Grooveshark Faces a $736,050,000.00 Hammer…

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When Universal Music Group declared ‘legal jihad’ against Grooveshark, it turns out they actually meant it.   Now, after flattening Grooveshark and its principals on grounds of willful copyright infringement, the parties enter the phase of figuring out just how brutal this punishment will be.

Grooveshark attorneys at Rosenberg & Geiger are now watching this village get burned.  After a trial that turn up damning emails, erased data, and other sordidness, US District Court judge Thomas P. Griesa has dramatically increased the fines and punishments that Grooveshark parent company Escape Media can potentially face.  “The jury will be instructed that the maximum statutory damages is $150,000, not $30,000, per infringed work, due to the fact that the infringements were willful, but the parties will be able to introduce evidence on the degree of willfulness,” copyright and internet attorney Ray Beckerman explains.

“Since there are 4,907 works, that means the minimum damages that can be awarded is $3,680,250.00, and the maximum could be $736,050,000.00.”

Jury deliberations over statutory damages begins on Monday.  The full decision is here (thanks to Ray Beckerman for sending that over!)

 


Source: Industry News

Breaking: Local Norwegian Stations Don’t Want FM Radio to Be Killed

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The following comes from a release sent out by the Norwegian Local Radio Association, in response to the government’s decision to kill FM radio.

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Oslo, Norway April 23rd, 2015

No FM Switch-Off in Norway

DAB radio still far from success in the Nordic countries

Despite the Norwegian Minister of Culture’s announcement that the FM switch-off goal of 50% “Digital Listening” has been reached, their numbers include listenership of DVB-T and Internet radio. Last week, the Norwegian Government Statistical Bureau reported that listening to DAB radio is presently limited to 19% on a daily basis.

The introduction of the DAB system in Norway was made possible through the lobbying efforts of Digitalradio Norge AS, an organization made up of large commercial and public broadcasters, promoting DAB, not by consumer demands. These efforts have meet forceful opposition by the local radio sector as it is regarded as an obstacle to small-scale radio business 2017, leaving all existing FM investments lost.

This FM switch-off proposal is up for decision in Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament, later this spring. While there is still a majority in favor of the proposal, opposition is growing. The government coalition partner, the Progress Party, has been against switching off FM since the first proposal for DAB came up in Stortinget 2011. Now, the Green Party, is also aligning against the switch-off.<!–/*
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// ]]>Despite the switch-off proposal, 200 local commercial radio and community radio stations outside the four largest cities may continue broadcasting on FM. This broadcast sector is being deregulated. The stations will receive five year license extensions without fee. Requirements for local news, content and limits on income will also be removed. Licensing is a simple registration with the media authority.

This is a sensitive issue as those profiting most on the transition are the two foreign-owned radio companies, Modern Times Group and Discovery Media. Going forward, in 2017, twenty-three local Norwegian owned and operated stations in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger will be forced to limit broadcast to DAB+.

Neighboring Finland opted out of the transition to DAB in 2009. In Sweden, a proposed DAB transition has been widely criticized in public opinion and in a consultation with qualified institutions. A National Audit report in April 2014 recommended Sweden retain its FM broadcast. In Denmark the government has placed a proposed FM switch-off on hold. FM radio will likely remain the dominant terrestrial broadcast for decades to come in the Nordic countries and most of Europe.

The decision by the government for a fast track to DAB ignores the millions of foreign motorists visiting Norway annually as tourist or business professionals. This proposed change means that most visitors will not be able to listen to national channels or public radio for emergency alerts, traffic or other important information.

“We don’t envision that the 20 year old DAB system will be a technology implemented on mobile devices”, says Svein Larsen President of Norwegian Local Radio Association.

It is believed that FM and online listening will remain global standards for decades to come. This listening will likely occur on mobile devices and smartphones in all countries.

For more information:
Contact Mr. Svein Larsen at +47 930 43 400 or svein@lokalradio.no

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Original photo by L.C. Nøttaasen on Flickr used with the Creative Commons License


Source: Industry News

Ne-Yo: “Streaming Companies Enjoy Billion-Dollar Revenues at Our Expense…”

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The following op-ed comes from Ne-Yo, one of the most successful songwriters in the world.

