Fair MusE project’s Post

I had the pleasure of attending Luminate's midyear report presentation, last week (a link to the full report is below). As part of the presentation the ever insightful Will Page presented his case for 'Completion' as a solution on how streaming could be reported and paid to artists, the basis being that artists should be better compensated if their songs are streamed in their entirety. It is unlikely that there will ever be the 'perfect' solution to how streaming royalties are reported and distributed. The pro-rata model has been in place for years and in recent times 'artist-centric' and 'user-centric' models have been touted as alternatives. Currently a track only needs to be played for 30 seconds to qualify for a "play" and has the same weighting as a 7 minute track played in it's entirety. This completion model would remove that disparity with fairer compensation for artists whose tracks are played for longer and through to completion, which I feel makes total sense. One of the other key points that Will makes is that this could be implemented within the current confines and structures within the streaming eco-system with no major or costly changes required to the process. I for one look forward to see how the industry reacts to this proposal. https://lnkd.in/egSF6j8e https://lnkd.in/e5b8-5VF)

Transparency, diversity, AI, sustainability, and fairness. These are some of the points addressed by the European Parliament as part of its discussion and vote for a legal framework that will change the music streaming royalty system. Find out more about the EU verdict in our new article! Martina Avramova #iMusician #EU #musicindustry #eulaw #musicstreaming #streamingplatforms

What started out as a state-of-the-art review has now become a comprehensive report. Don’t forget to check out the state of #music #recommendersystems, #playlists, and algorithmic #fairness before the year ends!

Orfium, a tech company that ensures #artists and #rightsholders receive their due #royalties from user-generated content (#UGC) and broadcast platforms, has partnered with Japanese record label Pony Canyon. The partnership will use Orfium's AI-based matching #technology to track the use of Pony Canyon's music catalog on YouTube. The goal is to maximize revenue for the #label and its artists, ensuring the financial benefits from their music's use #online are fully realized. Pony Canyon, an anime and music production firm in #Japan, has a roster of prominent artists, including Official Hige Dandism. Orfium has expanded its presence beyond Japan, establishing Pony Canyon USA in 2015 and partnering with China-based NetEase Cloud Music in late 2022. This deal marks Orfium's fourth major agreement in #Asia over the past six months, following successful partnerships with Avex, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., Warner Music Japan, #JASRAC and #BROMIS. Orfium CEO Rob Wells said the deal marks further progress in providing technology infrastructure for the global #entertainment industry. Alan Swarts, CEO of Orfium Japan, emphasized the importance of having a global #solution to ensure creators benefit from the popularity of anime and #Japanesemusic.

UMG's CEO Lucian Grainge says they're "creating the blueprint for the labels of the future.” by “growing the pie for all artists, by strengthening the artist-fan relationship through superfan experiences and products.” Afrobeats artists have some of the biggest and most dedicated fanbases in the world and I'd love to see them take on this approach of being intentional about building superfan experiences, especially on the continent. Already so many artists here disrespect fans by being late (if even showing up at all) for events and doing the bare minimum. but in 2024 when the stakes grow higher they'd have to step up. Gaming and WEB3 are easy callouts for advanced markets with strong internet penetration but for smaller markets like in Africa, the key IMO will be to tap into existing fandoms. You can read Grainge's New Year's Memo here: https://lnkd.in/dE-_7MzA

Udio (and Suno) have offically responded to the RIAA lawsuit. Here's my bullet point summary for Udio's response: 👉 Udio denies all allegations of CR infringement. 👉 Udio says its outputs don't infringe on copyrights and the fact that RIAA didn't accuse them of such proves their "fair use" defense. 👉 Udio claims their model does not store existing recordings but analyzes musical styles (and that copying/learning musical styles isn't CR infringement). 👉 Udio's offline (not public facing) copying of CR content is fair use as established by the Authors vs. Google case and others. We'll see how this all plays out, but again I'm just glad there's some forward movement on this issue. Some legal clarity would really help the industry figure out how to move forward with this new technology 🙏 You can read the Udio response in full here: https://lnkd.in/gjtMxE5t

As an independent musician, you are tasked with wearing many hats. From master producer to marketing expert, there’s a lot to learn. Among these, there are many topics creatives tend to overlook. Luckily for you, we've got all the info you need. ;) From online marketing and streaming ideas to how-to’s on licensing and more, here are 6 topics you should sharpen up on as an artist…

We’re working with our partners — artist distributors, independent labels, major labels, label distributors, and artists and their teams — to introduce new policies to (1) further deter artificial streaming, (2) better distribute small payments that aren’t reaching artists, and (3) rein in those attempting to game the system with noise. While each of these issues only impacts a small percentage of total streams, addressing them now means that we can drive approximately an additional $1 billion in revenue toward emerging and professional artists over the next five years. https://lnkd.in/d-wkdRbb

Check this list of independent artist friendly music service companies, curated by ladidai

I feel like people aren't taking the introduction of Stems on the MPC seriously. This is the end of sampling as we know it – the art of digging for records to find the perfect drum break, sample snippet and rare acapella is over. As is the art of chopping those samples to create something new from some old using only a few seconds of the perfect audio, an art that often defines one producer from the next. Now, everything is fair game – every drum beat, every acapella, every bassline is yours to play with. Of course, it's very exciting and it will lead to a new form of creativity. But it's the death knell of what the MPC itself became famous for and what many producers mastered over the years – finding beauty in limitation. With over 100 million tracks on streaming services and four stems per track, there are now at least 400 million options for producers to choose from. I expect we'll see new genres, new sounds and new lawsuits, but it's a huge story that feels like it's going under the radar. Not to mention the complexity it introduces for labels and rightsholders to track what samples are being used. BRB, off to get an MPC. https://lnkd.in/encv2gYV