YouTube is reporting it has paid out $1-billion in payments to over 5,000 partners who’ve monetized work through its Content ID system since its inception seven years ago. Music publishers, TV networks and movie studios are among the partners benefiting.
Content ID is available in every country where YouTube can be accessed, allowing those content owners to effectively manage (monetize or remove) their own works from a back-page, which provides royalty statements and demographic information. Music publishers have been able to license through Harry Fox for a 7.5 percent stake or manage the system on their own. Particularly, Nashville-based Words and Music has a direct licensing agreement with YouTube.
“YouTube has become a significant source of revenue for our publishers,” said Jennifer Falco, Director of Licensing at Words and Music. “We have seen an increase in earnings every year since entering our direct agreement in 2012.”
YouTube pays on current monthly ad sales, which fluctuate. Music publishers have seen payments from 15-50 percent (based on the type of music usage) on the net ad revenue. The company does not report gross revenue.
Although Content ID was created in 2007 in response to Viacom bringing suit against Google for infringement, the Financial Times reports the lawsuit was settled in March of this year in the amount of $1-billion, although no cash reportedly changed hands. The late 2011 acquisition of RightsFlow has made it increasingly possible for YouTube to account and distribute payments to content creators using its site.
Matthew Garrahan, who first reported the story said of the benchmark, “A sign that media groups increasingly see the video site as a friend rather than foe.”

The Women’s Music Business Association hosted the inaugural “We Run The Row 5K” on Sept. 13. The run benefited WMBA and Musicians On Call. Over 215 runners participated in the run, which raised more than $10,500.

Pictured (L-R): Rachel Mowl, Meredith Herberg-Waldron, Jordan Ureckis

 • • •

Oct. 24 is the deadline for students to apply for an internship with the Academy of Country Music. The ACM seeks bright, hard-working students who have a passion for country music and want to be part of the 50th anniversary of the ACM Awards in 2015. Internships begin in early January, and run through late April 2015. Internships are based in Encino, Calif.
Chosen candidates will work in the departments of event management, operations, public relations and marketing, Lifting Lives, social media, creative and content production. For more information, visit acmcountry.com/employment.html. Cover letters and resumes can be sent to info@acmcountry.com.

• • •

PCG Nashville, Nine North, Turnpike Music & Edgehill Nashville have signed Kentucky singer-songwriter Brooklyhn Woods to the roster. An ASCAP and NSAI member, Woods’ vocal styling is inspired by Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood, while her songwriting is influenced by writers including Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.

Pictured (L-R): Brooklyhn Woods, Jeff Davis (Nine North Records). Back Row: Bernard Porter (PCG Nashville), Larry Pareigis (Nine North), Raelyn Blake (PCG Nashville).

Warner Bros. Records artist Cole Swindell made his Grand Ole Opry debut last week, introducing a three-song set including his two consecutive chart-topping hits “Chillin’ It” and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” as well as his latest song, “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey.”
“Standing in that circle where other artists who have paved the way for country music has stood is something a new artist like me will never forget,” said Swindell. “Of all the places I have played so far in my career from a club to an arena to a stadium I have never experienced a feeling like I did on that stage. I’m glad I was able to share that moment with my family and friends.”

Cole Swindell during his Grand Ole Opry debut.

The fourth annual No Shave November benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will officially begin on Saturday, Nov. 1. Many music industry and radio station professionals, along with some of today’s hottest Country stars, will put down their razors for the month and let their facial hair grow. Donations raised through November will help St. Jude continue to find cures and save children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Participants can register now at www.nsn4sjk.com, where they can compete for several different titles and rally friends to their team. Partakers will gather on Friday, Oct. 31, at the CMA building to photograph their freshly shaved faces before the competition gets underway. This year, Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, who has been appointed as 2014 Chairman of the Beard, is ready to put his best beard forward.
“I’ve visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital many times and participated in No Shave November last year and loved it, so for me it was a no brainer to say yes to being Chairman of the Beard,” says Haywood.
Keifer Thompson, of the duo Thompson Square and last year’s Chairman of the Beard, hopes to defend his crown as the multi-year top fundraiser. “It’s another year and team Thompson Square, once again, is going to bring the beard baby!” Thompson added, “We’ve been blessed to raise the most money for the last two years and we plan on raising even more this year.”
No Shave November is using all platforms to encourage the music industry to recruit as many men (and dedicated women) as possible to join the team, and to donate at least $30 to St. Jude. In 2013, NSN raised an impressive $220,000 for the organization, with $396,000 raised over the past three years to support St. Jude.