New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

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

Climate change demands major change for live and recorded-music
Both the live and recorded-music sectors are feeling the heat over the environmental impact of their activities. And as live performances come back on stream, serious efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint of touring. Coldplay and Massive Attack are among the artists advocating for change, and 2022 may well prove a key year for the gradual greening of live music. The recorded-music business has to truly up its game on the vinyl production and streamed music side. Both segments need to reduce their carbon footprints—manufacturing efficiencies are required for vinyl, while renewables have to become the go-to energy source for streamers.

Gloves are off in the UK as new bill looks to introduce equitable remuneration for performers
A UK Member of Parliament (MP) has introduced a bill in an effort to force change to the level of earnings generated by artists from music streaming. Kevin Brennan, Labour MP for the Wales constituency Cardiff West for the last 20 years, has sponsored the bill that looks to introduce equitable remuneration, payable by music companies to performers for the exploitation of a performer’s sound recording. Also included in the bill is a right for authors and performers to recapture the rights to works after 20 years, the rights to alter a contract, and greater transparency in the exploitation of musical works and revenue generated from exploitation. The introduction of the bill has greatly divided opinion with music company trade groups suggesting it will do more harm than good, while performers’ associations have come out strongly in favor of the proposed changes.

EC publishes two reports on collective management and extended licensing
The European Commission (EC) has published two reports and two supporting studies on collective management and extended licensing in the European Union (EU). Both reports were obligated under the two directives 2014/26/EU and 2019/790. The first report takes a detailed look at the application of the former directive on collective management of copyright and related rights along with multiterritorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use across the European bloc. The latter directive, which harmonizes the use of collective licensing mechanisms with an extended effect (CLEE) in the EU, obliged the EC to report on the use of CLEE across the bloc, particularly the impact these mechanisms may have on licensing and rights holders, their effectiveness in facilitating the dissemination of cultural content, and their possible impact on the internal market. Both reports have been submitted to the European Parliament and to the European Council for their consideration.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry report. Russia is a recorded-music market that is now showing the potential that music companies have all known existed but have been unable to coax out because of the widespread presence of unlicensed physical and digital formats. The country is the biggest in Eastern Europe in terms of retail sales and the world’s largest in terms of land mass, spanning 11 time zones. Russia ended last year with a population of 144.1 million. At 17.1 million square kilometers, Russia’s surface area covers around one-eighth of the world’s inhabited land area. However, despite its size, Russia’s main music industry sectors have long underperformed and per-capita spending on recorded-music is painfully low. The transition from physical to digital opened a new front for unlicensed services to flourish, but the move from ownership to access is boosting legitimate sales and prospects for longer-term growth are very positive. Royalty collections were rising steadily prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but lockdowns and the restrictions on music usage saw collections tumble last year.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

The final issue of Music & Copyright for 2019 is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Comparing the performances of the major music groups in 2019
Rising consumer spending on recorded music, coupled with the continued steady growth in music publishing income, is set to boost revenue for the three major music groups this year. Sony will see the biggest overall rise, but this is largely down to the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing at the end of last year. However, UMG and WMG are both set to experience double-digit percentage gains. UMG will maintain its lead in recorded music, although WMG’s revenue for the year will rise at a faster rate than the leader. Sony’s combined music publishing companies will dominate publishing revenue. Warner/Chappell is the only one of the three major publishers likely to suffer an income decline for the year. Digital overtook performance as the biggest revenue source for publishers last year, and that position has been enhanced in 2019.

IPRS celebrates 50th anniversary with record collections and distributions
India’s authors’ society, IPRS, has reported its biggest ever annual increase in rights collections. The results were extremely timely given that the authors’ society is celebrating its 50th year in business. A number of factors contributed to the jump in receipts. TV revenue was boosted by new licensing deals with several of India’s broadcast networks, and a good year for public performance saw total domestic performing rights double in the year. A readmittance to global rights organization CISAC meant IPRS could receive payments from CISAC-member societies. Furthermore, a new licensing deal with YouTube greatly boosted streaming collections. Revenue from synchronization was also up sharply. The positive performance meant distributable revenue and payments to members in the financial year exceeded the previous record levels.

