New issue of Music & Copyright with Germany country report

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

US Supreme Court rules against Andy Warhol Foundation in Prince silkscreen artwork fair use case
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of photographer Lynn Goldsmith in a long-running case with the Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF). Visual artist Warhol created a number of silkscreen prints of Prince based on a photograph of the artist taken by Goldsmith. The dispute arose after AWF licensed the use of one of the silkscreen artworks, Orange Prince, to the media company Condé Nast for use on the cover of a tribute magazine edition following Prince’s death. Goldsmith claimed that the silkscreen image was a copy of her Prince photograph and accused the AWF of copyright infringement. AWF argued that the use of the photograph for the silkscreen images was covered by the fair use provision in the US Copyright Law. The case was first heard at a federal level, with the court siding with AWF. However, that decision was overturned in favor of Goldsmith on appeal. To the joy of many in the music industry, the Supreme Court has now decided that the use of a photograph of the Warhol silkscreen on the magazine cover was not transformative enough to qualify for fair use protection.

Return of festivals and concerts boost SABAM collections to 10-year high
Belgian authors’ society SABAM has reported a second consecutive year of growth for collections after income suffered a dip in 2020 from COVID-19 restrictions and sector closures. Live was the star performer, with receipts rising threefold and exceeding prepandemic levels. A sharp rise in background music revenue saw the collection source take the leading position for SABAM ahead of the prior year’s top income source broadcasting. Despite the popularity of music streaming in Belgium, digital income remains a modest revenue source for local authors and publishers. However, collections were up for the sixth year in a row. It is worth noting that income from Anglo-American repertoire is not administered by the Belgian society, and so is not included in SABAM’s online total. Mechanicals suffered a fall last year after registering growth in the prior year.

TikTok boosts music capabilities as it faces a US time-out
Since its launch just a few years ago, the short-form video platform TikTok has become a hugely popular global service. It has demonstrated its effectiveness in breaking new artists and songs and in re-popularizing longer-tail music many times over, while also proving itself a powerful marketing tool for headline acts. And TikTok is forging ahead with new and revamped features that are set to further bolster its music prowess. However, the company, the progeny of Chinese firm ByteDance, faces the prospect of widespread prohibition, particularly in the US, and may have to fight long legal (and political) battles to stay alive.

Germany country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Germany music industry report. Retail sales of recorded-music in Germany increased for the fourth year in a row in 2022, after two years of modest decline. Ongoing interest in subscriptions and streaming has continued to offset physical formats and downloads’ steady drop-off. Notable in last year’s sales figures was that access service revenue accounted for close to three-quarters of the combined physical and digital total. Digital generated more than 80% of the retail total. Sales of physical formats were down year-on-year, but the rate of decline was lessened by a rise in sales of vinyl and gains for audiocassettes. International pop was again the most popular genre, with hip-hop/rap second. Both genres saw their share edge down year-on-year, while the third most popular genre, rock, registered a rise and closed the gap on the two leaders. Collections for authors’ society GEMA topped the previous high set in 2017, and distributable revenue set a new record. The results were all the more impressive given that pandemic-related restrictions were only fully lifted in the second quarter. Ticket sales to live music events continue to rebound after the problems caused to the sector by the pandemic.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Canada country report

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

The early days of the metaverse look primed for music
The metaverse naysayers are out in force. But while it’s evident that the development brakes have been applied and that the investment money is being steered toward headline-making artificial intelligence (AI), the virtual world remains in the making. Innovation-driven music companies and artists continue to move and shake in the metaverse and develop innovative new things to do there. Even though it is all rather piecemeal at the moment, metaverse activity does seem to draw the crowds. Look for gaming platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite, and The Sandbox to remain at the leading edge and for music companies and artists with real metaverse ambitions to engage in experimentation in what are emerging virtual worlds.

Mixed second quarter for WMG with growth for publishing but underperformance for recorded-music
WMG has reported financial details for the second quarter (January to March) and first half (October to March) of its 2023 financial year. In a marked downturn in fortunes to this time last year, recorded-music revenue was down at current exchange rates, with only licensing registering growth in the two periods. WMG said a light release schedule was the reason for the disappointing results. However, the company said it was expecting things to pick up in the second half of the financial year due to a more robust schedule, including the return of worldwide superstars and new artists breaking globally. Publishing had a positive quarter and half year, with streaming, performance, and mechanical all registering growth.

