Bits & Pieces: Spotify Closing Final Deals for U.S. + New Funding, NMPA Wants Piece of the Cloud & more…
There have been many past reports of Spotify launching in the U.S. “soon,” but is it really happening this time? After recent news that the service signed on Universal Music Group, the company’s European general manager told an audience in London this week that the “remaining deals” (Warner Music Group) are being signed right now. While there still hasn’t been any official or unofficial reports that a WMG is in the bag, those comments as well as a confirmed new funding round of $100 million from DST, Kleiner Perkins and Accel, lead many to believe a launch is really happening, and soon. Whether or not the timing lends credence to previous rumors of the labels stalling Spotify in order to let Apple to get their new iTunes Match service out of the gate, the landscape is now slightly altered after Amazon, Google and Apple have all unleashed new services… President and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association, David Israelite, is urging members to create a more streamlined solution for digital music companies to license rights, so as to not miss out on new opportunities. That might come in the form of new agencies which act in the interest of all publishers for sync and mechanical rights – the process of tracking down various writers, composers and publishers that have interests in a tracks, has proved to be time consuming and frustrating to new music services seeking rights… Elsewhere, I.R.S. Records is being relaunched as a frontline label by EMI Music in partnership with Crush Management… After an initial pop for Pandora when shares first started trading earlier this week, the price settled back down, and continues to fall… And congrats to Jon Pikus, who has been named the Creative Director for Imagem Music in the U.S., Pikus comes to Imagem after previous A&R positions at MySpace Records, Columbia Records and Interscope…
Wednesday Bits & Pieces: iTunes Song Samples Get Extended & MP3Tunes
The extending of the iTunes song-sample length to 90 seconds, which was expected to be revealed during Steve Jobs‘ September 1st ‘music related’ event, was finally announced yesterday in the form of a letter from Apple to labels. The past two months Apple has been negotiating primarily with music publishers and performing rights organizations, after the NMPA previously stepped in to block the sample extension. What’s being most discussed this morning however, is the way in which Apple has handed down the new decree, which essentially tells rights holders that by simply continuing to have their music in the iTunes store they are agreeing to license “gratis mechanical rights to 90 second ‘Clips’” – with some believing the harsh message is directed more towards indie labels who are presumed to have been left out of discussions Apple had with the four major music groups…. Meanwhile, according to CNET MP3tunes.com founder Michael Robertson’s ongoing legal spat with EMI is nearing an end, the outcome of which, according to Robertson, will have major repercussions for other media companies like Apple and Google…
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Wednesday Bits & Pieces: NMPA Blocks Longer iTunes Song-Samples, Eminem’s Royalty Victory & Amazon Buys Amie St
Amazon Buys Amie Street
Among the new features that were not announced last week at Steve Jobs‘ big keynote event, was the lengthening of song sample time in the iTunes store. It was rumored that Jobs would be revealing an extended sample time from 30 seconds to 60 or 90, presumably to further entice a potential buyer. While it appears that Apple had all the necessary agreements in place with the four major label groups, it had not made any such arrangement with the publishers. When the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) caught wind of the new sample length, they notified Apple at the eleventh-hour of their legal objections, and the announcement was pulled according to CNET. Publishers don’t see any performance money from the iTunes store, and while the current 30-second sample clip is treated as “promotional,” a longer sample time would most likely result in publishers wanting to get paid… In more iTunes and publishing news, the Ninth Circuit court has ruled in favor of Eminem’s former production company FBT Productions, reversing a 2009 decision from the original lawsuit brought against Universal Music Group. The latest ruling declares that downloads through the iTunes store are in fact “licenses” and not “sales” – entitling the plaintiff to a significantly higher percentage of revenue. Though with such potential for precedent-setting in the ongoing debate over how downloads should be treated particularly for older artists with older contracts, most expect this case to remain in the legal system for awhile longer… And Amazon has purchased Amie Street, the online music store that it helped fund four years ago, and plans to shutter the service at the end of the month. Due to the unique nature of the digital retailer’s model, the service became mostly a haven for independent and unsigned artists, as negotiating with the larger labels proved difficult. While certainly a blow to many who use the service, it appears both sides are happy with the deal, and the Amie Street team will now focus on their new project, Songza, a Pandora-like music streaming service…
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In Case You Missed It: Who’s In & Who’s Out Edition
MySpace Co-Prez Jason Hirschhorn (L) leaves; Mike Jones (R) Remains
With an announcement out of London this morning, Roger Faxon is in as the new group chief executive for EMI, moving from his previous position as chairman and chief executive of EMI Music Publishing. Recently appointed non-executive chairman of the group’s recorded music division, Charles Allen, will now become an advisor to EMI and Terra Firma… MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn is out as shared head of the troubled social network, leaving Mike Jones to remove the “co” from his title… News yesterday revealed that veteran A&R executive Mark Williams is in as the new Sr. VP of A&R at Columbia Records. William’s most recently worked on M.I.A.’s new album for Interscope Records… Limewire is in for more trouble as members of the National Music Publisher’s Association including EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell filed a copyright complaint in federal court against the file-sharing service this week… And free concerts are out in NYC, as the city cracks down after the recent Drake concert fiasco…
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