We catch up on this week’s music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.
Deals and Signings
Bucks Music Group Signs Soumik Datta to Exclusive Publishing Deal (MBW)
During his musical career, Datta has collaborated with stars from Beyonce and Jay-Z, to Bill Bailey, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Joss Stone and Akram Khan, as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia to name a few.
Robbie Robertson Signs With Primary Wave for Publishing Administration, Marketing (Billboard)
The publisher now represents the majority of Robertson’s catalog, including songs he wrote for The Band such as “Up On Cripple Creek”, “Rag Mama Rag” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
Stereo Honey Ink Worldwide Deal With Warner Music UK’s W Songs (MBW)
Up-and-coming London-based band Stereo Honey have signed a worldwide deal with W Songs, the in-house publishing arm of the Warner Music UK Sync team.
Hirings and Promotions
Notting Hill’s Sassy Warren-Thomas promoted to professional manager (Music Week)
Sassy Warren-Thomas has been promoted to professional manager at Notting Hill Music with immediate effect. She has been upped to the senior role just three years after joining the music publisher as an intern. She was previously A&R/sync assistant.
Awards and Accolades
Ashley Gorley Takes Home 7th Songwriter of the Year Award (American Songwriter)
With a star-studded line-up rivaling Broadway’s brightest neon lights, the 57th annual American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Country Music Awards celebrated the industry’s biggest names on Monday, November 11 at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville.
BMI Country Awards 2019: Dwight Yoakam, Nicolle Galyon and Ross Copperman Feted at Annual Ceremony (Billboard)
Tequila was the drink of choice when Nashville’s music community toasted Nicolle Galyon and Ross Copperman as songwriters of the year during the 67th annual BMI Country Awards.
Hipgnosis migrates to premium listing on London Stock Exchange (Music Week)
Hipgnosis Songs Fund was welcomed to the London Stock Exchange to celebrate its successful admission to the Premium Segment of the Official List. The move follows the completion of four equity fundraises since its launch in June 2018.
DaBaby and Ricky Reed Continue Atop Hot 100 Songwriters, Producers Charts (Billboard)
DaBaby rules Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters chart for a sixth week, thanks to eight songwriting entries on the latest weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Nov. 16).
Warner Chappell Nashville President Ben Vaughn on the Publisher’s ASCAP, BMI & SESAC Sweep (Billboard)
Warner Chappell Music was named ASCAP, BMI and SESAC’s publisher of the year during CMA Awards week in Nashville, marking only the third time a publishing company has swept the honor at all three performing rights organizations’ annual celebrations.
PROs and Collections
PRO Music Rights Announces Standardized Public Performance Rights License (MBW)
Privately-funded, US-based performing rights organization Pro Music Rights is announcing what it describes as the first-ever standardized Public Performance Rights license.
Audiam has collected $120m of royalties for clients in four years (Music Ally)
Rights-management firm Audiam has published some new figures about its business, including the fact that it has collected more than $120m of royalties for its clients over the last four years. What’s more, the company says that more than 15% of those collections were ‘recovered’ royalties – income earned by musicians but which had not been paid to them by music services.
Legal
Mechanical Licensing Collective Reaches Funding Deal; Will Receive $33.5m For Start-up Costs (MBW)
The Mechanical Licensing Collective and Digital Licensee Coordinator have reached a deal on funding levels for the organization, which will see the MLC receive $33.5 million for start-up costs and an initial annual assessment for 2021 of $28.5m.
The Weeknd Fails to Reduce Copyright Infringement Lawsuit on ‘A Lonely Night’ (Digital Music News)
A California federal court has denied a request by The Weeknd to reduce the scope of a copyright infringement lawsuit brought against him by three British songwriters who believe his song “A Lonely Night” plagiarizes theirs.
The USPTO wants to know if artificial intelligence can own the content it creates (The Verge)
It starts off by asking if output made by AI without any creative involvement from a human should qualify as a work of authorship that’s protectable by US copyright law. If not, then what degree of human involvement “would or should be sufficient so that the work qualifies for copyright protection?”
The Ninth Circuit Is Tone Deaf To Copyright (Forbes)
The Ninth Circuit has recently managed to muck up copyright law with several remarkable rulings that effectively strangle the music industry and will likely impact the film industry. Here are the key rulings and their implications:
Interesting Reads
Data Mining: Inside the New PRS Royalty Dashboard (Synchblog)
PRS’s Tim Arber talks to us about the development of the dashboard, how it works, where it fits into the wider marketplace and how it will expand next.
How Paul McCartney Built a Publishing Empire With MPL (Billboard)
During the past 50 years, Paul McCartney and his lawyers have built MPL from a small company that once occupied half of a small office in Soho Square to a formidable publishing force that now owns and occupies the entire building.
Rising Execs From Spotify, Downtown, Capitol Among Music’s New Leaders (Variety)
Every year Variety seeks to identify the next generation of leaders in the entertainment business, looking for representatives in the creative community, film, TV, music and digital.
Spotify is Profitable. How Did That Happen? (Rolling Stone)
Spotify’s latest profitable performance is a rather different matter, because the company’s not making any excuses for it, or apologies for it. Here are three key reasons it happened.
125 Years of Billboard: How the Music Business Changed Across Decades (Billboard)
We look back on how some of the industry’s most important sectors — labels, publishing, touring and distribution — transformed themselves over the past 125 years.
The 5 Major Studio Heads On Their Favorite Scores and Soundtracks of 2019 (Billboard)
These music department heads from five major film studios had knockout years — and are sharing their favorite moments.
Music Tectonics | How Technology Is Reshaping the Culture and Business of Music (MIDiA Research)
MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan delivered the keynote presentation for this years’ Music Tectonics conference. Discussing ongoing trends, the peak attention economy, and seismic shifts both in consumption habits and the industry itself, the presentation is a must to review.
Latest Jobs
Product Owner, Client Services – BMG (London)
BMG are looking for a product owner in their technology department for client services spanning across the music publishing and recordings business in London.
Creative Synch Director, Ads and Brands – Position Music (Los Angeles)
Independent music publisher Position Music is looking to hire a LA-based Creative/Synch director with a focus on Ads and Brands to join their seven-person Creative/Synch team.
Publishing Coordinator – Warp Publishing (London)
Warp Publishing, a leading independent music publishing company, is looking for a Publishing Coordinator to join its team in the North London office.
