Songwriters Got A Raise. Now What?

New Spotify Scammers, Apple Music's Indisputable Edge

TAKEAWAYS

Salient statements from this week’s music news.

1. Copyright Royalty Board Confirms Streaming Royalty Raise for Publishers and Songwriters

The long-awaiting ruling affirmed the 15.1% royalty rate on song publishing paid by streamers for 2018-2022. The question now is who will actually pay.

Takeaway: The streaming services have long argued that because of the vast amount of money they already pay out in royalties, any increase in publishing should come out of the labels’ share, because the world’s three largest publishers are also owned by the three largest label groups, Sony, Universal and Warner.

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2. Meta Ready to Double Down on Its NFT Bet

The current downturn has done little to dampen enthusiasm as the internet’s biggest social media pseudo-state.

Takeaway: Commenting on the waning interest in the market, Kasriel acknowledged the reality of the crypto “hype cycle” and said there were “a lot of things that are not going to survive.”

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3. 1 in 3 Music Listeners in the U.S. Discover New Music Through Twitch

There no avoiding yet another platform that music marketers must master.

Takeaway: It’s claimed that Twitch users spend 21% more time per week listening to music “than the average music listener” and that Twitch users spend “46% more of their hard-earned cash on music (per month) than the average music listener”.

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4. Apple Is Giving Away Free Beats Flex Earphones with Apple Music Student Subscriptions

The world’s largest electronics manufacturer flexes its competitive advantage compared to other music streamers.

Takeaway: In an effort to draw in the college and university crowd, Apple is sweetening the pot by offering a free pair of Beats Flex earphones to new Apple Music Student subscribers — a value proposition that more than makes up for the $1/month price increase.

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5. Spotify Scammers Are Hijacking Viral Hits Hoping to Steal Royalties

Thieves are re-uploading popular tracks that Spotify “merges” with legit versions.

Takeaway: Merging once required unique codes — ISRC and UPC — which are primarily known only to parties directly involved with the track, like labels and distributors. But those are no longer necessary in every case; Spotify’s “track linking” makes this process easier by automating it.

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6. Live Nation Inks CEO Michael Rapino to New Five-Year, Multi-Million-Dollar Deal

Concerts are still kinda wobbly, but Live Nation earnings hit record highs.

Takeaway: While the industry is hardly back to its pre-pandemic levels — many lower-level tours and festivals are showing lower-than-hoped-for attendance, due partially to Covid caution but possibly more to the challenging economic climate: Ticket prices are as high as ever, to the benefit of Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation.

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