Creative Industries
Main stories — Week 5, 2023
Here’s a selection of stories published by Creative Industries News this week:
LEAD STORY
> USTR’s Notorious Markets Report identifies 39 online markets and 33 physical markets engaging in copyright piracy
COPYRIGHT & REGULATION
> Australian government launches ambitious A$286m five-year plan for culture
> Dutch competition authority ACM rejects RTL Nederland and Talpa Network merger
> TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to appear on March 23 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee
LITIGATION
> New York judge rejects motion to classify a termination rights case against Universal Music Group as a class-action lawsuit
> Rick Astley seeks ‘million of dollars’ from rapper Yung Gravy for impersonating his voice in ‘Betty (Get Money)’
> Unison files lawsuit against SGAE for anti-competitive practices of abusive litigation
> Donald Trump sues Bob Woodward for releasing sound recordings of interviews
CMOs & LICENSING
> Fitness platform Metal Workout inks licensing agreement with Tuned Global
> ASCAP and NYC Media Lab are launching the ‘Music and AI Challenge’
DATA
>rightsholder.io research shows extent of registration gaps and data duplication with Grammy-nominated songs
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
> Universal Music Group and TIDAL seal partnership to explore new innovative economic models for music streaming
> Utopia Music reorganises and bids farewell to current CEO Markku Mäkeläinen
> Thomas Coesfeld to replace Hartwig Masuch as CEO of BMG in 2024
> 4,500 artists and producers have benefited from Warner Music Group’s legacy unrecouped advances programme
> Matt Pincus’ MUSIC makes ‘significant minority investment’ in Atlanta-based independent music company LVRN
> Penske Media Eldridge acquires TV producer Dick Clark Productions
> Showtime is integrated with Paramount+ to create Paramount+ With Showtime
DIGITAL ECONOMY
> Spotify had 205 million paid subscribers in 2022, up 14% year-on-year
> Beatport Group acquires a majority stake in International Music Summit (IMS) Ibiza
> Peacock has passed the 20 million subscribers mark at the end of 2022
> Warner Music launches music-themed metaverse project Rhythm City on Roblox
DEALS
– Hipgnosis Song Management acquires a bundle of rights in TMS’ song catalogue
– Dion signs publishing deal with Reservoir covering past and future works
– peermusic UK and Max Music Publishing sign The Reytons to a global publishing deal
– Shirin David has signed a worldwide music publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music
– Sofi Tukker extends global music publishing admin deal with Third Side Music
– Warner Music Asia signs Singapore-based singer and songwriter Gentle Bones
– Avex USA and Brandon Silverstein Publishing sign worldwide publishing deal with US producer Jasper Harris
– Glassnote Records signs US band Grouplove
IN THE NEWS
– Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki elevated to President and COO
– Universal Music Group has promoted Roey Hershkovitz to Vice President of Sound & Picture
– Rob Gross joins marketing agency The Syndicate as SVP, Label Services
– Kobalt celebrates ‘one of a king’ Chief Creative Officer Sas Metcalfe as she plans to step down at the end of February
– Jenifer Mallory promoted to President of Sony Music label Columbia Records
– Big Machine’s Jake Basden joins Sandbox Entertainment Group as President
– Markus Holzherr named Chief Business Officer at Warner Music Central Europe
– Warner Chappell Production Music expands in Brazil with the hiring of Renato Moraes
– Stephanie McGuire named Senior A&R International at CTM Publishing
– Warner Music UK promotes Liberty Wilson to Vice President of International Marketing
> IFPI appoints Sony Music executive Adriana Restrepo as Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean
INTERVIEWS
In case you missed it, Creative Industries News published recent Q&As with:
– David Israelite (NMPA): ‘The rate setting system is broken and needs to be reformed’
– Robert Singerman (LyricFind/BELEM project)
– Bruno Guez (Revelator)
– Andrea C Martin (PRS for Music)
– Cécile Rap-Veber (SACEM)
– Molly Neuman (Songtrust)
– Jordi Puy (Unison)
– Olivier Chastan (Iconoclast)
– Ken Umezaki (Verifi)
– Paul Pacifico (AIM)
– Spek (PopArabia)
– Merk Mercuriadis (Hipgnosis) (Part 1)
– Merk Mercuriadis (Hipgnosis) (Part 2)
OPINION
In case you missed it, Creative Industries News published recent opinion pieces from:
– Jeff Liebenson (IAEL): ‘Music in the Metaverse — Negotiating Key Issues’
– David Lowery: ‘Why windowing releases works for me’
– Chola Makgamathe (SAMRO): South Africa needs a comprehensive, multifaceted strategy to curb the economic impact of piracy
– Susan Cotchin (Good Neighbour Rights): ‘Australia’s decision to limit the application of Art. 15 of WIPO’s WPPT has impacted Australian artists in a big way’
– Helen Smith (IMPALA): ‘We don’t believe equitable remuneration is equitable at all’
– Jonathan Reichman and Jeremy King (Hunton Andrews Kurth): ‘Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith is an opportunity for US Supreme Court to clarify fair use’
– Kevin Casini: ‘Stakeholders need to take a long-term view with the Copyright Royalty Board’s rate-setting proceedings’
– Barry Scannell (IMRO): ‘Royalty-based NFTs have limited fungibility’
The New York Times’ Hannah Poferl named Chief Data Officer at Universal Music Group
Merlin unveils its new Board as Charlie Lexton starts his mandate as CEO
Sony Music Publishing and Amusement sign Jon Buscema to a global agreement
The MLC plans webinars to show members how to use tools to manage song data
Six takeaways from The MLC’s first annual report for 2021: distributions, membership, matching rates, processed works, historical unmatched works and expenditures
Cécile Rap-Veber (SACEM): ‘We are a solutions provider to create value, a tech company, and we are less and less seen as some sort of cultural institution’
-
Collective Management Organisations3 years agoThe MLC plans webinars to show members how to use tools to manage song data
-
Collective Management Organisations3 years agoSix takeaways from The MLC’s first annual report for 2021: distributions, membership, matching rates, processed works, historical unmatched works and expenditures
-
Collective Management Organisations4 years agoCécile Rap-Veber (SACEM): ‘We are a solutions provider to create value, a tech company, and we are less and less seen as some sort of cultural institution’
-
Interview4 years agoOlivier Chastan (Iconoclast): ‘Name, image and likeness will be as important as music rights in the future’