The American Association of Independent Music, the Music Artists Coalition, the National Music Publishers Association, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Songwriters of North America, and SoundExchange have issued a statement in response to the release of the U.S. Copyright Office’s report on Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The U.S. Copyright Office released the report on Thursday (May 21). The report focuses on Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), questioning whether the balance that Congress devised in section 512 more than 20 years ago working for all concerned parties. The Copyright Office surveyed copyright holders as well as online digital service providers and taken more than 92,000 comments into consideration.
“The Copyright Office concludes that the balance Congress intended when it established the section 512 safe harbor system is askew,” the report concludes. “There is no doubt that the internet, in all its various component parts, has grown successfully and exponentially over the past two decades. However, despite the advances in legitimate content options and delivery systems, and despite the millions of takedown notices submitted on a daily basis, the scale of online copyright infringement and the lack of effectiveness of section 512 notices to address that situation remain significant problems. While the Office is mindful of those creators who have been able to leverage new technologies to their benefit, their economic success does not provide comfort to the many other creators who have seen their livelihoods impacted drastically by ongoing infringement of their works online and for which they can achieve no relief.”
The report notes that the Copyright Office is “not recommending any wholesale changes to section 512, instead electing to point out the numerous areas where Congress may wish to fine-tune section 512’s current operation in order to better balance the rights and responsibilities of OSPs and rightsholders, in alignment with its objectives when it passed the DMCA.”
The American Association of Independent Music, the Music Artists Coalition, the National Music Publishers Association, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Songwriters of North America, and SoundExchange issued the following response:
“Platform accountability is achievable and mutually beneficial for fans, music creators and digital distribution partners alike. As this report makes clear, the current system is broken – especially when it comes to so-called ‘user-upload platforms’. To succeed, platforms must be made accountable participants in the music ecosystem.
“But the good news is that many of these issues can be addressed by the big technology platforms who exploit music, including by applying already widely available technologies. Here are three things these platforms could do right now to begin to address the issues identified in the report:
- “Ensure that ‘take down’ means ‘stay down.’ User-upload platforms should put an end to the ‘whack-a-mole’ era by implementing meaningful, robust processes to ensure that once infringing content is taken down, the same infringing content does not immediately re-appear on the same service. To be an effective remedy, ‘take down’ must mean ‘stay down’.
- “Thwart Stream-Ripping Services. Industrial-scale piracy has not disappeared. Instead, fueled by technological change, it has morphed to new forms like ‘stream-ripping.’ On-demand video streaming services can prevent stream-ripping services from circumventing their protective systems by ensuring that their technological protection measures stay ahead of the stream-ripping services, and by aggressively monitoring when and how their technical protections are being breached. Furthermore, search engines should make every effort not to link to such services.
- “Permit Copyright Owners to Monitor Infringement of Their Own Works. Social media platforms should provide tools that allow copyright owners – regardless of their size – to monitor infringement of their own works and establish automated and scalable notice and takedown systems like many other user-upload platforms already have.”
The Artist Rights Alliance, which is leading artist mobilization efforts to reform section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbors, also released the following statement in response to the Copyright Office DMCA Notice and Takedown Report:
“When you cut through the bureaucratic caution and legalese, this report describes a simple, brutal truth: The tech monopolies are failing artists, songwriters, and music fans. And they couldn’t care less. Billion-dollar valuations of tech companies built on a foundation of shortchanging artists and songwriters dispel the myth that ‘there is no money in music.’ It’s time to put that money back in the hands of the artists and songwriters who invest their time, labor, heart, and soul into making music, and the people who believe in their dreams and support their careers.
“The bottom line: tech platforms hold the keys to their own networks and could massively reduce the amount of online piracy and the crushing burden it imposes on working songwriters and musicians today if they wanted to. But they don’t. Because they make too much money off the broken system this report describes, selling ads alongside pirated copies of our work and scraping data from music fans everywhere they go online, from the most legitimate streaming services to the darkest corners of the web.
“If we could get some common decency from the Silicon Valley giants, we could work out solutions to many of these issues without changes to the law. The Judiciary Committees asked for this report and must now push tech companies to find these solutions and insist that independent creators have a seat at the table.
“If that fails, Congress must act.”
The Artist Rights Alliance (as ARA and under its predecessor name, the Content Creators Coalition) has led the charge to reform the DMCA for the last five years.
Kyle Clark Signs With Sony/ATV Nashville
/by Lorie HollabaughKyle Clark
Kyle Clark has signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville.
