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Music streaming now counts towards gold and platinum certification
Music streaming has been all the rage for years now, but the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had yet weigh its merits. However, that's about to change. Starting today, the RIAA will take into account audio and video streaming numbers in addition to sales when certifying an album gold or platinum. Back in 2013, the music industry's governing body began tallying individual songs towards its so-called Digital Single Award, but this new change will be the first time streaming is factored in to the main Album Award process.
Pandora signs $90 million truce with the recording industry
Thanks to a quirk of copyright law, songs recorded before February 15th, 1972 weren't covered at the federal level. It's a loophole of sorts that Pandora, amongst others, has exploited to play classic pre-1972 tracks without paying a cent to the record labels. Or, at least, that was the case, since the firm has just signed a deal with the RIAA that'll see it pay $90 million to get the record industry to stop hassling it in the courts for unpaid royalties. It's the second big deal of its kind to land in the last few months, with Sirius XM paying $210 million in a similar deal back in June. It's probably not worth mentioning that the RIAA is scoring another own-goal, since services like Pandora are good for music sales, is it.
Streaming makes up a third of the US music industry's revenue
Streaming music barely edged out CD sales last year, but it's not even going to be a close fight in 2015. The RIAA has published its mid-year sales stats, and streaming already accounts for 32 percent of the US music industry's revenue at just over $1 billion. It's still not as much of a money-maker as downloads, which pulled in 40 percent ($1.3 billion), but it's miles ahead of the 24 percent ($905 million) from rapidly declining physical sales. In short: if you demand a hard copy, you're now clearly in the minority.
SiriusXM will pay $210 million to use songs recorded before 1972
Before now, satellite radio company SiriusXM wasn't paying royalties on the catalog recorded before 1972 that it beamed to customers. Today, the company agreed to pay $210 million for those songs, compensating both independent and major record labels for using their material. The settlement comes after ABKCO Music & Records, Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings and Warner Music Group filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM in 2013. Under the terms of the agreement, the satellite radio service can "to reproduce, perform and broadcast" the library of tunes until December 31, 2017 without further payments. This means that tracks from the likes of the Rolling Stones, Gloria Gaynor and many more will be subject to agreements. Why weren't they protected before? Material recorded prior to February 15, 1972 isn't subject to the same protections as songs released after, so streaming services and radio stations weren't required to pay licensing fees.
Streaming music sales in the US beat CDs for the first time
Sorry, Taylor Swift, but streaming music isn't going anywhere. In fact, revenues from streaming services like Spotify and Rdio overtook CD sales last year -- a first for the music industry -- according to data from the RIAA. Streaming sales hit $1.87 billion last year, a 29 percent jump from 2013, while CD revenues fell 12.7 percent reaching $1.85 billion. Naturally, digital downloads still rule the music realm -- accounting for 37 percent of the total market and $2.57 billion in sales -- but it's also worth noting they dipped a bit last year. At this point, it's not a matter of if streaming music will overtake digital downloads, it's simply a matter of when. The big problem for artists, though, is that they don't make as much from streaming services as they do from downloads or CDs (that's basically Swift's entire beef). Don't be surprised if you end up paying more for your Spotify subscription at some point soon, as those services rush to ramp up their pay outs.
Studios asked Google to pull 345 million pirate links in 2014
Google may be bending over backwards to eliminate piracy in its search results, but it's clearer than ever that the internet giant is fighting an uphill battle. TorrentFreak has sifted through Google's weekly data to discover that the company fielded over 345 million copyright takedown requests in 2014, or a rate of nearly one million per day. As you might have guessed, most of these calls for action come from movie and music studios trying to pull links to bootleg copies of their work. The British Phonographic Industry is by far the most aggressive copyright holder -- it asked Google to yank more than 60 million music-related links.
