According to Billboard, the Google Justice Department has decided to impose on songwriters a government order that songwriters didn’t want, has never been the business practice and will increase transaction costs on the one thing that is working well in online music licensing: blanket performance rights licenses. [The Department of Justice] is moving ahead with […]

The head of the DOJ Antitrust Division is a former Google lawyer–so DOJ ruling against songwriters on 100% licensing to Google’s benefit should come as no surprise. via Billboard: Google’s Justice Department out to Destroy PROs — Artist Rights Watch

Gary Reback, one of the top antitrust lawyers in the world, said Google’s heavy investment in lobbying the UK government through David Cameron crony Rachel Whetstone and others just saw their influence in Europe wiped out by Brexit. via Gary Reback: Google’s Ploy to Control EU through Britain Wiped Out By Brexit — Artist Rights Watch

Labels need to be coming to grips with a succession plan when YouTube negotiations fail to satisfy artist concerns–Apple and Spotify are logical choices. via The Great Artist Revolt: Are Apple Music and Spotify a Solution to a Post-YouTube Reality? — Music Tech Solutions

By The Time We Get To Woodstock…. This Tuesday, Zephyr Teachout, director of the anti-artist FFTF (Fight For The Future)’s 501c3, is running in the Democratic primary in NY’s 19th congressional district (Hudson Valley, including Woodstock) Although Teachout is running as a progressive, and is indeed progressive on many issues, the FFTF is about as […]

Right now I see no reason to think there is any likelihood that those trend lines will change direction for the frothy bubble in the markets that I think is a necessary condition for a Spotify IPO (or even a real unicorn like Uber). How long? Weeks and weeks for sure and probably months and […]

Los Van Van (Habana) “Agua”   Jono McCleery (Rotterdam) “Fire in My Hands”   Aldous RH (Manchester) “Sensuality”   Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (Hemel Hempstead) “Snake Eyes”   Christine & The Queens (Paris) “Tilted”          

The Texas Chapter of the Copyright Society is presenting “Creditors & Copyright: Secured Transactions, Bankruptcy & Related Issues” on June 30 at noon in the Jackson Walker offices. This is an important topic for artists and their representatives. via @thecsusa Texas Chapter June 30 in Austin: Creditors & Copyright Seminar — Artist Rights Watch

Labels made deals with @YouTube out of desperation. It’s pennies & whack-a-mole. How can labels renew YT deals with so much artist pressure? — Irving Azoff (@irvingazoff) June 22, 2016 Irving Azoff asks the right question of the labels that are in renegotiations with YouTube over extending their licenses–given the global unity against Google’s business practices, how can labels close […]