Clark gained notoriety within the country scene after opening for artists including Kane Brown, Randy Houser, and Darius Rucker. The Georgia native released his self-titled debut EP on April 17, which features songs “Like the World’s Gonna End” and “First Time Feels.” He teamed up with Sony/ATV and Tree Vibez Music songwriter/producer Jordan Schmidt to write and record his debut EP, along with co-writers Josh Miller, Josh Mirenda, Matt McGinn, Andy Albert, and Jared Mullins.
“Kyle Clark is a dynamic songwriter and a hard worker with great potential – I’m pleased to welcome him to Sony/ATV, and our team is proud to support him as he develops his career,” said Sony/ATV Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston.
“Watching Kyle grow as a songwriter over the last six months has been nothing short of impressive. He has truly committed to his craft and has shown he’ll go above and beyond to succeed as a creator and artist,” said Sony/ATV Nashville Creative Director, Dane Schmidt. “We’re excited to partner with a musician of his caliber, and we look forward to taking this journey together.”
“I am so excited to sign with Sony/ATV, and I’m thankful for the support of Rusty, Joey, and the Schmidt brothers. I could not have asked for a better team of people – they have worked hard to make this dream possible. I look forward to the relationships I will make and the songs I will write in this next chapter,” said Clark.
Garth Brooks To Receive NMPA’s Songwriter Icon Award
/by Lorie HollabaughGarth Brooks is being honored by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) with its Songwriter Icon Award at the organization’s first-ever virtual meeting this June. The award honors music creators and composers who have contributed greatly to the craft of songwriting, and is typically given at NMPA’s annual industry gathering in New York City the evening prior to the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala.
“We have wanted to honor Garth Brooks for some time, and his incredible words about being remembered as a songwriter first at this year’s Gershwin Award for Popular Song compelled us to make this the year,” said NMPA President & CEO David Israelite. “Garth is someone who has created uplifting, joyful and meaningful music for decades. He’s brought millions of fans to country music and he’s brought this country together in times of hardship. His music has tackled tough issues and his lyrics have transformed everyday life into poetry that is as catchy as it is timeless. His career has spanned decades and genres and no one could be more fitting to honor during this challenging time. We are grateful to get to hear from him and thank him for what his songwriting has meant to so many of us.”
Past recipients of the award include Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Ryan Tedder, Jon Bon Jovi, Pharrell, Steven Tyler, Diane Warren and Sting.
Warner Music Group Launches Initial Public Offering
/by Jessica NicholsonWarner Music Group has launched its initial public offering of 70,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The company’s IPO price is expected to be between $23.00 and $26.00 per share, and consists entirely of secondary shares to be sold by Access Industries, LLC and certain related selling stockholders. The stock will trade under the symbol WMG on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
WMG will not receive any proceeds from the offering.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as joint bookrunning managers and as representatives of the underwriters for the offering. BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are also acting as joint bookrunning managers. Barclays Capital Inc., Evercore Group L.L.C., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., Nomura Securities International, Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., CIBC World Markets Corp., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., SG Americas Securities, LLC; Société Générale, LionTree Advisors LLC, Raine Securities LLC, AmeriVet Securities, Inc. Bancroft Capital, LLC, Blaylock Van, LLC, C.L. King & Associates, Inc., Loop Capital Markets LLC, Roberts & Ryan Investments, Inc., Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc., Siebert Williams Shank & Co., L.L.C., Telsey Advisory Group LLC and Tigress Financial Partners, LLC are acting as co-managers for the offering.
The company’s labels include Asylum, Atlantic, Parlophone, Warner Records and Warner Classics, among others.
Uber Implements New Safety Measures
/by Jessica NicholsonUber has rolled out new safety policies for riders, drivers and deliveries as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The new policies affect most countries, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, and will extend through the end of June, when Uber will reassess the policies for each country.
All riders and drivers with Uber must wear face covers or masks. When wearing a face cover or mask, riders and drivers should make sure the face covering covers from the bridge of the nose down to the chin.
Uber is also advising riders to no longer sit in the front seat, which means every ride with Uber will have one less passenger seat available. UberX rides can now have a maximum of three passengers—allowed only in the backseat.
Before drivers can go online to begin driving for Uber or delivering meals via UberEats, they will be asked to visit a Go Online Checklist, to confirm they have taken preventative measures. The checklist includes steps such as having a face cover or mask, that drivers have sanitized their vehicles or food delivery equipment, and that they will not allow anyone to ride in the front seat of the vehicle. In addition to the checklist, prior to accepting trips or deliveries, drivers will be asked to verify that they are wearing a mask by taking a selfie of themselves wearing it.
Music Advocacy Groups Challenge Tech Platforms Following Release Of Copyright Office Report
/by Lorie HollabaughThe U.S. Copyright Office released the report on Thursday (May 21). The report focuses on Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), questioning whether the balance that Congress devised in section 512 more than 20 years ago working for all concerned parties. The Copyright Office surveyed copyright holders as well as online digital service providers and taken more than 92,000 comments into consideration.