KODA reports record year for collections, with performance sectors back in business
Danish authors’ society KODA has published its annual report for 2022. In what was a good year all round for collections and distributions, total income rose for the second straight year after suffering a dip in 2020. Moreover, revenue for the society hit a new record high. Although overall broadcasting receipts were down, radio income edged up. Online again saw an uptick in receipts, with collections from both music and video streaming services boosting the total. Most notable in last year’s results was the return to growth for the performance sectors. Live music income more than doubled as concerts and festivals made a return after a two-year absence. Revenue from music users such as hotels, restaurants, and workplaces also rose sharply, while online collections grew year-on-year, with the total boosted by international online use.

Canada country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Canada music industry report. Canada is one of the world’s bigger music markets. Although an ever-present in the top 10, the country has slipped a couple of places in recent years, with South Korea and China registering higher annual gains in trade sales. Last year, however, Canada maintained its position as the eighth-biggest recorded-music market, although the gap on ninth-placed Brazil narrowed. Recorded-music consumption levels were up in 2022, along with retail sales. Streaming registered healthy growth, with increases in both subscriptions and advertising. Performance rights edged up after two years of decline, while synchronization revenue increased at the highest rate of all the different recorded-music income sources. UMG remained the distribution leader despite a dip in market share. Both SME and WMG saw their shares increase. SOCAN is yet to publish its financial results for 2022. Collections for the collective management organization (CMO) returned to growth in 2021 after suffering a dip in 2020. Canada’s live sector is continuing on the long road to recovery after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the sector for almost 18 months. However, estimates suggest it will take several years for ticket sales to return to prepandemic levels.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Brazil country report

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

Recorded-music market share gains for SME and the indies, publishing share growth for UMPG and WCM
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. Overall, UMG remained the global music company leader last year, but second-placed Sony closed the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly for the second consecutive year. In contrast, SME has now registered share growth for two years in a row. WMG’s share fell back to the same level recorded in 2020, while the independent sector saw its share rise for the first time since 2018. For publishing, Sony’s lead over second-placed UMPG narrowed, while WCM’s share was up for the second straight year. The collective share for the independent sector edged down, but the size of the lead over Sony remained unchanged.

Six years of collection growth for Bulgaria’s Musicautor
Bulgarian authors’ society Musicautor has reported a sixth consecutive year of rising collections, with the growth rate for 2022 up sharply on the previous year. The two biggest income sources, TV and radio, both registered growth, while digital revenue was boosted by new licensing agreements with international OTT video services. Musicautor’s worst-affected collection sectors during the pandemic have all bounced back. Revenue from general licensing and concerts returned to prepandemic levels, while cinema and theater registered the highest income growth rates overall. Despite a rise in sales of physical formats in Bulgaria, mechanicals were down for a second straight year. However, international collections returned to growth after a dip in 2021.

Music majors need to press on with more vinyl investment
The vinyl revival clearly has staying power, with more young music fans developing a strong liking for the age-old physical format. However, if pressing plants had the ability to satisfy evident demand, the sales curve would rise more steeply, while many independent record companies and artists who currently find it hard to secure vinyl runs would be able to tap into expanded capacity. Leading record companies need to invest in the pressing sector. Moreover, the requirements of the modern world mean they must do so in an environmentally sustainable way. Their involvement could speed up the development of alternatives to energy-intensive and toxic vinyl.

Brazil country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Brazil music industry report. Following two consecutive years of contraction, recorded-music trade sales in Brazil have now risen for six years in a row. Despite COVID-19 affecting performance rights and synchronization in 2020, streaming gains more than offset the declines. The two affected sectors returned to growth in 2021 and have now registered a positive 2022. Streaming gains also boosted last year’s total along with a doubling in revenue from vinyl. Umbrella rights organization ECAD saw collections and distributions top record levels in 2022. Live music sales are on the road to recovery but are expected to remain short of prepandemic levels for a few years.

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Spotify the big winner in Omdia’s first quarter Music Industry Sharewatch

Slightly less than half of the publicly listed music companies tracked by Omdia, publisher of Music & Copyright, registered an increase in their share prices in the first quarter of this year. According to Omdia’s Music Industry Sharewatch, 1Q23, 13 of the 29 companies monitored saw growth, with 16 recording a negative performance. Swedish music streaming service Spotify was the top performer with the share price rising 59.8% (see chart below). The price opened on January 3 at $81.88 and closed on March 30 at $130.83. The company’s market cap in the quarter increased, to $27.9bn from $15.7bn. Only one other company scored a share price rise above 50% in the three months: US music and entertainment service LiveOne saw its price grow 53.2%, to $1.02 from $0.67 at the start of the three months.