The live sector is aiming to make the touring world a whole lot greener
The global touring circuit could be about to take a hit if more artists back off from going on the road. Environmental sustainability has become a concern among a number of leading artists, while festivals and music venues are doing more to reduce their carbon footprints. However, developing a strategy to deliver greener live music performances is a complex and trying business and is best done in partnership with those with strong environmental expertise. Artists can also do more to promote a greener world by tapping into their creativity and getting on board with a multitude of environmental projects.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry report. Russia is a recorded-music market that is starting to display the potential that music companies have all known existed but have been unable to coax out because of the widespread presence of unlicensed physical and digital formats. The country is the biggest in Eastern Europe and the world’s largest in terms of land mass, spanning 11 time zones. It ended last year with a population of 146.8 million. At 17.1 million square kilometers, Russia’s surface area covers around one-eighth of the world’s inhabited land area. However, despite its size, Russia’s main music industry sectors have long underperformed, and per capita spending on recorded music is painfully low. The transition from physical to digital opened a new front for unlicensed services to flourish, but the move from ownership to access is boosting legitimate sales, and prospects for longer-term growth are very positive. Royalty collections are rising steadily, and most music users in Russia hold a correct license. But copyright infringement cases against unlicensed users remain high. Russia’s live-music segment has continued its recovery, with growth bolstered by steady economic growth and a more stable ruble.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

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

Music-for-business providers need to play harder to cut through
Supplying music to stores and eateries and the like could be a highly lucrative activity for the recorded-music industry and for artists. However, research suggests that only a fraction of small business owners use legitimate services when playing music for their customers, with many of them unaware of the need to obtain licensed offerings to provide trade ambience. Currently, some newer music-for-business providers are pushing more aggressively into the space, but there’s a need to persuade potential clients that it is in their interests both to use correctly licensed services and to embrace more tailored music for their operations.

SAMRO sees mixed year, with music rights income up but total revenue down
Africa’s largest authors’ society, the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO), has reported a fall in license and royalty revenue for its financial year ending June. Difficult trading conditions affected SAMRO’s operations in the year, with a number of businesses forced to close due to economic pressures, while others defaulted. SAMRO said the poor performance was also driven by reduced market confidence in the authors’ society, an outdated sales strategy, and inefficient licensing and collecting processes. Overseas collections were down year on year, though the rate of decrease was exaggerated by exchange rate fluctuations and the timing of revenue receipts from foreign societies.

Rights holders express concerns over looming no-deal Brexit
With just over three months to go before the UK is set to formally leave the European Union (EU), the details and manner of the exit after more than 45 years of membership is still unknown. Although the UK government and European leaders have reached a withdrawal agreement, certain provisions are not to the majority of UK MPs’ liking, and the deal in its current form will not pass a Parliament vote. Without a ratified withdrawal agreement, the prospect of leaving without a deal is becoming more likely. In preparation for such an event, both the European Commission (EC) and the UK government have published guidance for those potentially affected, addressing content portability, geoblocking, and rules government collection societies all addressed. However, despite the guidance, leaving the EU with no deal will mean a period of great uncertainty for rights holders.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry report. Russia is Eastern Europe’s most populous country and the world’s biggest in terms of land mass, spanning 11 time zones. It ended last year with a population of 147.1 million. At 17.1 million square kilometers, Russia’s surface area covers around one-eighth of the world’s inhabited land area. However, despite its size, Russia’s two main music industry sectors have long underperformed. Recorded-music sales have always struggled to reach anything close to their potential with per capita spending below $1. The transition from physical to digital created a new market for unlicensed services, but the move from ownership to access is boosting legitimate sales, and prospects for longer-term growth are positive. Russia’s live-music segment has continued its recovery, bolstered by slow, yet steady economic growth. However, with various political and economic factors in place, the industry’s future looks uncertain.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

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

UK High Court orders ISPs to block servers of illegal streaming services
The handing out of blocking orders to an ISP by a court is nothing new in several developed countries. Rights holders have for several years applied to courts to force ISPs to prevent their subscribers from accessing websites or torrent trackers that host or provide access to unlicensed music and media content. However, in line with the shift in legal content distribution to access from ownership, illegal services offering streams of copyrighted content are now common. Website blocking orders are unable to prevent these streams from reaching consumers. In the UK, the first legal order to block access to unlicensed streaming service servers has been granted, effectively paving the way for rights holders to extend the use of blocking orders far beyond their current reach.

