Music Law

Home

Music Law

A Crash Course In Music Licensing

October 22, 2012

The following lesson in Licensing 101 comes from Soundreef, a European upstart focused on background music monitoring and collections. Soundreef ultimately wants to replace entrenched performance rights organi... Read More...

Copyright: It’s Corroding Musical Creativity In America…

Paul Resnikoff

October 21, 2012

Throughout American history, the duration of copyright has gotten longer and longer. The Copyright Act of 1790, which was a copy of the UK's Statute of Anne, granted fourteen years of protection. Fast-forward t... Read More...

More Than 10,000 Radio Stations Are Now Taking Legal Action to Lower Their Royalties

Paul Resnikoff

October 17, 2012

Pandora isn't the only one trying to reduce its payments to musicians and songwriters. Right now, in a federal courtroom in Philadelphia, a consortium of more than 10,000 traditional radio broadcasters is taki... Read More...

Breaking: Universal Music Licensing eMusic; Action Starts November

Paul Resnikoff

October 12, 2012

Universal Music Group has now licensed a substantial portion of its catalog to eMusic, according to details shared with Digital Music News early this morning. The track count is roughly 250,000, specific to ... Read More...

A Plea to End Internet Radio Discrimination, from the Founder of Pandora…

Paul Resnikoff

September 21, 2012

The following plea comes from Pandora founder Tim Westergren, who is now appealing to listeners to help protect not only his company, but internet radio as well. This was posted on the Pandora website ahead of ... Read More...

Indie Label Century Media Is Now Suing Thousands of File-Swapping Fans…

Paul Resnikoff

September 18, 2012

We've seen something similar in Hollywood, particularly when indie studio Voltage Pictures doggedly pursued downloaders of The Hurt Locker. In music, 'suing fans,' whether you agree with the practice or not, h... Read More...

Judas Priest Is Now Considering Legal Action Against The Gap…

Paul Resnikoff

September 11, 2012

Tellingly, we couldn't find the offending t-shirt on the Gap website, for good reason. And after weeks of comparison and debate, Judas Priest is edging closer to taking legal action against the retailer. The ... Read More...

Turntable.fm Is Now Being Forced to Remove Tracks…

Paul Resnikoff

September 7, 2012

This couldn't come at a worse time, especially for a company struggling against sagging traffic levels and fleeting buzz. But Turntable.fm is now being forced to remove tracks from DJ queues, based on - you gue... Read More...

I’m Here to Defend My Book, ‘The Beatles: Extraordinary Plagiarists…’

Paul Resnikoff

August 30, 2012

If you have the balls to write a book like The Beatles: Extraordinary Plagiarists, then you probably also have the balls to defend it. Last week, author Edgar O. Cruz battled a litany of attacks - often person... Read More...

The Battle Against Piracy, circa 1906

Paul Resnikoff

August 28, 2012

"You may be too young to remember this, but..." It turns out content 'piracy' has been a battleground for centuries. And many of the prophylactic solutions remain the same. Here's one an ad for protective co... Read More...

Good News: The FBI Has Classified Your Fanbase As a Violent Gang…

Paul Resnikoff

August 13, 2012

Show me a band that thinks it's 'all about the music,' and I'll show you a band with 14 listens on Spotify. It's just never that simple; the notes and lyrics rarely exist in isolation. "It's all about the mus... Read More...

Fallen Entrepreneur: “It’s Actually Impossible to Run a Fully Legal Music Service

Paul Resnikoff

July 10, 2012

It's quite a statement, but one backed by reality. Because underneath the 'legitimate' iTunes success story, there lie billions of stolen MP3s and otherwise unpaid collections that powered the success of the i... Read More...

Here’s How a Volume-Based Sync Licensing Approach Helped These Musicians Score a VRBO Placement

Sync Licensing Is Evolving — Now There’s a Comprehensive Analysis of the Music Industry’s Most Exciting Segment

How Sync Licensing Helped Musicians Thrive When Live Music Was Paused

Kate Bush Thanks Stranger Things Fans for Giving ‘Running Up That Hill’ a New Lease on Life

Here’s How Apple Has Dominated Sync Licensing for Two Decades Running

The Methodology Behind Great Sync: A Breakdown for Brands, Content Creators and Supervisors

Developing Trends in the Music Sync Space — A Worldwide Conversation With Leading Female Music Supervisors

Meet the Artist Who Is Literally Saving His Fans' Lives — Our Latest Podcast

Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music Are Only Getting Bigger — Which Is Great News for Niche Streaming Platforms

How to Game the Billboard Charts (And Why You Shouldn’t)

Stop Chasing Playlists and Start Building a Music Career — Our Latest Podcast

‘Bone Conduction’ Headphones Don’t Go Over Your Ears — But Still Transmit Sound to Your Inner Cochlea

Now That the Music Modernization Act Has Passed, Who’s Gonna Run the Damn Thing?

Investing In Music Catalogs? It Ain’t All Daisies & Butterflies — Our Latest Podcast

New Ruling Issued in Michael Jackson ‘Fake Songs’ Lawsuit Following Settlement Agreement

Post Malone Attorneys Accuse Plaintiff of Concealing and Modifying ‘Critical Texts’ in ‘Circles’ Copyright Infringement Battle

SiriusXM Is Now Compelling Spoken-Word Creators to Waive The ‘Rights to All Underlying Comedy Routines’

A2IM Partners with Cosynd to Make Copyright Protection a Priority for Independent Music

YouTuber Latasha Kebe Appeals Multi-Million Dollar Cardi B Defamation Suit

A Crash Course In Music Licensing

Copyright: It’s Corroding Musical Creativity In America…

More Than 10,000 Radio Stations Are Now Taking Legal Action to Lower Their Royalties

Breaking: Universal Music Licensing eMusic; Action Starts November

A Plea to End Internet Radio Discrimination, from the Founder of Pandora…

Indie Label Century Media Is Now Suing Thousands of File-Swapping Fans…

Judas Priest Is Now Considering Legal Action Against The Gap…

Turntable.fm Is Now Being Forced to Remove Tracks…

I’m Here to Defend My Book, ‘The Beatles: Extraordinary Plagiarists…’

The Battle Against Piracy, circa 1906

Good News: The FBI Has Classified Your Fanbase As a Violent Gang…

Fallen Entrepreneur: “It’s Actually Impossible to Run a Fully Legal Music Service