Change in share price, January 3 to March 30
Source: Companies and stock exchanges

At the other end of the scale, French music streaming service Deezer suffered the biggest decline, with its share price down 53.1%, to $1.37 from $2.91. Deezer’s dip followed a fall of 16.6% in its share price in the final quarter of last year. US broadcaster Cumulus Media was the next worst performer. Its share price fell 41.4% in the quarter, to $3.65 from $6.23. UMG ended the quarter with the highest market cap of all the music companies tracked at €42.5bn ($45.9bn), followed by Spotify, then WMG at $16.7bn. The combined market cap of the 29 companies ended March at $162.6bn, a rise over the three months of $4bn. US-listed companies accounted for 57.9% of the end-March combined market cap total, with the Netherlands 28.2% and South Korea 6.5% (see chart below).

Share of total market cap of companies by country of listing, 1Q23
Source: Omdia

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New issue of Music & Copyright

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

IFPI reports an eighth straight year of rising recorded-music trade sales
International music trade body the IFPI has reported a positive set of results for the global recorded-music sector, with both digital and physical trade sales up for the second year in a row. Performance rights and synchronization income also registered a second consecutive annual rise after both revenue sources suffered a hit in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic. Streaming was again the main growth provider, with combined revenue from subscriptions and audio and video advertising accounting for more than two-thirds of global trade sales. Vinyl maintained its renaissance, with double-digit growth more than offsetting a slight dip in CD sales. The US and Canada region registered the lowest growth rate of the seven detailed regions, and sub-Saharan Africa scored the highest year-on-year rise. China replaced France in the global top five.

National trade groups tout streaming and vinyl as last year’s main recorded-music positives
To coincide with the IFPI’s publication of global recorded-music wholesale results, a number of national trade associations have revealed sales details for their respective markets. Although the level of detail differs between countries, all the results show a year-on-year rise in sales, with streaming and vinyl the main growth providers. Some countries registered a second year of rising physical sales, with vinyl gains more than offsetting declines in CD sales. In all cases, music subscriptions added the most to each country’s revenue pot and accounted for the greatest share of sales. However, without exception, subscription growth rates in 2022 were down on the rates in 2021.

The conundrum of making the streaming business model pay for all artists
The business of music streaming has been in existence for around 15 years. In that time, it has transformed the recorded-music industry’s fortunes from one suffering annual declines to one of consistent year-on-year growth. The IFPI confirmed the benefits of streaming in its global music report published earlier in March. However, for several years, the fairness of streaming payouts to artists has been questioned. Moreover, the streaming business model has remained largely unchanged for the short time it has been in existence. To make the sector more beneficial to all, UMG is partnering with Tidal and Deezer to try and develop an artist-centric model that supports artists at all stages of their careers and better rewards the engagement of music fans. The big question is, can streaming ever be transformed into a fairer business model for artists, and what happens if it can’t?

Women need help not hype to make their mark in the music industry
Female artists and music industry professionals are finding it hard to achieve anything like gender equality in their sectors. A raft of recent reports has delivered a deluge of metrics confirming the underrepresentation of women in the music charts, in the recording studio, in administration, and in the boardroom. And there is no shortage of initiatives—domestic and international—seeking to address what are evidently clear inequalities across the music industry. However, whatever their good intentions, many of these programs are clearly falling short, while some appear to be merely paying lip service to the issues. For any of these efforts to achieve their goals, there needs to be strong commitment from the organizations behind them and a very big dose of staying power.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Indonesia country report

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

Gains for digital and physical boost US recorded-music sales to a seventh year of growth
US trade group the RIAA has reported another year of rising trade and retail sales of recorded-music. Streaming was again the main growth provider, with $900m extra from the five different streaming categories. Such has been the rise in all things access, streaming revenue alone last year was more than $1bn higher than the entire US recorded-music market in 2020. There was, however, a notable decrease in the growth rates for the different streaming subsectors. For example, paid subscriptions and subscriber revenue both rose at single-digit percentage points. Also, performance rights distributions by SoundExchange were down year-on-year. Physical sales were boosted by the continued renaissance of vinyl, with the increase in sales of the age-old format more than offsetting a sharp decline in spending on CDs. Unit sales of vinyl exceeded CDs for the first time since 1987.

