business tour with SABAM alternative Sonos Pro Itdaily, 19 April 2023 Sonos has launched SABAM alternative Sonos Pro – a SaaS solution for organizations with multiple branches – in the US. The solution provides a central dashboard to manage Sonos systems across different locations and includes personalized support and ad-free music licenses. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ NFTs to better manage musicians' copyrights? Interview with SACEM Cryptoast, 8 April 2023 In this article, Julien Lefebvre, Director of Innovation at SACEM, discusses SACEM’s blockchain technology-related projects, the launch of its first NFT collection, and how NFTs can help to protect music creators and strengthen their copyrights. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Italy’s Competition Watchdog Orders Meta To Resume Negotiations With Collecting Society SIAE Music Business Worldwide, 25 April 2023 The Italian Competition Authority is investigating Meta's conduct in the market and believes it may have unfairly disrupted licensing negotiations with the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE), "abusing SIAE's economic dependence." The antitrust watchdog has ordered Meta to resume negotiations with SIAE to allow protected musical works to be used on Facebook and Instagram again. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |
| ROYALTY & COPYRIGHT | |
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Spotify's CEO says the music industry has 'legitimate concerns' about AI-generated songs
Yahoo.News, 26 April 2023 Spotify's CEO has acknowledged the music industry's “legitimate concerns” about AI-generated music mimicking the voices of artists such as Drake and Rihanna. The circulation of such music online has raised questions about copyright infringement and royalties. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ BMI secures concert royalty rate boost in the US Complete Music Update, 29 March 2023 US collecting society BMI is pleased with a ruling by American rate courts that will increase earnings for its members when their songs are played at gigs and concerts across America. BMI affiliates will now receive a rate that is 138% higher than the historically low rate in the US, bringing it closer to rates in Europe. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Spotify and Apple warned against letting AI access copyrighted songs City-am, 12 April 2023 Universal Music Group has sent a letter to streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple, urging them to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) tools from using copyrighted songs for training purposes. The music corporation is concerned that AI tools could collect data from copyrighted songs available on the platform and use it to create music that mimics artists. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Universal Music Group Responds To ‘Fake Drake’ Ai Track: Streaming Platforms Have ‘A Fundamental Responsibility To Prevent The Use Of Their Services In Ways That Harm Artists’ Music Business Worldwide, 17 April 2023 Universal Music Group has commented on the viral success of a track featuring AI-replicated vocals of both Drake and the Weeknd. The track, heart on my sleeve, credited to the "artist" ghost-writer, has garnered hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube and Spotify. UMG stated that this is an example of why platforms have a responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ |
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| NEW MEDIA | |
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Microsoft Is Shutting Down Its Metaverse Unit Amidst Broader Layoffs Digital Music News, 30 March 2023 Microsoft has disbanded its Industrial Metaverse Core group, comprising around 100 employees, after forming it only four months ago to implement metaverse interfaces to “control electrical power plants, industrial robotics, and transportation networks.” The group's products will continue to receive support despite the layoffs. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Spotify shuts down its Clubhouse-style audio app Spotify Live Musically, 3 April 2023 Spotify has announced the shutdown of its live-audio app, Spotify Live, “a period of experimentation and learnings around how Spotify users interact with live audio.” However, the company plans to continue experimenting with live features in its main service. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Spotify Added 5m Premium Subscribers In Q1, Taking Its Total Global Paying Subs Audience To 210m Music Business Worldwide, 25 April 2023 Spotify's Q1 2023 results show the addition of 5 million net Premium subscribers, bringing its total global paying subscriber count to 210 million, a 15% YoY growth. The growth was driven by outperformance in all regions, led by Europe and Latin America, and strong regional campaigns and multi-user plans. The figures were 3 million above the company's guidance for the quarter. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Apple Wins Antitrust Battle With Epic Games Yahoo.Style, 26 April 2023 A U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge has ruled in favor of Apple in an antitrust case with 'Fortnite' creator Epic Games. The court mostly upheld an earlier ruling in favor of Apple, while also upholding a lower court's judgement in favor of Epic. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Universal Music reiterates AI concerns as quarterly profit slumps Reuters, 26 April 2023 Universal Music Group (UMG) reported a 43.4% decline in first-quarter core profit due to compensation expenses and reiterated concerns about AI-generated music. The decline was mainly due to non-cash, share-based compensation expenses related to an equity compensation plan announced last year. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |
| FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY | |
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IFPI welcomes latest ruling in web-blocking dispute with Cloudflare
Complete Music Update, 31 March 2023 The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has welcomed a decision from the Court of Milan that requires Cloudflare to stop providing access to three copyright-infringing sites and their mirror sites via its public DNS service. The ruling sets a precedent that online intermediaries can be required to take action against music piracy. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ Record industry welcomes ruling against youtube-dl in German courts Complete Music Update, 4 April 2023 The music industry has expressed approval of a decision by the German courts regarding youtube-dl, a software used for stream-ripping. The Hamburg Regional Court has issued an injunction preventing the distribution of the software through a webpage hosted in Germany. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ UK Court Hands Down Major Criminal Sentence Over Multimillion-Dollar Vinyl Counterfeiting Operation Digital Music News, 7 April 2023 A UK court has sentenced a man who made about $1.5 million by selling counterfeit LPs. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) initiated the investigation after a customer complained about buying a fake LP. Millions of fake vinyl products have been uncovered in the UK over the last three years alone, underlining the scale of the problem. Link to original article | Back To The Top ▲ | |