“The Copyright Office concludes that the balance Congress intended when it established the section 512 safe harbor system is askew,” the report concludes. “There is no doubt that the internet, in all its various component parts, has grown successfully and exponentially over the past two decades. However, despite the advances in legitimate content options and delivery systems, and despite the millions of takedown notices submitted on a daily basis, the scale of online copyright infringement and the lack of effectiveness of section 512 notices to address that situation remain significant problems. While the Office is mindful of those creators who have been able to leverage new technologies to their benefit, their economic success does not provide comfort to the many other creators who have seen their livelihoods impacted drastically by ongoing infringement of their works online and for which they can achieve no relief.”
The report notes that the Copyright Office is “not recommending any wholesale changes to section 512, instead electing to point out the numerous areas where Congress may wish to fine-tune section 512’s current operation in order to better balance the rights and responsibilities of OSPs and rightsholders, in alignment with its objectives when it passed the DMCA.”
The American Association of Independent Music, the Music Artists Coalition, the National Music Publishers Association, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Songwriters of North America, and SoundExchange issued the following response:
“Platform accountability is achievable and mutually beneficial for fans, music creators and digital distribution partners alike. As this report makes clear, the current system is broken – especially when it comes to so-called ‘user-upload platforms’. To succeed, platforms must be made accountable participants in the music ecosystem.
“But the good news is that many of these issues can be addressed by the big technology platforms who exploit music, including by applying already widely available technologies. Here are three things these platforms could do right now to begin to address the issues identified in the report:
The Artist Rights Alliance, which is leading artist mobilization efforts to reform section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbors, also released the following statement in response to the Copyright Office DMCA Notice and Takedown Report:
“When you cut through the bureaucratic caution and legalese, this report describes a simple, brutal truth: The tech monopolies are failing artists, songwriters, and music fans. And they couldn’t care less. Billion-dollar valuations of tech companies built on a foundation of shortchanging artists and songwriters dispel the myth that ‘there is no money in music.’ It’s time to put that money back in the hands of the artists and songwriters who invest their time, labor, heart, and soul into making music, and the people who believe in their dreams and support their careers.
“The bottom line: tech platforms hold the keys to their own networks and could massively reduce the amount of online piracy and the crushing burden it imposes on working songwriters and musicians today if they wanted to. But they don’t. Because they make too much money off the broken system this report describes, selling ads alongside pirated copies of our work and scraping data from music fans everywhere they go online, from the most legitimate streaming services to the darkest corners of the web.
“If we could get some common decency from the Silicon Valley giants, we could work out solutions to many of these issues without changes to the law. The Judiciary Committees asked for this report and must now push tech companies to find these solutions and insist that independent creators have a seat at the table.
“If that fails, Congress must act.”
The Artist Rights Alliance (as ARA and under its predecessor name, the Content Creators Coalition) has led the charge to reform the DMCA for the last five years.
Bobby Bones To Star In 16-Part Series For National Geographic
/by Lorie HollabaughBobby Bones is set to star in a new National Geographic series, tentatively titled Breaking Bobby Bones. The new 16-part series on the slate for 2020/2021 will feature Bones traveling to far-flung destinations across the country to seek out people with unique jobs, skills, hobbies, and abilities who challenge him to learn the tricks of their trades.
Each half-hour episode is an action-packed celebration of resilient Americans who work hard, play hard and above all, take pride in everything they do. National Geographic is working with long-time partner BBC Studios on the all-new show.
Music Biz And Record Store Day Join Forces For Virtual Couch Camp
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Music Business Association and Record Store Day are co-hosting a virtual Couch Camp educational conference, set for Tuesday, June 2-5 via Zoom. This online event will take the place of Record Store Day’s annual Summer Camp program.
Each day will consist of three hours of programming starting at 3 p.m. ET, including a mix of webinar presentations, roundtable discussions, and more, all culminating in a cocktail party on June 5. Retail store attendees can expect presentations from Patreon, eBay, Instagram, Facebook, Shopify, Broadtime and more, as well as roundtable discussions on subjects including social media best practices, leadership in the time of COVID-19, and financial planning.
“The independent retail community has been impacted in unprecedented ways this year, but continues to show its resilience in the face of adversity,” said Music Biz president Portia Sabin. “We’re thrilled to partner with Record Store Day to bring Couch Camp to life, and arm this community with the knowledge, tools and connections they need to weather this storm.”
“While we are saddened that we won’t be able to gather in person for RSD Summer Camp this year, we’re grateful to Music Biz for helping us put on this essential online forum,” shared Record Store Day Co-Founder Carrie Colliton. “Couch Camp will allow us an opportunity to gather and meet and reconnect with our peers in the retail scene, and examine both the business and personal sides of running a successful record store in 2020.”