Labels claim Pandora owes money for streaming old songs, probably won't get it
Pandora can't catch a break, it seems. Just weeks after the streaming radio service escaped paying higher royalties to songwriters, record companies and musicians have sued it in a New York court for allegedly violating state copyright laws by refusing to pay for older song recordings. The labels argue that Pandora is subject to state rules on compensation whenever it streams tunes recorded before February 15th, 1972, when federal law took over; right now, it's only paying for those newer works. The suing parties claim that Pandora is both depriving artists of income and wielding an "unfair advantage" over on-demand competitors like Rdio and Spotify, which have no choice but to negotiate royalties for classic tracks.
Big music labels file their own lawsuit against Megaupload over piracy
The seemingly inevitable has happened: following in the footsteps of the MPAA, the big music labels behind the RIAA have filed a copyright lawsuit against Megaupload. The companies assert that Kim Dotcom and crew both fostered and "handsomely profited from" illegally copied tunes shared through the service before the federal government shut it down. The RIAA is quick to add that Megaupload's death resulted in a drop in piracy across the board -- that's surely evidence that it was up to no good, right?
RIAA now counts online streams in Gold and Platinum Digital Single Awards
After years of fighting against the digital tide, the RIAA announced it'll now factor online audio and video streams when considering tracks for its Digital Single Award. The certification has heretofore been given to digital tracks that have gone Gold or Platinum, but only for downloads: 500,000 for Gold, 1,000,000 for Platinum and 2 million-plus for multi-Platinum. But under its new policy, 100 streams count as one download, meaning that it could reach those thresholds with a mix of streams and downloads, not just the latter. The new approach is "an approximate barometer of comparative consumer activity; the financial value of streams and downloads were not factored into the equation." All told, these include streams from services like MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify and Rdio along with video sites like VEVO, YouTube and MTV.com. Under the new system, 56 titles have already gone Gold and beyond, with 11 receiving their first ever digital song cert. A couple of first-timers include Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" which went Platinum and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" that went multi-Platinum. While we can't say if music services will make everyone happy, it's clear streaming's here to stay. Hear that, iTunes?
RIAA claims Google's anti-piracy downranking doesn't work
Google offered an olive branch to content producers when it promised to downrank pirate sites in its search results last summer. Really, the RIAA was looking for the whole tree; it just published a report claiming that Google's technique hasn't had any tangible impact. The agency argues that the millions of takedown requests didn't lead to "significant" drops in rank for habitual violators. It further contends that many legitimate music sites only showed up in the top ten for about half of the searches, and were often kicked down the ladder by their bootleg counterparts. We're reaching out to Google to get its side of the story, but the RIAA isn't quite as patient: it's demanding that Google "immediately" change the results and volunteers its help. While that's a step forward from the music group's previous accusatory stance, it doesn't quite represent a two-way conversation on anti-piracy measures.
Editorial: RIAA takedown requests and ad complaints are missing an opportunity
As noted here, the RIAA has issued 10 million takedown requests to Google in an attempt to close off paths to sites that facilitate music downloading. At the same time, a related phenomenon is fueling the fire of rightsholder outrage: Brand advertising that appears on download sites and generates revenue for those businesses. These two aspects of the internet's ecosystem -- finding free music downloads through search engines, and ad-supported sites expediting illicit music acquisition -- represent deeply rooted challenges to media owners. At the same time, as with most challenges, there is a flip side of opportunity. The difference between capitalizing on an opportunity and being defeated by its challenge is the difference between getting in front of reality and falling behind it. The RIAA is regarded by many as the poster organization for denial of reality. A reversal of strategy and tactics might get big media owners in front of 21st century realities.
RIAA copyright takedown requests to Google reach 10 million
Something tells us they won't be handing out gold watches for this milestone. Just eight months after Google added copyright takedown requests to its Transparency Report, the search firm can claim to have almost exactly 10 million such requests from the RIAA. A dive into the numbers very quickly explains just how they built up so quickly. The RIAA and the music labels attached to it have topped at least the most recent monthly requests, and they're collectively issuing hundreds of thousands of notices every week. We certainly don't expect the industry group to hang up its hat just because it's at a nice, round figure: when pirate sites rarely stay down for long, and the RIAA all but accuses Google of being an accomplice to piracy despite censorship concerns, the current game of infringement whack-a-mole is only likely to continue.
