The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.
Music industry and consumer support for higher-quality audio streams grows
The idea of making high-resolution (hi-res) or high-definition (HD) music appealing to more than just audiophiles is a step closer following the announcement by a number of recorded-music industry stakeholders at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that they are to boost their output of high-quality music. Music subscription service Tidal has also enhanced its commitment to high-quality streaming with improvements to the quality of its high-fidelity tier. A number of research reports suggested last year that increased sound quality was growing in importance for consumers who have become accustomed to music streaming. However, with the two biggest digital music service providers in the world, Spotify and Apple, yet to make any significant high-quality music moves, there remain serious questions over the likely success of the renewed push for the delivery of better-quality sound.
Lower collections for IPRS as Delhi court introduces interim rights-licensing process
India’s authors’ society, IPRS, has reported a drop in collections for the financial year ending March 2016. With the exception of the minor income source TV broadcasting, all revenue streams suffered a fall. IPRS commented that unfavorable court rulings and litigation were the main reasons for the income reduction. IPRS has also been instructed by a Delhi court not to issue any new licenses for the next three months. The interim order, which also affects licenses issued by the performance rights organizations (PROs) Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) and Novex Communications, was made on the grounds that the PROs are unregistered and so are operating in contravention of India’s copyright act.
Live music set to register another record year for ticket sales
Assessing the performance of the live-music sector from one year to the next at anything beyond a national level is speculative at best. Unlike its recorded-music counterpart, which is well organized under the auspices of the IFPI, the live industry has no all-encompassing trade association. Moreover, despite the emergence in recent years of a small number of corporate promoters, the live industry is not controlled by a few players, unlike the recorded-music sector, which is dominated by the three majors. However, some guidance can be gained from the results of the corporate live leaders. Based on their financial details for the first nine months of last year, the live music industry is likely to have registered a positive 2016. Although the individual performances of each company differed, the combined earnings for the featured promoters showed positive overall growth. Moreover, share price gains over the last 12 months for four of the six companies pointed to ongoing city approval for the live entertainment sector.
US country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is the biggest music market in the world. Not only does it account for around one-third of global recorded-music sales, the country is home to the largest live music sector in the world and the biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment. The US also has two of the biggest authors’ rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, and has quickly become the world leader in performance rights collections for record companies and performers, despite the fact the country’s collection agency, SoundExchange, collects royalties only from digital music services.
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