Slowdown in subscription and vinyl sales as BPI reports UK recorded-music results
UK music trade association the BPI has reported a positive 12 months for recorded-music trade sales. However, the overall growth rate was down sharply on the prior year. Perhaps most concerning is the slowdown in revenue from music subscriptions, with the year-on-year rise in the low single-digit percentage points. Audio advertising registered healthy growth, and income from video streaming was also up. The resurgence of vinyl continued, with revenue from the format overtaking CDs for the first time in 35 years. But the low growth rate compared with 2021 suggests the renaissance of the age-old format may be coming to an end. Both performance rights and synchronization continued to bounce back after a tough 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

K-pop’s growing popularity spawns a clash of the genre giants
The ongoing success of K-pop, both in its home South Korean market and overseas, sparked a spot of corporate warfare among the sector’s leading protagonists. SM Entertainment (SMEnt) became the takeover target of both major South Korean tech group Kakao and rival K-pop outfit HYBE. The latter now looks to have withdrawn from the fray—both companies’ efforts have been complicated by familial rivalry, bids, and counterbids, along with a court injunction—leaving Kakao the task of persuading SMEnt investors to support its latest bid. Should it succeed, SMEnt is set to emulate HYBE and push K-pop further onto the international stage.

Indonesia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Indonesia music industry report. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, behind China, India, and the US: the country ended 2022 with 279.1 million inhabitants. Despite its large population, Indonesia has always massively underperformed as a recorded-music market, with the legal sector long struggling to gain a foothold because of persistently high piracy rates. However, music streaming’s success around the world is influencing Indonesia, with a mixture of services now available offering access to several million local and international recordings. The collection of royalties has also changed. In 2019, the government and the different collective management organizations agreed on a one-stop-shop administration, with a single agency given the authority to collect and distribute royalties from commercial music users. The live sector has suffered a couple of bad years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to control the spread of the virus. Following a sharp fall in ticket sales in 2020, some live performances resumed at the end of 2021, but it was last year that saw a fuller return for the sector, with ticket sales returning to prepandemic levels.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with China country report

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

Shining a light on the impact of recommendation algorithms on the UK music industry
How the likes of Spotify and Deezer recommend music to their users has come under the spotlight in the UK, with the government’s Centre for Data, Ethics, and Innovation conducting a survey to determine how algorithmic recommendations function and what their impact has been on consumers, creators, and other music industry stakeholders. The research found that there was widely held beliefs that the use of algorithms might serve to unfairly advantage certain groups at the expense of others. However, evidence proving or disproving such beliefs was in short supply. The research also concluded that despite efforts by some streaming services to explain how their recommendation technologies worked, there was significant demand from creators, their representatives, and consumers for additional transparency about where the technologies are employed, and how they operate.

Streaming, vinyl, and performance rights gains boost Austrian recorded-music sales
The Austria branch of the IFPI has reported a positive year for recorded-music retail sales, with the total rising for the sixth consecutive year. Much of the growth was driven by streaming, with audio subscriptions generating a sizable majority of the total access service revenue. Spending on physical formats suffered a decline, but the rate of decrease was lessened by higher vinyl sales. Performance rights registered the second-biggest growth rate of the different recorded-music revenue streams, although the collection total has still not returned to prepandemic levels. Pop is the most popular music genre in Austria. Pop accounted for close to two-thirds of the top 100 album sales last year and more than half of the top 100 singles. The genre was also the clear leader for streams served.

The rise of Afrobeats looks set to drag Africa out of the recorded-music wasteland
African music is finally making its mark internationally, with multiple artists from the continent among those nominated for the latest set of Grammys, working with headliners, and providing movie scores. The driving force behind this advance is the West African genre Afrobeats whose genesis also lies in that particular region’s diaspora. In just the last few years, the music has edged into the mainstream, and it’s clear that the genre is set to become well-established. Leading record companies have already signed Afrobeats breakout performers, but they need to do more in African markets to help build music infrastructure and support the development of the music business and emerging artists.