Music Biz previously announced it would cancel its in-person Annual Conference due to ongoing concerns around the COVID-19 health crisis in favor of virtual programming and networking opportunities including the upcoming Couch Camp.
Mac McAnally To Release New Album ‘Once In A Lifetime’ In July
/by Jessica NicholsonNashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and 10-time CMA Musician of the Year winner Mac McAnally will release his latest project, Once In A Lifetime, on July 31 via Mailboat Records.
The first single released from McAnally’s self-produced album is the title track, which he co-wrote and recorded with Drake White. The song came about after McAnally and White saw each other at a local breakfast restaurant. After White asked if McAnally was enjoying himself these days, McAnally responded, “Yeah, every day. Every day is once in a lifetime,” which sparked the idea for the track.
The album opener “Alive and in Between” was inspired by an art project McAnally participated in, where novels are given to songwriters and visual artists, who then create a song or piece of art based on the novel. McAnally studied fellow Mississippi native Harrison Scott Key’s memoir The World’s Largest Man.
“The author came from the same part of the country as me and it woke up a bunch of stuff about my childhood—what it was like hanging with my dad, going to the drugstore, talking about football, politics, and religion,” he says. “That opened up that part of my brain that I haven’t been down into for a while.”
The album Once In A Lifetime is available for pre-order here.
Once in a Lifetime Track Listing:
Alive and In Between (Mac McAnally)
Almost All Good (Mac McAnally)
Once in a Lifetime feat. Drake White (Drake White and Mac McAnally)
First Sign of Trouble (Mac McAnally)
That’s Why They Call It Falling (Mac McAnally)
Changing Channels (Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally)
Just Right (Will Kimbrough, Mac McAnally)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Paul McCartney and John Lennon)
Good Guys Win (Roger Guth, Mac McAnally)
Just Like It Matters (Mac McAnally)
Brand New Broken Heart (Mac McAnally)
The Better Part of Living (Mac McAnally)
Music Advocates Denounce Big Radio Bailout In HEROES Act
/by Lorie HollabaughFollowing the release of the House of Representatives’ draft of the HEROES Act, SoundExchange, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the Future of Music Coalition and the Recording Academy issued the following statement:
“The economic impact of COVID-19 is very real and causing dramatic upheaval in local communities throughout the country. Musicians are proud that during this time of isolation, uncertainty and crisis, communities have turned to music for strength and comfort. That is why earlier efforts by Congress to provide aid to truly local broadcasters who serve their communities with unique and locally-relevant content has merit and received broad support.
“However, language in the HEROES Act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives essentially greenlights a warrantless Big Radio Bailout for every massive broadcaster within the multibillion dollar industry who can lay claim to a smaller station within their portfolio. To be clear: there are a small number of broadcasting companies who own hundreds of stations in markets of all sizes across the country, and the language in this bill will provide more help, even if unintentionally, to companies like iHeartMedia, Cumulus and Sinclair than it will to the small independent broadcasters truly hurting in this environment. The stunningly broad language would divert assistance away from true community outlets in favor of the same mega corporations that have been laying off thousands of local employees in a wave of consolidation. Truly small, non-commercial and community radio stations shouldn’t be forced to compete with huge companies for limited payroll assistance.”
“There is a difference between supporting vital local news outlets and billion dollar broadcast conglomerates, especially given that these enormous radio conglomerates refuse to compensate recording artists for using their music, in contrast with satellite radio and streaming services that do pay. With so many people in need at this time, let’s keep the focus where it should be: small businesses and workers, not on big broadcasters.”
Big Machine Artists Unite For National Anthem During Upcoming Indy 500 Special
/by Lorie HollabaughFlorida Georgia Line. Photo: Robby Klein.
Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Thomas Rhett, Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore and Brett Young, Carly Pearce, Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band, Danielle Bradbery, Abbey Cone, Heath Sanders, Noah Schnacky, Avenue Beat, Dan Smalley, and Payton Smith are all joining forces for a moving rendition of the National Anthem this Sunday (May 24) during the NBC broadcast of Indy 500 Special: Back Home Again at 2 p.m. ET. This year’s race, originally slated for May 24, was rescheduled for Aug. 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of social distancing guidelines, each artist recorded their part of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with producer Julian Raymond and BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta co-producing the clip.
The special chronicles the 2019 race featuring an epic duel between Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and incorporates traditional pre-race moments such as this unique performance of the Anthem.
The Nashville-based label has a long-standing relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, most notably their title sponsorship of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard and producing FGL Fest, a one-day Florida Georgia Line-hosted concert event inside the track.