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Spotify Agrees To Improve Song Matching Practices In $30 Million Settlement With Publishers
Spotify and the National Music Publishing Association have reached a $30 million settlement agreement to compensate publishers and songwriters for unpaid royalties that resulted from unmatched songs in its database. According to the Agreement, the $30 million will constitute a “payout pool” where $5 million is a “penalty pool.” Under the Agreement, publishers will claim […]
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Jay-Z Serves Legal Papers to Tidal’s Former Owners for Providing Misrepresenting Figures
On the same week Tidal celebrated surpassing three million subscribers and turning one years old, current owner Jay-Z served its former owners legal papers for lying about Tidal’s business specifics when the company was purchased. According to the King of Roc Nation and his attorneys, Tidal’s former owners, Scandinavian company Aspiro AB, were dishonest about […]
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Individuals and Companies Submit Comments Regarding the DMCA’s Safe Harbor Provisions
Last Friday the period for individuals and companies to submit comments regarding the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA ended. The US Copyright Office provided this 4-month comment period to help “evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the safe harbor provisions.”1 The Copyright office cited rapid changes in the internet since 1998 when the DMCA was […]
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U.K. Hits Piracy Sites Where It Hurts: Ad Revenues
While websites that host infringing content are host to millions of users daily, few of these users pay money for the sites’ services. Instead, advertising from consumer brands does. In another step towards severing the “unholy alliance” between on-site advertisers and piracy websites that host infringing content, the British Government’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit […]
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@ThursdayNightFootball
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appropriately announced via a tweet on his personal Twitter account that ten Thursday night NFL games in the upcoming season will be live streamed on the macro-sized micro-blogging social network. According to the New York Times, while games will simultaneously be shown over the air on either NBC or CBS, […]
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She shoots and he scores
The US Women’s National Soccer Team is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the soccer field. As explained by the New York Times, the Women’s Team is a “quadrennial phenomenon;” they are the reigning World Cup champions, they won gold for the fourth time in five Olympics at the 2012 Summer […]
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“Young Money, Cash Money” Records May Need to Change Its Name to “Young, But No Money”
Lil’ Wayne has been keeping his attorneys extremely busy the past two years, and with his latest $40 million case it looks like there is no end in sight. The first suit came in early 2015, when the rapper petitioned the court to release him from his contract with record label Cash Money, award him […]
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To Deal or Not To Deal, That is the Question for Music Publishers
Despite marketing itself as a law-abiding and musician-friendly service since its launch in 2006, Spotify’s latest lawsuit settlement has helped unmask its less than aboveboard practices. Several months ago, the National Music Publisher’s Association (NMPA) sued the popular music streaming service for failure to properly obtain mechanical licenses for a significant portion of its library […]
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No Show Business Comes Cheap: Princess Cruises Sued for Exploiting Barry Manilow’s Work in On-Deck Entertainment
Stiletto Entertainment, an entity that exists to manage Barry Manilow’s affairs and owns the underlying intellectual property rights in Music and Passion Live From Las Vegas, has filed suit against Princess Cruises and Swank Motion Pictures in a potentially lucrative federal infringement suit. Music and Passion Live From Las Vegas is the recording of Manilow’s […]
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Florida Jury Values Hulk Hogan’s Right to Privacy At $140 Million
On March 21, a jury panel in Florida awarded television celebrity, Hulk Hogan, $140 million in damages an invasion of privacy lawsuit against popular celebrity gossip website, Gawker. Tony Bollea, better known by his wrestling name Hulk Hogan, has been embroiled in a years-long legal battle with Gawker. This lawsuit, concerning a graphic sex tape […]
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Lights, Camera, (No?) Action for The Screening Room, the Spotify of Films
Billions of dollars are at stake in the quest to provide the best movie going experience—excluding massive revenues from concessions and DVD sales, in 2015 alone Americans spent over $11.7 billion on movie tickets. The Screening Room, one of the newest and hottest Hollywood start-ups, has the potential to usurp the quintessential profit-making aspects of […]
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Don’t Mess With Tradition – Radio Now A Billion Dollar Digital Industry
According to a report released by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), radio revenue from digital platforms hit an all-time high in 2015, with traditional radio revenue exceeding $1 billion for the first time in history. The president and CEO of the RAB cites changes in advertising practices as the main driver for this growth, as […]