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CMU Digest
CMU Digest 22.10.18: Distrokid, American Law Institute, IMPALA, Soundtrack Your Brand, ERA
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 22 October 2018
The key stories from the last week in the music business…
Spotify announced a formal alliance with DIY distributor Distrokid. The streaming service will use the distribution firm to enhance its in-development direct upload tool, so that when artists directly upload their tracks into Spotify they will also get pushed to the other streaming platforms. Spotify has also made a “passive minority investment” into the Distrokid company. It strengthens Distrokid’s position in the very competitive digital distribution marketplace, though possibly puts pressure on its relationships with Spotify’s rivals. [READ MORE]
The US music industry hit out at the American Law Institute’s new Restatement Of Copyright Law. The ALI’s restatement documents aim to summarise recent precedents and trends in different aspects of American law. Although they have no actual legal authority, they can be very influential. Reps for America’s record labels and music publishers argued that the ALI’s new copyright restatement has been mainly drafted by academics and lawyers who are famously anti-copyright. To that end, music industry trade groups have urged the ALI to reject the current draft and have a re-think. [READ MORE]
IMPALA published new data that it reckons backs its argument that competition regulators in Europe should block Sony’s EMI deals. Sony is trying to take complete ownership of the EMI Music Publishing company that it has part-owned since 2012. The indie label trade group reviewed the 2017 music charts in seven European countries. It showed that – if you combine the Sony labels, distribution company The Orchard, the Sony/ATV publisher and the EMI song catalogues – on average Sony controlled, at least in part, somewhere between 68% and 82% of the tracks that charted. [READ MORE]
Spotify-backed B2B streaming firm Soundtrack Your Brand said the music industry is losing $2.65 billion because companies are using personal streaming accounts on commercial premises. Businesses that stream music on their premises need a B2B streaming account, like that offered by Soundtrack Your Brand, but many companies are unaware of this obligation or that B2B streaming services exist. Hence why Soundtrack Your Brand reckons the music industry is missing out on so much money. [READ MORE]
The UK’s Entertainment Retailers Association hit out at global record industry trade group IFPI for failing to mention physical product in their recent music consumption report. ERA boss Kim Bayley said that, by focusing just on trends in the streaming market, the IFPI had a “blinkered view of the world”. While ERA’s membership includes most of the streaming platforms, she added, “all of our members are agreed that the key to a healthy music eco-system is a diverse channel landscape, embracing physical as well as digital formats”. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Music Sales allied with SACEM on digital licensing [INFO]
• BMG acquired world music label World Circuit Records [INFO]
• Material Music allied with DMC to relaunch Stress Records and Back To Mine [INFO]
• Big Hit Entertainment re-signed BTS [INFO]