Georgia court clears iHeartMedia in pre-1972 master rights claim
The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that iHeartMedia does not have to pay mechanical reproduction royalties for the broadcast of sound recordings fixed in copyright before Feb. 15, 1972. The class action claim was brought by Arthur and Barbara Sheridan, master-rights owners of several 1950s and 1960s recordings performed by influential musicians of the era such as the Flamingos, Little Walter, and the Moonglows. The Sheridans had claimed that iHeartMedia never received authorization to stream their owned recordings. However, the Georgia court ruled that the streaming services provided by iHeartRadio qualify as a related use to a radio broadcast transmission due to their substantial similarity and the fact that streaming of sound recordings and broadcast by AM/FM radio are essentially the same in nature. As AM/FM radio broadcasters have the right to transfer sound recordings as part of radio broadcast transmissions, the court sided with iHeartMedia.

Music begins to get serious about music tech startups
The music industry is pouring resources into technology startups, at the same time as venture capital money looks for opportunities in the music-tech space. More music companies are joining forces with investors to seek out and advance tech-based business concepts inside accelerator/incubator programs, with a view to being part of the “next big thing.” In addition, leading firms with startup mentalities in their own DNA are on the lookout for early-stage developments, with a view to boosting their operations in highly competitive sectors.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry report. Russia’s two main music industry sectors, recorded and live, have endured contrasting fortunes for much of this century. Recorded-music sales have always struggled to reach anything close to their potential, while the live sector has gone from strength to strength. The last few years have seen a reversal of fortune, with recorded-music sales benefitting from increased consumer interest in streaming and the live sector suffering a downturn, largely because of the devaluation of the ruble.

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Music & Copyright is published by Ovum.

New issue of Music & Copyright

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

Russia’s royalty collection system heading for a big shake-up
Russia’s music royalty collecting segment has been in turmoil over the last few weeks as Sergei Fedotov, head of state-approved authors’ rights collecting society the Russian Authors’ Society (RAO), was arrested and a group of rights holders left the organization to set up a new collecting society, the Russian Authors’ Union (ROAS). Police opened an investigation into RAO a year ago, alleging that RUB500m ($7.7m) had been funneled out of the organization in a series of dubious real estate deals. However, no action was taken until late June of this year, when Fedotov was unexpectedly arrested on suspicion of fraud. In the weeks following his arrest, another collecting society, RSP, which collects a 1% tax on imports of electronic devices that can be used for copying content and until recently was closely associated with RAO, announced that it is cutting ties with the embattled organization. At around the same time, the creation of ROAS was announced, a collecting society claiming to avoid repeating RAO’s mistakes.

Subscriptions take the digital lead in Japan; physical formats remain dominant
The Japanese music trade association, The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), has reported midyear production figures for physical music formats and trade earnings from the sale of digital music in the country. Combined revenue from physical audio and music video production was down year-on-year, while total record company earnings from digital sales and services were boosted by growth in subscriptions. Taking physical and digital together, total recorded music revenue suffered a small dip, in contrast to the slight rise in the first six months of last year. Physical formats still account for more than three-quarters of total recorded music trade income in Japan, and the positive gains in subscription income in the six-month period were unable to offset lower physical format revenue. Digital sales have gained momentum in the last few years, and rising subscription sales mean that Japan is now more in line with most Western markets. However, the country has a long way to go before it reaches the digital tipping point.

BMI begins its legal challenge to the DoJ’s insistence on full-work licensing
US performing rights organization (PRO) BMI has started the ball rolling on its legal challenge to the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ’s) interpretation of the consent decrees and how both ASCAP and BMI license performance rights. In 2014, the DoJ began a review to examine the operation and effectiveness of the consent decrees. This was following a request by ASCAP and BMI to consider new ways of licensing, and most notably, that they be permitted to allow music publishers to partially withdraw certain digital licensing rights. However, while the DoJ declined to allow a partial withdrawal, its decision to insist on full-work licensing has drawn considerable fire. Following the publication of the DoJ’s statement on the closing of its consent decree review, ASCAP and BMI said that they would pursue a joint campaign to challenge the DoJ. ASCAP is to push for legislative reform; however, it is BMI that has fired the first shots with its initiation of a legal challenge.

If you want to know more about Music & Copyright then follow the below links.

Music & Copyright is published by Ovum.

New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

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

WMG makes biggest recorded music market-share gains of 2015; indies cement publishing lead
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded music and music publishing sectors has revealed changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. Recorded music leader UMG lost market share in 2015, but WMG, the smallest of the three majors, made the biggest gains. SME experienced a slight increase in its share. Sony/ATV remained the leader in terms of corporate publishing control, despite its share edging down. UMPG was the only major publisher to increase its market share. However, the collective share of the independent publishing sector registered the biggest share rise, with leading indies BMG and Kobalt making impressive gains.

