The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it will ask a court to scrap the decades-old ‘Paramount’ consent decrees. The antitrust decrees are designed to protect movie theaters from studio control. The consent decrees have been in place …
Category archives: Music Publishing
Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) Officially Granted $62 Million in Startup Capital
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which is tasked with tracking, collecting, and distributing mechanical licenses from streaming services in the U.S., has just been granted a $62 million starting budget. Initially, the MLC — principally backed…
BMG Announces a 30,000 Square Foot LA Office Upgrade
BMG has announced that it will be moving its Los Angeles operations 7 blocks from its current facility, to a 30,000-square-foot space on the very same street: Wilshire Boulevard. This is just the latest of office moves for BMG, whose L.A. operations re…
People Aren’t Getting Paid on Spotify’s $43.5 Million Class Action Settlement — No Responses, No Payments
Two years ago, independent songwriters and publishers agreed to a $43.5 million settlement with Spotify over unpaid mechanical licenses. Now, the payout process doesn’t seem to be happening. Back in 2017, Digital Music News broke the story that S…
Michael Jackson Estate Acquires the Rights to the Sly Stone Catalog
The Michael Jackson estate, along with Jackson’s publishing company MIJAC Music, have acquired a majority interest in the U.S. rights of Sly and the Family Stone’s music catalog. Previously in 1983, MIJAC purchased the rights of the band…
Universal Music Publishing Group Signs Robbie Williams
On November 4, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced that it had completed a global administration agreement with Farrell Music, which is the publishing company of British pop star Robbie Williams. The agreement covers not just WilliamsR…
Molly Neuman Named President Of Songtrust
Molly Neuman has been named President of Downtown Music owned Songtrust, the indie global music royalty collection and publishing administrator. Neuman joined Songtrust in 2017 as Global Head of Business Development. During her tenure, Songtrust has posted record-setting metrics for the business, including triple-digit growth with more than 2 million…
Streaming Giant Balks at Mechanical Licensing Collective’s $66.25 Million Startup Budget
The Mechanical Licensing Collective’s healthy startup budget is meeting resistance from at least one major streaming platform. Just how much does it cost to start a US-based licensing agency for streaming mechanicals? The newly-minted Mechanical …
Canadian Music Publishers Association Unveils Rebrand, Programming
The Canadian Music Publishers Association has today (Oct. 29) announced that it has rebranded to Music Publishers Canada. According to the organization, the rebrand includes a refreshed logo, social media channels and evolving programming. “The new brand communicates our evolving identity as champions of the rights of music publishers in…
Anthem Entertainment Acquires a Trove of Hits from Boardwalk Music Group
On October 29th, Anthem Entertainment acquired from Boardwalk Music Group a catalog that includes songs from Halsey, Meghan Trainor, Lizzo, Leon Bridges, Jason Derulo and Pitbull. The songs, which were written by Eric Frederic (Ricky Reed), include the…