The final issue of Music & Copyright for 2016 is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.
GMR hits back at RMLC with antitrust complaint
US performance rights organization Global Music Rights (GMR) has filed an antitrust complaint at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC), accusing it of collusive tactics to depress the royalty rates paid by radio stations to songwriters and of operating an unlawful cartel intended to stifle competition among radio stations. The lawsuit follows a similar filing in November by the RMLC against GMR which accused the performance rights organization (PRO) of attempting to charge the US commercial radio industry monopoly prices to publicly perform musical works in the GMR repertory. In response, the RMLC described the GMR lawsuit as nothing more than a ploy designed to pressure the RMLC into paying higher royalty rates for GMR content than it currently pays other US PROs. It also accused GMR of ignoring the long-established court-set royalty rate system.
OTT video service growth and the challenge to broadcast royalty collections
Over-the-top (OTT) broadcasting of audio and video is a delivery system that has rapidly grown in popularity, from the perspective of both distribution and consumption. With its divergence from traditional means of broadcast – in that content is delivered using the open Internet rather than a service provider’s own infrastructure – it is not an understatement to say OTT has revolutionized broadcasting. Multiple services, including those from pure-play providers, such as Netflix and Amazon, and those from national pay-TV operators, are available across the world, many offering compelling libraries that include content from linear pay-TV services. Revenue from OTT services is rising, and growing numbers of consumers are finding the flexibility and convenience of OTT offerings preferable to traditional broadcast services. Pay-TV services’ entry into the OTT sector is as much about attracting subscribers who have yet to engage with a full paid-for offering as it is about competing with the current pure-play services. However, with the competition for broadcast eyeballs intensifying, collective rights management organizations could be forgiven for feeling a little apprehension that broadcast royalties are going to come under pressure, particularly given that the income source has for so many years been their biggest revenue generator.
Pricing, bundles, and new hardware set to drive digital music subscription growth
The recorded-music sector is rapidly becoming reliant on service providers rather than music sellers. The term “music retail” is fading from common parlance, and those years-old brands that for so long formed the epicenter of young consumers’ music lives have all but been replaced by the faceless but logo-heavy new kids on the block. It is often said that no one likes change, but the opportunities now available to many music industry service providers and secondary facilitators mean the latest changes have been for the better. Ovum has picked out three key trends that both primary and secondary music industry players should take note of if they want to benefit from what is now being seen as an industry on the up.
Sweden country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, Music & Copyright also includes a detailed Sweden music industry report. Over a relatively short period of time, Sweden has become the world leader in terms of music access, with home-grown service Spotify dominating not only record-company earnings from digital music, but also total Swedish recorded-music trade revenue. While there has been an inevitable slowdown in the take-up of music subscriptions, the local IFPI branch said earlier this year that it was confident there was still room for growth and noted that interest in music in the country remained high. One of the ongoing beneficiaries of the digital growth has been authors’ society STIM, whose collections last year rose to record levels on the back of authors’ growing digital earnings. The live sector also registered a good year, with ticket sales to concerts and festivals registering healthy growth.
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