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Songwriters shouldn’t have to subsidize the billion-dollar streaming industry.

The music streaming business has seen a lot of attention in the last few weeks with the introduction of new players like Tidal— a company that puts artists in control of the valuation of their music, and not at the mercy of the streaming giants.

Streaming companies like Spotify and Pandora have quickly come to the defense of their revenue models, releasing figures from what they have paid in royalties and claiming that without streaming platforms, consumers will return to piracy leaving the entire royalty system at risk of collapse.

As a songwriter, I find this to be an offensive and inaccurate argument, because the antiquated Consent Decrees—which govern how ASCAP and BMI license music, and subsequently has confined songwriter royalties to less than a market rate and enabled streaming companies to enjoy billion-dollar revenues at our expense—has the state of American songwriting on the verge of its own collapse.

I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to earn a living off other revenue streams such as concert tours and merchandise. But for my fellow songwriters, whose craft is focused on the powerful written word, music license royalties are their sole source of income.

In most industries, the value of something increases with demand.  The more people that want your goods or services, the higher the price you can expect to receive for them in the marketplace.

It’s basic fairness.  But the music business doesn’t work that way.<!–/*
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// <![CDATA[
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// ]]>How much a songwriter gets paid is mostly determined by federal regulations, rather than the free market. This regulatory system was created over 70 years ago and has not been updated since 2001, before the introduction of the iPod, and before streaming music was made popular.

More people are streaming more music today than ever before – and this is a good thing. I want fans to enjoy my music on whatever platform they choose.  But I don’t want my music, and the music of my peers, to continue to be devalued by the streaming companies that reap the benefits of our work at our expense.

To illuminate how little trickles down to the songwriter level – it takes about 1 million streams for a songwriter to see $90, and multiple writers often split that share.

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Songwriters see the smallest fraction of royalty payouts because we are limited in how we can negotiate. Meanwhile, record labels and recording artists often earn 12 to 14 times more than songwriters for a stream of the exact same song. As an artist who has experienced both sides of this split, I can personally speak to the nonsensical disparity between these different incomes.

Streaming companies know they are getting a good deal under the Consent Decrees and are taking advantage of an outdated system to become billion-dollar corporations at the expense of songwriters trying to earn a living and support their families.

The time for change is now.

Congress can start by passing the Songwriter Equity Act, which would help songwriters secure royalties more reflective of the free market. <!–/*
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// <![CDATA[
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// ]]>More and more co-signers continue to lend their support to this important legislation, but we need a consensus in order to evolve our music licensing system to correspond with how people listen to music today.

Passing the Songwriter Equity Act, and making simple changes to the Consent Decrees will not, as many alarmists claim, lead to the collapse of the streaming model. It will, however, create a more efficient and effective music licensing system – one that better serves not only songwriters, but also the needs of music licensees and music fans everywhere.

A thriving American music industry depends on the creativity – and in these times, the persistence – of songwriters. By updating the outdated rules that govern music licensing, we can return the right to earn fair pay for hard work to the next generation of great American songwriters and composers, so they can keep writing more of the music we all enjoy.

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Ne-Yo is an award-winning R&B/Pop singer-songwriter and member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).  He recently released his sixth studio album, Non-Fiction, which includes the hit single “Time of Our Lives” featuring Pitbull.


Source: Industry News

Smule Raises $38 Million for Music-Making Apps

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Smule has announced that they’ve raised $38 million in equity and debt funding. The round was led by Adam Street Partners. Previous investors who also participated in the round include Bessemer Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and City National who provided the debt financing.

Dave Welsh, a Partner at Adams Street, is joining Smule’s board.<!–/*
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// ]]>The company will use the money for marketing, product development, and international expansion.

Smule’s suite of apps includes Sing! Karaoke, Magic Piano, Songify, and many others. The company says their users perform 12 million songs a day through their apps. They also say users record 1.5 TB of content every day.

In 2014 Smule’s revenue was $40 million. They have 350,000 subscribers.

 

Nina Ulloa covers breaking news, tech, and more: @nine_u

Photo by http://401kcalculator.org on Flickr used with the Creative Commons License


Source: Industry News