TEOSTO reports record year for royalty collections in Finland
Finnish authors’ society TEOSTO has reported a record year for royalty collections from the use of music in Finland. But the total amount of royalties collected in Finland, which also includes performance and mechanical reproduction royalties collected through other organizations and remuneration for public lending and private copying, was lower in 2015 than in 2014. The decrease was caused by a big drop in private copying income as a result of a change in the way the income source is administered. Broadcasting accounted for the biggest share of domestic performing rights. Despite a big rise in digital collections, the income source remains a minor income stream for local authors and publishers.

Live performance video streaming moves towards the mainstream
Live performance video streaming is beginning to establish itself as a mainstream music segment. Leading US live entertainment group Live Nation looks set to become a major broadcast player after successfully rolling out Live Nation TV on Yahoo, with music festival streaming likely to become a key part of its portfolio. Video games platform Twitch.tv is also well placed in the space, given its large audience of electronic dance music (EDM) lovers. Smaller outfits see live streaming as a promising opportunity too: Tidal is busy establishing itself as a broadcaster, to market its core streaming service to consumers, while streaming apps providers are carving out niches as low-cost providers for artists looking to air their live performances.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry profile. Russia’s two main music industry sectors, recorded and live, have had contrasting fortunes for much of this century. Recorded music sales had struggled to reach anything close to their potential given the size of the Russian population, while the live sector went from strength to strength. Now, the opposite is happening: Recorded music sales are rising in contrast to the live sector, which has been hit by the devaluation of the ruble and problematic relations with the West. Last year record company earnings benefitted from a surprise increase in revenue from the sale of physical formats. Although digital income was largely unchanged, revenue from subscription services registered a big rise, suggesting music access services are starting to resonate with consumers.

If you want to know more about Music & Copyright then follow the below links.

Music & Copyright is published by Ovum.

New issue of Music & Copyright with Russia country report

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

Pressure shifts to Pandora as SiriusXM agrees pre-1972 deal
US satellite radio service SiriusXM has agreed on a settlement with the three major record companies and ABKCO Music & Records over the use of music fixed in copyright before February 15, 1972 (pre-1972 sound recordings). The settlement followed a California district court ruling in October that the broadcaster should pay royalties on the disputed recordings. The issue of royalties payable on the pre-1972 works has already seen a number of legal cases heard in several district courts in the US. Two members of the 1960s band the Turtles, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, who later became known as Flo & Eddie, have led the charge against the non-payment of royalties by SiriusXM and online radio service Pandora. Although SiriusXM is still battling against Kaylan and Volman despite legal defeats in New York and California, the broadcaster has decided to settle with the record companies rather than appeal the California court’s interpretation of the state’s copyright law, which means that the online radio service Pandora is now under the pre-1972 sound recordings spotlight.

SGAE membership approves accounts for 2013 and 2014
Spanish authors’ society SGAE has published its annual accounts for 2013 and 2014 after approval from its membership at the June annual general meeting. SGAE has experienced a turbulent last few years with arrests of senior executives for misappropriation of funds followed by antitrust investigations over high tariffs for live performance and broadcast fees. The collection society still has a long way to go to repair the damage caused, but SGAE said in June that total revenue grew last year compared with 2013 despite the difficult trading conditions which affected some of the main income sources. Digital collections registered good growth and mechanicals benefitted from the big rise in sales of CD albums.

Music TV still plays the world’s global juke box
Music TV has come a long way since the early days of MTV, with music videos having made the leap from being pure promotional collateral to premium content able to pay its own way. YouTube and Vevo have essentially replaced broadcast music television in the living room with on-demand tracks across multiple devices. But while large players dominate the space, there is still room for innovation, especially on the live music side of the business where brands are also eyeing the opportunity.

Russia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Russia music industry profile. For more than a decade, the two major music industry sectors, recorded and live, experienced very different fortunes in Russia. Recorded music sales suffered under the weight of piracy and the live sector went from strength to strength. However, in the last couple of years, the situation has turned on its head with recorded music on the up and live music suffering a decline. Rising digital sales have boosted record company earnings and there is real hope that the country may be just about to start delivering on its potential. In contrast, Russia’s live sector has been hit by a devaluation in the ruble and souring relations with the West over Ukraine that have forced the country’s economy into a deep and subsequently damaging recession.

If you want to know more about Music & Copyright then follow the below links.

Music & Copyright is published by Ovum.