New issue of Music & Copyright

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

EU negotiators agree on new rules for cross-border online content service use
European Union (EU) negotiators have agreed on a series of new rules allowing citizens of member states to maintain access to online content services when they travel out of their home country around the EU. Services covered by the new cross-border rules include films, sports events, e-books, video games, and music. The agreement marks the first related to the modernization of EU copyright rules as proposed by the European Commission as part of its Digital Single Market strategy announced in May 2015. The next step will see the agreement formally confirmed by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. Once adopted, the new rules will become applicable in all member states by beginning of 2018.

Sixteen countries singled out by the IIPA in latest copyright enforcement report
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has released its annual report detailing the impact that piracy and limitations on market access are having on US copyright holders in the worst-offending countries around the world. Eight countries were placed on the priority watch list with a further eight countries placed on the watch list. In line with last year’s change on previous annual reports, the latest IIPA release focuses on markets where the organization believes that active engagement by the US government could generate positive results for creators and the industries that support them. The IIPA said that in several key foreign markets, meeting the challenges identified in its report would create US jobs, promote exports, and contribute substantially to healthy economic growth in the US and overseas.

Major labels file copyright lawsuit against mixtape service Spinrilla
Mixtape site Spinrilla and its founder are being sued by the major record companies for alleged copyright infringement of their works. The labels filed a lawsuit in an Atlanta district court claiming that Spinrilla has profited from widespread copyright infringement for at least three years. The site and accompanying mobile apps allow users to freely stream and download content as well as make playlists and share music. The labels are claiming Spinrilla has committed direct and secondary copyright infringement and are claiming the maximum statutory damages or actual damages, including Spinrilla’s profits from its infringement.

Spain’s recorded-music sector sees third consecutive year of growth
After a long period of year-on-year contractions in trade earnings from recorded-music sales, Spanish trade body Promusicae has reported a third successive year of growth. Although combined revenue from physical and digital formats and on-demand access services only edged up last year, and although the growth rate was lower than the previous two years, the sector’s performance was notable for a number of reasons. Digital income overtook earnings from physical formats for the first time, and access services generated more than half of the overall recorded-music revenue total. The vinyl revival continued, and earnings from mobile personalization rose sharply. Despite the continued good news, it is sobering to remember that total trade revenue is still a quarter of the size it was at the turn of the century.

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