China country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed China music industry report. China is the world’s most populous country, ending last year with close to 1.5 billion people. Although the population is set to keep rising for the next 10 years or so, the impact of the one-child policy will come into play from 2030 onward, when the population is expected to edge downward. China also has the world’s second-biggest economy, behind the US. For the final quarter of 2022, GDP increased 2.9% compared with the prior year period. For 2021 as a whole, GDP was up 3%, a sharp drop on the 8.1% rise in 2021. China’s relatively buoyant economy is reflected in several sectors of the country’s music industry. Often described as an emerging market, retail sales show the country is more than living up to its long-held potential. China’s digital infrastructure is highly developed, and all the requirements for digital growth are firmly in place. Royalty collections have grown consistently for the last 10 or so years. However, given the size of the population and level of music use, rights holders’ earnings measured at a per capita rate are much smaller than they should be.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

Rise in UK music piracy rates as more consumers supplement legal supply with unlicensed access
While the recorded-music sector continues to see growth in sales from music streaming, piracy still lurks in the background. Not so long ago, easy access to a wealth of unlicensed recorded-music content resulted in trade sales worldwide nosediving. However, the rollout of high-speed internet and the advent of streaming turned recorded-music fortunes around. However, a small number of consumers continue to use illegal means to get their music fix. In February, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published the results of its latest survey into consumers’ piracy habits across a number of different entertainment sectors. For music, the results were mixed. Almost no consumers were found to be using unlicensed streaming services, but fewer downloaders were sourcing their content from just legal services.

Apple Music gets streaming traction by not being Spotify
Having just seen Spotify’s latest set of quarterly results, we know quite a lot about the world’s largest international music streamer. However, getting metrics on rival outfit Apple Music is a tough task, given that it’s part of the world’s most valuable company and its contribution to a business dominated by iPhone sales is pretty small. But it’s clear that Apple Music is growing steadily and that it is offering a differentiated service to Spotify’s. It needs to continue developing that differentiation to maintain its trajectory while its rival continues to pile the subscribers high. And that shouldn’t be difficult given the breadth of services available to it at the Apple stable.

PRS, LIVENow, and the business of responsible livestreaming licensing
Livestreaming came into its own during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the segment has become a multibillion-dollar business able to boast large audiences. Some of the biggest audio streaming services are seeing the value of adding video performances to their offerings and are leaning on live concerts both as a marketing tool and as a new revenue stream. However, in common with any form of streaming, the correct licenses are required if rights-holder content is involved. The livestreaming platform LIVENow has fallen foul of licensing requirements and has been taken to task over the problem by the UK authors’ society PRS For Music. Howard Ricklow, a partner at law firm Collyer Bristow and specializing in intellectual property matters, has kindly provided Music & Copyright with his thoughts on the dispute, what the current system is for licensing content from an artist for livestreamed concerts, and what the future is likely to be for hybrid content like livestreamed concerts.

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 easily the biggest music market in the world. Each year, the country accounts for more than one-third of the total global recorded-music trade sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single-biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading performers’ rights organizations (PROs), ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. In addition to leading the music world, the US is also the world’s biggest economy, with total GDP last year topping $25tn. In December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said GDP increased 2.9% in the final quarter of last year compared with quarter three. Year-on-year GDP in the last three months grew 1%. The BEA commented that the GDP gains primarily reflected increases in inventory investment and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with India country report

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

Shining a critical light on the maturing music-streaming sector
So far in January, the usual suspects have published early recorded-music results for 2022. In all cases, streaming has been the big growth provider, with gains more than offsetting declines of buy-to-own formats. Although the revival of vinyl has mostly continued, growth at a national or international level is now all about subscriptions and advertising. While the next couple of months will see more industry performance releases in the run-up to the IFPI’s assessment of global trade sales, those releases will show that streaming revenue growth rates are slowing. Moreover, it’s a safe bet that national trade associations that include subscriber estimates in their year-end roundups will also show a rates decline. Admittedly it is a little early in the year for bad news, but the reality is the boom in streaming is over. The high growth rates of a few years ago will not be repeated. The industry must also face up to the real possibility that emerging and developed markets may not keep the global growth momentum going.

UPRS annual report illustrates the difficulties of rights collection in Uganda
Ugandan authors’ society Uganda Performing Right Society (UPRS) has published its annual report for 2022, detailing the workings of the society in the year just gone, along with limited collection results and revenue forecasts for the next few years. Few African collective management organizations (CMOs) provide much of an insight into their business activities. However, the UPRS report offers a candid assessment of the difficulties experienced in collecting royalties owed, convincing local artists and songwriters to sign up to the CMO system, and making music users pay royalties for the use of UPRS members’ works. COVID-19 and the impact of a lengthy lockdown in Uganda greatly affected rights collections in the last couple of years, but UPRS is confident that going forward, the society will be able to convince music users of their obligations to pay royalties and generate record collections for its members.

