8Sided Blog

the scene celebrates itself

The Dept. of Justice Said to Be Considering a Baffling New Rule Change for Song Licensing

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Billboard Biz:

According to numerous sources, the DoJ has sent a letter to the two performance rights societies governed by the consent decree, telling them that on “split works” songs — songs written by multiple writers — any writer or rights holder can issue a license for 100 percent of the song. In other words, the long-established industry practice of each rights owner greenlighting their particular portion of a song in order to establish a license — also known as fractional licensing — may no longer be allowed.



The DoJ has, somehow, become convinced that it is common practice in the music industry for any rights holder to license an entire song, not just the share they own.



I can’t see this going through as it only takes some simple explaining to realize the tumult it would create, but its consideration illustrates the growing political influence of tech — the Pandoras, etc — versus that of the PROs in our present climate.

What Would Instagram for Music Look Like?

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Thump:

(The) idea is relatively simple: on Cymbal, you amass followers, follow your friends, and instead of posting selfies and sunsets, you post one single song, which is paired with the track’s album art. As you scroll through your feed, you see a flowing playlist curated by your friends. Unlike many other music-based apps that try to design their own groundbreaking format, Cymbal piggybacks off the libraries of music-streaming giants like SoundCloud and Spotify, letting users select tracks from these massive libraries.



“Wait … what?” – This Is My Jam

Happy Birthday Copyright Bombshell: New Evidence Warner Music Previously Hid Shows Song Is Public Domain

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Ars Technica:

Further investigation showed that the song appeared in editions stretching back to 1922, which in the plaintiffs’ view “proves conclusively” that “Happy Birthday” entered the public domain no later than that year. The song was printed without a copyright notice unlike other songs in the book. Rather, it included a notice that read “Special permission through courtesy of The Clayton F. Summy Co.”



That important line of text published underneath the song’s lyrics was “blurred almost beyond legibility” in the copy that Warner/Chappell handed over in discovery. Plaintiffs’ lawyers note that it’s “the only line of the entire PDF that is blurred in that manner.”

Techdirt:

If you haven’t been following the issue closely, there is actually a lot of evidence, much of it put together by Robert Brauneis, that the song really should be in the public domain. There are all sorts of questions raised about how it became covered by copyright in the first place. Everyone agrees the song was originally written as “Good Morning to All” in the late 1800s, but from there, there’s lots of confusion and speculation as to how it eventually was given a copyright in 1935, granted to the Clayton F. Summy company. People have argued that the 1935 copyright was really just on a particular piano arrangement, but not the melody or lyrics to Happy Birthday To You — which had both been around long before 1935.



This latest finding at least calls into question how honest Warner/Chappel has been for decades in arguing that everyone needs to pay the company to license “Happy Birthday” even as the song was almost certainly in the public domain.



This would be a pretty big shake-up, especially if Warner/Chappel were ordered to retroactively pay back license fees if it’s proven they had knowledge of all this. Regardless, the fight over “Happy Birthday” is becoming the music publishing world’s equivalent to a juicy detective novel.

SoundCloud Losing Money Fast As Record Labels Apply Licensing Pressure

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More SoundCloud pain.

Tech Times:

Digital Music News has reported that SoundCloud is hemorrhaging cash so quickly that it might actually run out before the end of the year, unless it can convince a bank or other investment group to hand out more dough until it can figure out a way to monetize its business model. This is despite a recent report valuing the company at $700 million dollars.



One reason SoundCloud is burning through money so quickly is the huge legal expenses the company is incurring. Record labels are growing impatient with talks intended to legitimize the service through licensing deals, with most labels currently uncompensated for the content streamed on SoundCloud. The record labels are threatening to sue the company if talks don’t progress faster.



I always tell labels / musicians that there’s a danger in making a site that’s outside of your control the main aspect of your promotional strategy (i.e. Facebook, etc). But SoundCloud has been such a useful one, especially as an embeddable platform for our own sites. I’ll be in some trouble just like the rest of you if SC goes under, or if they limit streams for non-paying listeners or start to include audio ads in my content … there will be a heavy load of site embeds to replace. It might be a good idea for us all to start thinking about and preparing for this now.

A SoundCloud Subscription Service Is Officially On The Way

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Complex:

Over a month after a leaked contract broke the news of SoundCloud’s plans to implement a paid subscription service the company’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Eric Wahlforss has confirmed the move. While Wahlforss didn’t confirm or deny the details featured in the June leak, the contract that popped up online last month outlined a three-tier subscription service consisting of a free option and two premium offerings. The free option will allegedly give users access to a limited catalog with advertisements included while the cheapest paid service offers a larger catalog and an ad-free experience. The most expensive option would allow users unlimited and ad-free access to SoundCloud’s entire catalog.



SoundCloud’s paid services applied solely to musicians / labels up to this point, with potential listeners being the reason to deposit the yearly fee. It will be interesting, and probably frustrating, to see how SoundCloud will juggle its usefulness to professional users with an apparent new emphasis on listener generated revenue. Many labels and artists — including those in the ‘majors’ — are reliant on SoundCloud for promotion and embeds on their sites. If this forced compromise cripples its effectiveness for promotion then there will be a bit of scrambling from labels of any stature.

Forget ‘Inbox Zero’: Your Empty Email Account Means Nothing

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The Next Web:

The real point of Inbox Zero was to move you away from “living in your inbox.” (Merlin) Mann said the zero was about “the amount of time an employee’s brain is in [his/her] inbox.” The key to his thinking was that you shouldn’t indulge your inbox as if it were a demanding toddler, allowing it to cry for your attention constantly.



Merlin’s video talk embedded in this article did really change the way I thought about my work (not just my email) when I first saw it many years ago. A recommended watch / listen if by chance you haven’t run across it previously.