The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: Fast-developing generative music sector raises fears among audio industry creatives Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is posing a serious threat to the livelihoods of a wide range of often nameless music industry creatives, such as those composing movie and TV soundtracks and video games and those producing audio for advertising campaigns. As in many professions, there’s a real fear of job losses, especially as many audio makers are starting to see ho ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: The long road to legal clarity over the use of copyright-protected works to train AI systems begins Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) use in music creation is making the headlines again, with the three major music companies filing lawsuits against two companies responsible for developing GenAI systems. The music companies have claimed that the system developers have used copyright-protected sound recordings as part of their training process without pe ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: NMPA turns up the heat on Spotify in the US with letter to the FTC The US National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has written to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), calling on the agency to review Spotify’s recent practice of reclassifying its Premium service offerings as bundles. The service made the change earlier this year so it could pay lower mechanical royalty rates. Spotify has claimed that because its plans contain music and audiobooks, it sho ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: Landmark collection results in a billion-pound record year for PRS for Music UK authors’ society PRS for Music has reported its financial results for 2023. In something of a repeat of 2022, collections, distributions, and distributable revenue all increased to new highs, while the cost-to-income ratio remained at a historic low. The standout performance was the rise in collections from overseas, with income from Europe and North America increasing more than 20 ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: US Supreme Court rubber stamps Eleventh Circuit ruling on statute of limitations for copyright infringement claims The Supreme Court has ruled in a six-year-long case brought by a music producer against several music companies over whether a damages award for copyright infringement is limited to three years from the filing of a lawsuit. The claim was first brought in 2018 by Sherman Nealy against Atlantic Records, Warner Chappell Music, and Artist Publishing G ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: Spotify stresses the importance of value as the service begins rolling out a new round of price rises Spotify has surprised analysts by introducing a second round of price rises in a small number of countries. The move was predicted by the news service Bloomberg in early April and confirmed by the Spotify during the first quarter analyst earnings call. While Spotify offered few details of its future pricing plans, the service did hint that it would be making f ..read more

Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. UMG remained the overall global music group leader last year, but for the third year in a row, second-placed SMG reduced the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly for the third consecutive year, while SME has registered share growth for four straight years. WMG’s share fell back for a second year, and the independent sector’s share edged down after a modest rise in 2022. For publishing ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: New market share results reveal the recorded-music and music publishing winners and losers Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. UMG remained the overall global music group leader last year, but for the third year in a row, second-placed SMG reduced the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: Deal dollars keep on flowing despite troubles at Hipgnosis There are fears that the hectic buying and selling of music catalogs for hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years represents a financial bubble. The ongoing difficulties of rights fund Hipgnosis have only enhanced those suspicions, while rising interest rates have also increased anxieties. But, while there have been instances of profit-taking, the funding for catalog deals remains health ..read more

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. SPECIAL FOCUS: IFPI reports a ninth consecutive year of increased recorded-music trade sales The international music trade body, the IFPI, has detailed another positive set of results for the global recorded-music sector. Digital and physical trade sales, along with performance rights and synchronization income, were up in 2023 for the third successive year. Streaming was again cited by the IFPI as the main growth provider, with combined revenue from subscriptions and audio ..read more