SmartFeed Media

Articles count: 10 Sent via mailing on March 13, 2025

"Spotify & UBEM Updates: Artist Payouts Soaring, Investigation Underway"

This newsletter is about recent developments related to Spotify, UBEM, and the music industry. Spotify's annual report, the Loud & Clear music economics report, highlights that more artists are making money on the platform than ever before, with 1,450 artists generating over $1 million in royalties last year. Additionally, UBEM is under investigation by the competition regulator CADE for potentially breaching competition laws in negotiating licensing deals around mechanical rights for its members in Brazil. The report illustrates Spotify's positive impact on independent artists and the broader music industry, noting significant growth in artist payouts and global reach.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-03-12: OpenPlay launches music distribution and monetization service led by industry veteran Bob Barbiere - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 0.95: 2025-03-11: Billy Steinberg and son Ezra Steinberg sign global publishing deals with Sony Music Publishing - Music Business Worldwide

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Articles count: 10 Sent via mailing on March 11, 2025

Legal battle brewing: LyricFind sues Musixmatch for anti-competitive deals with Warner Chappell

Musixmatch, a lyric aggregator, is the target of a new lawsuit from its main competitor, LyricFind, alleging the former entered into anticompetitive deals with Warner Chappell to hinder its rivals' access to the market. The suit asserts that these exclusivity deals aimed to protect Musixmatch's monopoly, resulting in a scheme that impacts independent artists, songwriters, music publishers, and digital platforms by preventing competition in the lyrics licensing marketplace.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-03-07: Arrests made in StubHub supplier fraud case that netted “extraordinary profit” Legal: 0.95: 2025-03-06: No, Spotify hasn’t gone down… unless you were pirating it

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Articles count: 10 Sent via mailing on March 06, 2025

Introducing Raven Music Partners: Transforming the Music Industry with $250M Investment

This newsletter is about new music investment fund Raven Music Partners, launched with an initial $250 million investment to acquire music rights and a goal of owning $1 billion worth of music-related copyrights. The fund is a joint venture between Raven Capital Management and Aquarian Holdings, with the aim to collaborate with independent artists, songwriters, and labels to expand their reach and influence across audiences.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-03-05: ex-Guggenheim exec’s Aquarian Holdings backs new $250m music rights JV with Raven Capital - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 1.0: 2025-03-04: Duetti raises $200m in debt funding; expands into publishing catalog deals for indie artists and songwriters - Music Business Worldwide

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Articles count: 10 Sent via mailing on March 03, 2025

"Latest Music Industry Updates: AI Copyright Challenges and Partnerships"

This newsletter is about the latest developments in the music industry, particularly focusing on the intersection between artificial intelligence and copyright issues. It covers stories such as major record company bosses opposing AI copyright exceptions, Kobalt's new platform to help indie songwriters collect royalties, and the acquisition of Pack Records by Create Music Group. Additionally, the newsletter discusses partnerships like SourceAudio's collaboration with Cyanite for AI-tagging and search technology in sync licensing.

Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-27: AI music remix app Hook expands distribution network with Too Lost partnership - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-26: Generative AI, TDM and the phenomenon of training data memorization

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Articles count: 10 Sent via mailing on February 27, 2025

Introducing Tracklib's 'Bespoke Clearance Model' for major artists and labels.

Tracklib has introduced a new feature called the 'Bespoke Clearance Model' to cater to the needs of major artists and labels looking to clear samples. This feature is designed to mirror traditional sample clearances and aims to provide a streamlined process for larger deals with artists like Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-26: Payola back in the spotlight as FCC boss asks about artist deals at upcoming iHeart festival Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-25: Damon Albarn, Kate Bush among 1,000+ artists to release silent album protesting UK’s AI copyright plans - Music Business Worldwide

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Articles count: 8 Sent via mailing on February 24, 2025

Exciting Updates in Music Industry: AI, Legal Battles, Album Launch, K-pop, Music Academy

This newsletter is about various developments in the music industry, including the use of artificial intelligence in music production, legal battles over venue ownership, the launch of a posthumous album for a singer, the efforts to prevent tampering practices in K-pop, and the creation of a music academy in Central and Eastern Europe to train professionals.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-20: ‘Ten years ago, DSPs were the cornerstone of establishing a new business model. Whatâs the next evolution of this?’ - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 0.9: 2025-02-19: Kein Urheberrechtsschutz für Birkenstock-Sandalen

"Latest News: US Congress Bills, AI Music Lawsuits, & MashApp Launch!"

This newsletter is about two main topics: 1. Two competing bills in the US Congress on American radio stations paying royalties to recording artists and labels. 2. Legal disputes involving AI music generation companies and music copyright infringement cases against OpenAI. Additionally, it covers the launch of MashApp in the US, allowing users to create mashups using licensed music tracks.

Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-17: Is DeepSeek training its AI on copyrighted music without permission? - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-19: Sony Music asks court to dismiss copyright lawsuit filed by Patrick Moxey’s Ultra Music Publishing - Music Business Worldwide

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Articles count: 7 Sent via mailing on February 17, 2025

"Legal battle over audiobook bundling and AI-driven sync licensing service updates"

This newsletter is about the ongoing legal battle between the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) and Spotify regarding the bundling of audiobooks in its premium subscription service. The MLC is requesting the court to reconsider the dismissal of its lawsuit against Spotify, arguing that the decision has far-reaching financial consequences for the music industry. In addition, Dutch startup Ringo has launched a sync-licensing service infused with AI to streamline and automate the process of sync licensing, aiming to open up a longer tail of sync revenues for rightsholders and artists.

Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-14: Ringo launches its AI-powered sync-licensing service Legal: 0.95: 2025-02-13: Sacem CEO, Cécile Rap-Veber: “DSPs shouldn't take more value from streaming than creators”

Warner Music Group Completes Acquisition of Africori: What This Means for African Artists

Warner Music Group has completed its full acquisition of African distributor Africori, after initially investing in the company in 2020 and taking a majority stake in 2022. The more than 7,000 African artists on Africori's roster will now be integrated into Warner Music's global network. Africori CEO Yoel Kenan will continue in his position, reporting to Warner Music Africa MD Temi Adeniji, who sees the acquisition as a significant step in Warner Music's expansion in Africa.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-12: AP Music Royalties Fund spends $20m+ across trio of deals with Mojam, Ed Drewett and ex-Status Quo members - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-11: What Does The Weeknd’s ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ First-Week Performance Mean for His Potential Finale?

"Spotify's Legal Battle and Cost-Cutting Plans Revealed in SEC Filing"

In Spotify's 20-F filing with the SEC, it quantifies the amount of publishing royalties at stake in its legal battle with the US Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) over bundling, estimating around €150 million of additional royalties. The filing also highlights Spotify's cost-cutting program in 2024, including a reduction in the number of full-time employees and R&D and sales and marketing costs.

Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-06: Confirmed: Warner buys majority stake in Tempo (just as MBW told you it would). - Music Business Worldwide Legal: 1.0: 2025-02-06: How ‘APT.’ Producer Rogét Chahayed Helped ROSÉ & Bruno Mars Make a Global Smash That ‘Breaks the Rules’

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