Editorial: Vanishing 'copywrong' document blasts RIAA, suggests radical reform, and should be taken seriously
Something startling happened over the weekend. It came and went in a flash, but the repercussions could, and should, be lasting. An unexpected and most unusual policy brief from the Republican Study Committee was released. (The RSC is a 165-member congressional policy review group.) Entitled Three Myths About Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix It, the eight-page document is an astonishing declaration of revisionism, bristling with policy arguments that align with the most excitable rants of P2P advocates over the last 10 years. It is a devastating indictment of American copyright law. Then, in less than 24 hours, the paper was rescinded. The committee's Executive Director, Paul S. Teller, offered an obscure apology with no explanation. Of course the thing is easily available, and its message remains a permanent part of the conversational record, deletion be damned. By arguing that the current iteration of American copyright law is broken in several respects, and by proposing extreme solutions, the rogue document debilitates the talking points of institutional copyright holders and their agencies such as the RIAA. Anyone who has been following the hardened rhetoric over what copyright should be in a copy-share digital world will be startled by the accusatory language and sharply reformist intent of this document.
Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to redirect, throttle internet users accused of piracy (video)
We've been wondering what major American internet providers would do to thwart supposed pirates beyond nag them senseless; other than leaks surrounding AT&T's reeducation process, we've mostly been left in the dark. There's a better picture of the consequences now that Time Warner Cable and Verizon have unveiled their strategies at an Internet Society conference. Verizon's approach is an attempt to straddle the line between angry media studios and the basic need to communicate: if copyright complaints reach the fifth or sixth notice, Verizon will throttle the connection for two to three days without instituting outright blocks. TWC's method may be tougher to ignore -- the cable provider will redirect claimed infringers to a custom page and restrict what they can visit. While it's not clear just how limited access will be, it's doubtful anyone will want to find out. Not surprisingly, critics like the Electronic Frontier Foundation aren't happy with the restrictions as a whole, and point to the Center for Copyright Information allegedly going back on its vows of impartiality -- it notes that the anti-piracy initiative's reviewer is a previous RIAA lobbying firm, and that many of the real technical details are partially censored despite promises of transparency. The Center hasn't responded to those challenges, but we're somewhat comforted when it claims there won't be draconian attempts to catch everyone, at least not in the foreseeable future. We'd still be sure to lock down any WiFi hotspots to avoid false accusations; ignoring any ISP warnings could soon lead to more than just a sternly-worded message.
AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions
The fact that ISPs are working with the RIAA in a bid to squash piracy is far from new. A leaked document claiming to be AT&T training materials, however, suggests that the operator is about to stop talking, and start doing. According to TorrentFreak notifications will be sent out to customers on November 28th about the change in policy, with those suspected of illicit downloads receiving an email alerting them of the possible copyright infringement. We'd previously heard of a six-stage notification system, and this, too, is mentioned here with repeat offenders facing access to "many of the most frequently visited websites" restricted. Even stranger, is the talk of having to complete an online tutorial about copyright to get the restrictions lifted. As AT&T is part of the MPAA and RIAA-backed Center for Copyright Information, it's likely that the other members (Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision), will be prepping similar plans. We've asked AT&T for confirmation directly, but for now keep an eye on the mail.
Louis CK makes $1 million in 12 days, proves that DRM-free content is valued
Hear that, MPAA / RIAA? That's the sound of Louis CK's audience chuckling. Not at one of his jokes, mind you, but at the notion of strapping DRM onto everything you possibly can in order to "make people buy it." In an effort to see if this crazy idea was true or not, the famed comedian decided to sell his Live at the Beacon Theater for just $5. Procuring it was dead simple -- you could either surf over to his website and plop down a PayPal payment, or you could pirate it. Either way, no DRM was affixed. Turns out, people actually are fans of paying money for things that they see as both fair and worthwhile, as evidenced by the $1 million that currently sits in Louis CK's PayPal account. Of course, we've never advise anyone to hold anywhere near that much cash in an account that could be frozen on you at a moment's notice (not that we have experience or anything), but at least he's going to do awesome things with the proceeds. We'll let you hit the source link to find out precisely what that is. Kudos, Louis.
