White Sky Royalties Update – Issue #6
News and views from the money side of music.
The Music Modernisation Act
Massive changes to US copyright law will most likely be passed in the Senate after passing unanimously in the House of Reps on April 25th. These wide ranging changes will benefit artists and rights owners in a few ways, the main ones being:
- Copyright protection for performance of pre-1972 master recordings (via digital/satellite radio.)
- Introduction of a central agency to clear mechanical rights for all DSPs and pay copyright owners.
Read a short summary of it right here. (PDF)
More detail here.
And some words from A2IM CEO Richard James Burgess here
In the news:
- YouTube add another music service: You can pay one subscription and get access to YouTube video content ad free, YouTube Music content including UGC and licensed material, and Google Play Music. How are artists paid based on this spread? We’re hoping to find out soon.
- YouTube proposing new TrueView for Reach ad model: Could this help facilitate meaningful income from YouTube for artists?
- Sony to payout Spotify equity outside of recoupment: A better than expected result for artists and indie labels. But will Universal and Warner be brave enough to follow suit?
- Sony ATV also showing writers some love: Sony’s publishing arm will also share result with writers from any Tencent equity cash in.
- A wild Facebook appears!: Properly monetised tracks will be available to sync with your Facebook videos in the company’s move towards caring about artists. Also: live lip syncing?!
As always, don’t hesitate to touch base for any royalty related questions. We’re always happy to chat!