Writer's Strike Ends, Actor's Strike Continues, Ed Sheeran, The MLC, NIL and more in Episode 161-Entertainment Law Update Podcast
Entertainment Law Update Episode 160 – August/September 2023
In April 2024, Spotify announced a price increase for its ad-free premium subscription plan. This is the second price increase in 10 months and will go into effect in the United States later this year. According to Spotify,...more
In today’s digital economy, exactly how are musicians, songwriters, and other music industry players paid? And what impact will emerging technologies have on those payment streams? In this episode, Hillel Frankel hosts a...more
The Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, or Music Modernization Act (“MMA”), signed into law on October 11, 2018, has transformed the music streaming industry in the years since its implementation. The...more
After almost five years of litigation, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran pulled out all the stops (and his guitar) to obtain victory over claims his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” infringed on the copyrights held by the...more
For the first time since 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America is reporting that the United States retail music market is on its way to becoming a $10 billion market. Streaming royalties account for a majority...more
On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law resulting in one of the most significant legislative changes to the copyright law in the last 50 years. The bipartisan legislation, which was written...more
U.S. Copyright Office Approves Mechanical Licensing Collective - There is a new federally appointed team in charge of licensing music to digital services which will result in payments to songwriters. The U.S. Copyright...more
In our previous posts in our Music Law 101 series, we have covered the basics of copyright law, including the scope of copyright protection, copyright ownership, the exclusive rights of copyright, the duration of copyright...more
On October 11, 2018, the President signed the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (H.R. 1551). After years of calls for reform to music licensing by virtually all interests in the music industry, the MMA...more
Embedded in the Music Modernization Act signed into law in 2018 was a provision that extended most federal copyright protections to pre-1972 sound recordings. Prior to the enactment of the MMA, sound recordings made prior to...more
On March 13, 2019, the Copyright Royalty Judges issued regulations regarding the procedures for determination and allocation of assessments to fund the mechanical licensing collective and other amendments required by the MMA....more
The recently enacted Music Modernization Act (MMA) dramatically modernizes licensing in the digital age and attempts to fill gaps in the copyright landscape. The Act encompasses not only the MMA itself but, as well, the...more
Over the years, tastes have shifted from bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin to more electronically-produced sounds. But no matter your opinion of Justin Bieber’s or Lady Gaga’s artistic chops, there’s no doubt music –...more
The Hatch-Goodlatte Music Modernization Act was signed into law on October 11, 2018. The act has been termed a music industry peace treaty of sorts, as it is designed to address years of issues and compromise between music...more
Tis’ the season for music copyright law! On October 11, 2018, new legislation was passed that set the stage for major updates to copyright law for music licensing and royalty payments in the digital age. The Orrin G....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for a rehearing en banc, refusing to reconsider its decision that digitally remastered pre-1972 sound recordings are not new copyrighted songs. ABS...more
On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed into law the long-anticipated Music Modernization Act (“MMA”), legislation focused on shepherding the existing music licensing system into the digital age. Among the highlights,...more
The music business is financially stronger than it has been in several years, thanks to streaming, which now makes up 75% of the industry’s revenues in the United States. Revenues from streaming in the first half of 2018 grew...more
Met with widespread support, the Music Modernization Act was signed into law on October 11, 2018. The Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) largely came about as a reaction to music streaming services’ domination of the music...more
On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (the “MMA”). The MMA was unanimously approved in both chambers of Congress before the President’s signature and marks the...more
On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) was signed into law. A product of unanimous, bipartisan support in both houses, the MMA, as its name suggests, reflects the efforts of Congress to modernize the legal...more
Last week, President Trump signed into law the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. The Act modifies existing law under the Copyright Act, and largely affects only those who deliver digital music content or...more
The Copyright Law of the United States (the Copyright Law) has been in need of significant revisions to reflect the importance of digital delivery and consumption of music since the turn of the century. Indeed, digital...more
On October 11, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (“the Act”), which will significantly modernize copyright law to account for the digital delivery of...more
On October 11, 2018, President Trump signed the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) into law. The MMA is intended to “modernize copyright law” as applied to songwriters, music publishers, digital...more