WMG looks to tech to do the work in an entertainment future
WMG is, unlike its peers, making a name for itself as a music technology pioneer. The major music group has been busy building relationships with a variety of tech partners across a range of innovative activities, among them blockchain, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), digital collectibles, and metaverse real estate. In addition, WMG has managed to put together an executive team with strong tech creds and experience with successful tech entertainment brands such as YouTube, Netflix, and Blizzard. The record company’s embrace of new technologies in an industry that has long viewed innovation as an existential threat could serve it well in an increasingly virtual world—if it can stitch together the disparate parts of its tech play.

India country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed India music industry report. India is the second most populous country in the world, behind China. The size of the population exceeded 1.4 billion for the first time last year, while the number of households topped the 300-million mark. According to the most recent United Nations projections, India will overtake global leader China before the end of this decade, with the country’s population expected to peak at 1.7 billion in 2064. Moreover, by 2050, India will account for close to 20% of the rise in the world’s working-age population (15–64-year-olds). However, despite accounting for almost one-fifth of the world’s population, India’s different music industry sectors have always underperformed. Recorded-music sales have long been hindered by widespread music piracy, and rights collections have suffered from adverse legal rulings and a lack of licensing. The live sector struggles with infrastructure shortcomings, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the problems, there are signs that the world’s biggest emerging market is living up to its billing. In the last few years, retail sales of recorded-music have been on the up, and rights collections have benefited greatly from a deal between authors’ society IPRS and Google for music use by YouTube. Live music remains the problem sector, with concert tours and festivals only starting to get back on track.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with South Africa country report

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

Time for the music industry to wise up quickly on artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to impact the music industry. Several artists are using the fast-developing technology to support and speed up the creative process, with more likely to follow suit. However, the use of recorded-music catalogs to “train” AI models to generate new songs—all without licensing such tracks—throws up serious copyright issues. To date, these issues have barely been addressed, either by intellectual property (IP) owners, regulators, or lawmakers. This situation needs to change to support the creative use of AI and the rights of artists, songwriters, and record companies.

Class action lawsuit shines a light on UMG’s equity holding in Spotify
UMG is facing a class action lawsuit over claims that the music company failed to pay its artists a share of the equity it holds in Spotify, received as part of the initial licensing deal between the two. The lawsuit, which was filed at a New York district court by the two members of the hip-hop duo Black Sheep, accuses the music major of secretly agreeing to lower the royalty rates payable to artists in return for the equity stake. The members of Black Sheep claim UMG should be paying its artists 50% of net receipts from Spotify as per signed contracts. Moreover, the filing says UMG’s minority ownership of Spotify and lower royalty rates only came to light after Spotify had published documents relating to its IPO in 2018. The lawsuit claims that UMG has underpaid royalties to the tune of $750m.

YouTube wins partial summary judgment in Schneider copyright infringement case
The lawsuit filed at a California district court by jazz composer Maria Schneider against online video service YouTube and search giant Google is still in play despite YouTube/Google receiving partial summary judgments in some of the claims. The case centers on Schneider’s claim that smaller rights holders are denied access to the online video service’s Content ID system of copyright protection. Denying the use of Content ID means smaller rights holders are forced into trawling YouTube for unlicensed use of their content, and then sending individual takedown notices to the video service via a web form, email, or postal mail for each video their searches identify. After YouTube/Google was denied a motion to dismiss the complaint in August, a filing for summary judgment was lodged with the court. Following an October hearing, the court granted some of YouTube’s requests but decided that a number of outstanding issues warranted the case going before a jury.

South Africa country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed South Africa music industry report. South Africa is Africa’s biggest music market. Consumer spending on recorded-music and royalty collections is significantly higher in the country than in any other market in the region. Despite its geographic location, South Africa is more akin to a Western music market and has far more in common with countries in Europe and North America than it does with its neighbors. However, although this means South Africa has a more developed music market, per capita spending on recorded-music is still extremely low. Moreover, the same problems encountered in the developed world, in the shift from physical formats to digital and downloads to access, have been experienced in the country. However, even though the rise in high-speed internet access has exacerbated problems associated with the unauthorized distribution of music, higher digital sales, rising smartphone penetration, and the rollout of several international streaming services suggest the market has a bright future.

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