The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.
Secondary-ticketing services thrive on the back of unique live-market economics
Media exposés and government investigations in some European countries have brought the thorny issue of secondary ticketing to the fore of music news reporting in the last month or so. Police in Italy are investigating two prominent promoters after a local TV program exposed a number of shady dealings, while a government committee in the UK questioned representatives of leading secondary-ticketing services over their business practices. However, despite the unpopularity of ticket resale services, few countries in Europe have gone as far as outlawing the practice and restricting services’ operations. In some cases, laws and regulations are not being enforced, and resellers are making huge profits at the expense of consumers. Most live-industry stakeholders would like to do away with secondary ticketing altogether, but while tickets to big events are continually sold way below market value, some believe that the problem of ticket resale is one of the live industry’s own making.
Court filing sheds light on the Flo & Eddie SiriusXM pre-1972 sound recordings settlement
In November, a joint notice filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California by artists Flo & Eddie and satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM stated that the two parties had reached an out-of-court settlement in the long-running dispute over the payment of performance royalties for the broadcast of songs fixed in copyright before February 1972. Now, the artists and broadcaster have filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of the agreement. The filing details the potential payments SiriusXM might be required to make based on the outcomes of pending state court appeals. The case dates back to 2013, when Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, founding members of 1960s group The Turtles who later became known as Flo & Eddie, accused SiriusXM of copyright infringement on the grounds that the broadcaster played their tracks without holding a license to do so.
Japan heading for flat year despite big rise in subscription revenue
Figures published by Japanese recorded-music trade association the RIAJ show that digital music sales for the first nine months of the year grew year-on-year at a faster rate in 2016 than in the same period of 2015. A big jump in trade earnings from subscriptions more than offset lower year-on-year sales of all unit downloads. Subscriptions are now the biggest digital revenue source for Japanese record companies, though combined sales of single tracks and albums still account for more than half of the online digital total. Despite the positive digital sales, the continued dominance of physical formats means the overall wellbeing of the country’s recorded-music sector is still largely determined by the performance of the CD album. Given that the RIAJ reported a decline in the production value of physical formats in the first nine months of this year, Japan looks to heading for a year of contraction.
Australia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Australia music industry report. The Australian recorded-music industry has shown signs that it is heading toward the end of what has been a long period of falling sales. Consumer interest in music streaming and subscriptions is strong and almost single-handedly boosted overall recorded-music trade earnings to growth in 2015. However, the country looked to have turned the corner in 2012, with record company income from digital sales fully countering the drop in CD album sales. But trade revenue contracted in the two subsequent years. In contrast to the recorded-music sector, royalty collections in Australia have been on the up for several years, with authors’ society APRA AMCOS experiencing consecutive annual collection increases on the back of strong gains in digital income. Australia’s somewhat erratic live music industry suffered a decline last year after two years of rising ticket sales and attendance.
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