Collectivisation or fragmentation and fair negotiations?
While music publishing rights licensing remains fractured, a few key services are growing increasingly important, raising the issue of fairness and transparency in negotiations between rightsholders and services. Is there a risk of rightsholders being played off against each other and might additional safeguards be needed to ensure fair negotiations? How do we ensure fair treatment of writers and other rightsholders and avoid an inequality of available information and bargaining power in licensing negotiations
Peter Mason, Solicitor, Russells, previously with PPL
3. Music Publishing Licensors for
Interactive Audio Services
(Sony / ATV / EMI)
(via DEAL / SACEM)
(via PEDL / PRS)
(BMG)
(Kobalt)
…. And many
more….
4. The Interactive Audio Services Market
– IFPI Digital Music Report 2011
• 3 Downloads
• 7digital
• AmazonMP3
• Babelgum
• Beatport
• Bleep
• Boomkat
• Breakbeat.co.uk
• BT Vision
• Classical.com
• Classical Archives
• Classics Online
• Coolroom
• Deezer
• DJ Download
• eMusic
• Fairsharemusic
• Historic Recordings
• HMV Digital
• iLike
• Indie Mobile
• Indmill
• iTunes
• Jamster
• Joost
• Juno
• last.fm
• Mewbox (Android)
• mFlow
• MTV
• Music Anywhere
• Music For Life (Talk Talk)
• MusicStation
• Music Unlimited
powered by Qriocity
• Musicovery
• Muzu.tv
• MySpace
• Napster
• Naxos Music Library
• Nectar Music Store
• Ooizit
• Orange Music Store
• Orange Monkey
• Ovi Comes With Music
• Ovi Music Store
• Partymob
• Passionato
• Play Digital
• Recordstore
• Spotify
• Tesco Downloads
• Textatrack UK
• The Classical Shop
• T-Mobile UK
• Track It Down
• Traxsource
• TuneTribe
• Tunited
• Vidzone (PS3 only)
• Virgin Media Music
• Vodafone
• We7
• Yahoo Music
• YouTube
• Zune
5. The Interactive Audio Services Market
– IFPI Digital Music Report 2011
• 3 Downloads
• 7digital
• AmazonMP3
• Babelgum
• Beatport
• Bleep
• Boomkat
• Breakbeat.co.uk
• BT Vision
• Classical.com
• Classical Archives
• Classics Online
• Coolroom
• Deezer
• DJ Download
• eMusic
• Fairsharemusic
• Historic Recordings
• HMV Digital
• iLike
• Indie Mobile
• Indmill
• iTunes
• Jamster
• Joost
• Juno
• last.fm
• Mewbox (Android)
• mFlow
• MTV
• Music Anywhere
• Music For Life (Talk Talk)
• MusicStation
• Music Unlimited
powered by Qriocity
• Musicovery
• Muzu.tv
• MySpace
• Napster
• Naxos Music Library
• Nectar Music Store
• Ooizit
• Orange Music Store
• Orange Monkey
• Ovi Comes With Music
• Ovi Music Store
• Partymob
• Passionato
• Play Digital
• Recordstore
• Spotify
• Tesco Downloads
• Textatrack UK
• The Classical Shop
• T-Mobile UK
• Track It Down
• Traxsource
• TuneTribe
• Tunited
• Vidzone (PS3 only)
• Virgin Media Music
• Vodafone
• We7
• Yahoo Music
• YouTube
• Zune
6. The Interactive Audio Services Market
– Number of Paying Subscribers on the
Big Players
Month Apple Music Spotify
June 2017 28 million 57 million
July 2017 - 60 million
September 2017 30 million 65 million
January 2018 - 70 million
February 2018 38 million 71 million
April 2018 40 million -
June 2018 42 million 83 million
Source: Statista.com and Apple and Spotify public announcements
7. What are the services going to do with
all that power?
• Daniel Ek, Spotify: "The long-term success metrics for
this platform is growing the number of creators on our
platform, growing the number of creators using our
promotion, marketing and career-management tools,
and the number of artists and labels paying us to use
those tools and services."
• Hiring TV executives (e.g. Dawn Ostroff)
• Direct deals with artists
• Enabling direct uploads
• Use of “fake artists”
8. Complexity of Licensing Deals
• Advance
• Revenue share
• Minima per subscriber
• Minima per stream
• Discounts for array of bundles and subscriber
types
9. Controls on the licensing process? –
Comparison to Collecting Societies
• Complaints and alternative dispute resolution
procedures
• Transparency Obligations
– Per rightholder
– Per rights type
– In aggregate
• Good faith negotiation
• Provide necessary information
• Obligation to offer standard licences to all similar
persons
• Fees subject to a court or tribunal