Pirate Bay founders launch 'copyright respecting' BayFiles sharing site, still dream of a life on Sealand
It ain't often that the hated few have a genuine change of heart, but it sounds as if the folks who founded The Pirate Bay are tired of sailing the same seas. After years of turning a blind eye to content mavens across the globe, Fredrik Neij and co. have launched what appears to be a legitimate file-sharing site -- one that's "respectful of copyrights." For all intents and purposes, BayFiles is yet another alternative to RapidShare and MegaUpload, acting as a cyberlocker that allows anyone with a web browser to upload files to share via a unique URL. Unregistered users will be limited to a 250MB upload, while standard members get bumped to 500MB and paying 'Premium' members can share up to 5GB per link. According to the terms of service, content that "violates third-party copyrights" cannot be uploaded, and folks who routinely ignore said words could face account termination. Head on down to the source to get started, and if you fall in love, you can pony up €5 a month, €25 for six months, or €45 for 12 months to claim your membership.
Former EMI boss says Limewire users were major iTunes customers
Douglas C. Merrill used to work for record label EMI, one of the biggest members of the RIAA. He was forced out just a year later, but now he's sharing information from inside the company. And some of that information points to an interesting conclusion about music pirates: they often end up being some of the music industry's best customers. Speaking at a conference in Sydney, Merrill said that a profile they'd conducted of users of the LimeWire music sharing service portrayed them as some of the biggest spenders on iTunes. "That's not theft, that's try-before-you-buy marketing and we weren't even paying for it," Merrill said at the show, "so it makes sense to sue them." That last part is sarcasm, we're pretty sure. Of course, most record companies saw illegal downloading as purchases that just didn't happen, and thus lost revenue. But this conclusion hints that "pirates" aren't taking away from music sales -- they're just download music to fill out their already big purchased collections. That's the kind of premise that the upcoming iTunes Match seems to be banking on, where users will be able to pay a subscription fee to verify any music downloaded outside of iTunes as official iTunes purchases. It would certainly end up being ironic if it turned out that the very same customers the RIAA attacked and sued back during those early days of filesharing were some of the same customers ringing in the digital music age that's now keeping record companies afloat. [via Boing Boing]
China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads
In a move suggesting they might be ready to accept the realities of the internet era, major US record labels have reached a deal with Chinese search engine company Baidu. The agreement between the search giant and One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will result in licensed tracks popping up in searches instead of pirated ones and resolve years of legal wrangling between the two sides. Baidu launched its ting! social music service earlier this year with support from local labels and EMI, while this new deal will see labels paid per-play, per-download and from advertising. Between this and the recent launch of Spotify in the US the cheap and easy fun of music piracy is slipping away rapidly, if record labels continue to act sensibly then illegal downloads will soon be limited to hipsters ironically cracking open vintage editions of Soulseek.
PROTECT IP Act called unconstitutional by bipartisan group of law professors
Turns out Eric Schmidt is not alone in his vehement opposition to the PROTECT IP Act, and the resistance is hardly partisan. A group of over 100 law professors signed a letter (jointly authored by Mark Lemley, David Levine, and David Post) arguing that the legislation working its way through congress is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that speech can't be suppressed without the speaker being given an opportunity to defend his or her actions. Yet, under the bill being advocated for by the RIAA the MPAA, a judge can issue a temporary restraining order that will essentially shutdown a site based only on evidence presented by the government. The letter warns that, not only could overseas domain owners be cheated of the right to due process but, plenty of protected speech could be censored based a single piece of infringing material. As we warned, this can only get nastier and this nascent battle is still only just getting started. Check out the full letter at the source.
