Earlier this week, the recently-named Mechanical Licensing Collective requested $66.25 million — just to get off the ground. That included a $37.25 million tranche of cash before the MLC’s opening day. Another $29 million was requested for the first y…
Category archives: Regulatory
Live Nation Is Officially Under Investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed that it is investigating whether Live Nation has been violating a consent decree that it has been required to follow since merging with Ticketmaster nearly a decade ago. The consent degree forbids Live…
California Passes AB5, Handing a Major Defeat to the RIAA, A2IM, and Music Artists Coalition
Earlier today (September 18th), California governor Gavin Newsom signed AB5 into law. Update (11:30 am PT): Jordan Bromley from MAC, Mitch Glazer from RIAA and Richard J Burgess from A2IM have emailed DMN — via PR rep Dawn Kamerling — stating that this…
Uber, Lyft, and the Music Industry Become Strange Bedfellows Against California’s AB5
Ridesharing giants and the music industry stand united against California’s AB5 — though the opposition effort doesn’t seem to be working. Ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft have formed an unlikely alliance with the music industry to oppose California…
U.S. Government Demands Information from the RIAA Over Radio Payola
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has formally demanded that the RIAA investigate payola in the music industry. Mike O’Rielly, who is the commissioner of the FCC, has officially requested the Recording Industry Association of America (RI…
Ahead of Its High-Profile UMG Deal, Tencent Music Is Suddenly Getting Grilled by Chinese Regulators
Look like Chinese regulators are having a little kerfuffle with Tencent Music. Will this complicate Vivendi’s partial sale of Univeral Music Group? Just a few weeks after Chinese internet and media giant Tencent Holdings announced its intentions to pu…
TIDAL Threatens to Sue the Entire Country of Norway
Once again, Jay-Z has found himself embroiled in controversy, at least indirectly. Though, unlike the one with the NFL, this one could have international ramifications. Tidal, the music streaming platform part-owned by the famed entertainer, is now thr…
Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, Google/Alphabet File a 92-Page Formal Protest Against Streaming Royalty Rate Increases
The fearsome foursome of Spotify, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, and Pandora aren’t backing down against proposed publishing rate hikes for streaming music services. Back in March, the streaming music giants first announced their intentions of fighting a maj…
Apple In Discussions to Open Siri Access to Spotify in iOS 13
Spotify may soon gain access to Siri as a looming anti-trust issue comes to a head. New capabilities introduced in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 will give third-party apps equal access to Siri’s API. If Spotify takes advantage of these tools, you’ll be able to …
Spotify, Apple, Pandora, Amazon, Google Warn Against Ditching the PRO Consent Decrees — “The Resulting Chaos Will Be Felt by Everyone in the Music Industry”
Should the Department of Justice really do away with the ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees? Not according to major streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora/Sirius, Amazon Music, and YouTube owner Google/Alphabet. As the U.S. Department of Just…