In this piece, Neil Turkewitz offers a different take on the recent Taylor Swift rights ownership incident, arguing against viewing it as an indictment of copyright, and rather as a reminder that the rules protecting creators’ intellectual property need to be easier to enforce. _____________________________ Op-ed by Neil Turkewitz from…
Category archives: Major Labels
Taylor Swift Should Re-record Hits Lost To Scooter Braun, says Kelly Clarkson
Shake it off, Kelly Clarkson is telling Taylor Swift about her feud with Scooter Bruan and Scott Borchetta, by re-recording and releasing the hits that Braun now controls after acquiring her former record label, Big Machine. Swift called the sale her "worst case scenario;" and re-recording the hits would both…
UN Organization Debuts New, Global Anti-Piracy Database
Despite streaming’s popularity, piracy is once again on the rise at an alarming pace, leading the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization to unveil a new global anti-piracy database, aimed at curbing this alarming spike in intellectual property theft. ______________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix Piracy is growing…
Jaxsta Inks With Merlin To Deliver Indie Music Credits
Australian music tech startup Jaxsta has announced a deal to deliver track and album credits from global independent music licensor Merlin and its thousands of label members. With the deal, Jaxsta now has access to the credits of more than 80% of all global music releases. Just last month Jaxsta…
Indie Labels Beat Sony, WMG For UK Market Share [CHART]
Independent record labels grabbed more market share so far this year than major label groups Sony Music and Warner Music in the UK, according to new stats from the Official Charts Company. Universal is winning the race so far in 2019, up 2.3% year-on-year and the indie sector is second,…
UMG Attempts To Block O-Town’s Trademark Application Over Its Motown Label
In a recent move, Universal Music Group has thrown down the copyright tire spikes, attempting to block the MTV era group O-Town from applying for a trademark, alleging the band’s name is too similar to UMG’s Motown. _______________________________ Guest op-ed Timothy Geigner of Techdirt It will surprise nobody to hear…
NMPA Backed Mechanical Licensing Collective Wins Battle To Administer Music Modernization Act
The US Copyright Office has named the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) as the official entity tasked with licensing and administering rights under the new Music Modernization Act (MMA). The MLC was backed by many major industries organizations including National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and…
Unified And Together: How Diverse, Inclusive Is The Music Industry?
In part one of this two-part analysis, Ben Gilbert speaks with a variety of people working within the music business, in an effort to assess the state of diversity and inclusivity within the industry right now, and whether or not it’s representative of society as a whole. ______________________ Guest post…
Streaming Takes Fans Beyond The Hits. Empowers Music Discovery
As artists continue to one-up each other across all metrics, it seems the music industry one percent are giving way to a broader swathe of artists, making for an at least somewhat more egalitarian music industry. __________________________ Guest post from AWAL Records are breaking left and right. As artists one-up…
Fiona Apple Gives 2 Yrs Of ‘Criminal’ Royalties To Refugees
Fiona Apple apple will donate two years of royalties from her 2009 hit “Criminal” to help refugees. “After months and months of reading the news about how my country is treating refugees, I’ve become gutted with frustration trying to figure out the best way to help,” Apple wrote. “It seems…