|
|
|
|
|
Hello all -
The entire Article 13 copyright debate has been rumbling for some time now, but YouTube has certainly opted to turn up the heat with something I spotted whilst logging into the site last night: a pop-up banner lobbying against the new law, outlining all the ways life would become unbearable were we to allow Europe to trample its boots all over Google's entirely benevolent superstructure of a world. Sorry - I should apologise for being glib, but one cannot help but feel that when YouTube is going to these kind of lengths to spread its own viewpoint on Article 13, clearly it sees the new law as a direct threat to its existence.
As you'll see below, the BPI has seen fit to cry foul, but this all brought to mind an op-ed from MBW's Tim Ingham some time back, which pointed out that whilst the tech lobby is quite a well-oiled propaganda machine, the music industry is fractured into many fiefdoms, each speaking up in turn but without on truly massive voice to fight this and take meaningful action.
Of course, one irony for me was the realisation that the logical response to YouTube's own leveraging of its platform would be to do the same and have all official music content removed from the site for a period (24hrs?) as a protest gesture. However if that did happen, all you would see is UGC versions of the same clips popping up - which in many respects might perfectly highlight exactly what the issue is here.
European laws aren't perfect; god knows GDPR has turned into a hot mess for the average website operator... but I can't help but wonder if this kind of challenge to the might of Google would be welcome. Isn't change a good thing? Should we fear what might follow? After all, whilst sites like decentralised, blockchain-powered video service D.Tube might look slightly hokey right now, didn't YouTube look exactly the same once upon a time? There are alternatives and it wouldn't hurt to consider them a little more.
Have a great evening,
D.
|
|
|
“It’s time for YouTube to respect the EU legislative process and focus its energy on working with labels to grow the value generated by recorded music, for example through its excellent new YouTube Music subscription service, rather than trying to protect an outdated safe harbour that has given it an unfair advantage over both competing services and individual musicians and creators. “The money YouTube is spending to preserve special protections for its business would be much better spent rewarding the great music that drives users to its platform.”
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/record-industry-attacks-youtube-for-carpet-bombing-propaganda-over-article-13/
Share this story:   
YouTube's head of music, Lyor Cohen, continues to sound the alarm about what could happen to creative industries if the European Parliament's current version of Article 13 of its copyright directive becomes law. "The music industry will make less money from YouTube, not more," he insists in a just-published blog post, adding that the changes will make it harder for unknown artists to be discovered in the first place.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8486034/youtube-lyor-cohen-article-13-copyright-directive-blog
Share this story:
Now, one way she stands to regain her catalog is if UMG buys Big Machine, which is on the market for between $300 million and $350 million. Sources familiar with artist contracts say that whatever deal Swift signed with UMG might have contingencies built in to ensure that Swift would eventually gain ownership of her old masters, if UMG wins the Big Machine auction. If UMG is willing to accommodate her goal, the big question for UMG then would be how many years would it need to control Swift's catalog in order to recoup its investments and make a worthwhile profit before returning control to Swift.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8485967/taylor-swift-catalog-big-machine-ownership-sale-price-umg-analysis
Share this story:
Fullscreen is promising digital stars new ways to make money from their legions of devoted followers with the acquisition of fan-engagement startup StageBloc. Chicago-based StageBloc, launched in 2013, runs the websites, digital marketing and ecommmerce back-end operations for musical acts including Metallica, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Keith Urban, R5 and Kid Rock. With the acquisition, Fullscreen will rename StageBloc “Fullscreen Direct.” The new system will let digital creators engage with fans through email, exclusive content, discussions and experiences, and let them sell tickets and digital and physical merchandise.
https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/fullscreen-stagebloc-metallica-keith-urban-1201732651/
Share this story:
Mexico City has more Spotify listeners than other major city, according the streaming company. Spotify adds that Mexico’s capital has become a top-streaming market for the likes of Adele, Diplo, Metallica, Harry Styles, Radiohead, New Order, Bruno Mars, Madonna among others and that ‘artists from all over the world are hitting home’ with the multicultural city’s nearly 22 million residents. Mexico City became Spotify’s first-ever Latin American market in 2013.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/mexico-city-has-more-spotify-listeners-than-london-new-york-or-paris/
Share this story:
“For my songwriting on Anderson .Paak’s ‘Heart Don’t Stand a Chance’ and ‘Your Prime’ from the album ‘Malibu,’ I have earned less than $5,000 total. I have a 16.66% share of each song. The album was certified Gold in Europe, nominated for a Grammy, and launched .Paak into stardom. For my songwriting on Aloe Blacc’s “The Man” I have earned a little less than $200,000 over the course of the song’s 5 year existence. I have an 8.5% share of the song… The song was #1 on the pop charts in the UK, top 10 in the US and top 5 worldwide, selling 4 million copies… For my songwriting on Logic’s “Black Spiderman,” I have earned less than $2,000.”
https://musically.com/2018/11/20/songwriter-sam-barsh-publishes-shocking-royalty-figures/
Share this story:
The tech stock slump that has investors shifting money from former sure-things like Apple and Amazon and into assets like power companies and bleach, appears to have spooked one of Wall Street's biggest new entrants. Reuters is reporting that China-based Tencent Music Entertainment and its advisers are in talks to push its $2 billion IPO into 2019, rather than face a tech-weary market.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8486136/tencent-music-2-billion-ipo-2019-report
Share this story:
Ticketmaster has partnered with sports merchandise company Fanatics to integrate official verified tickets and official licensed merchandise in the fan shopping experience of both sites. The partnership will help leagues, teams and universities with an integrated e-commerce solution and leverage both companies’ customer database to drive a unique fan rewards program.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8485699/ticketmaster-fanatics-e-commerce-partnership-tickets-merch
Share this story:
Instagram is fighting back against automated apps people use to leave spammy comments or follow then unfollow others in hopes of growing their audience. Today Instagram is removing from people’s accounts who use these apps inauthentic follows, Likes and comments that violate its policies; sending them a warning to change their password to cut ties with these apps, and saying people who continue using these apps “may see their Instagram experience impacted.” Instagram tells me it “may limit access to certain features, for example” for those users.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/19/instagram-fake-followers/
Share this story:
Other recent articles:
|
|
|
Freshly Updated - 9th November! Great articles you might also love:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
