Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make certain you caught the 5 largest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their revenue and cut back their touring prices.
This week, the music enterprise information cycle was dominated by litigation information. The music publishers suing AI agency Anthropic for allegedly copying lyrics with out authorization responded to Anthropic’s movement to dismiss, saying the AI agency simply needs to “stall” the case “as a lot as attainable.”
In the meantime, pharma large Johnson & Johnson has been sued by Related Manufacturing Music – which claims a catalog of 1 million tracks and is co-owned by Sony and Common‘s publishing arms – for “rampant” copyright infringement in its social media promo movies.
In different courtroom information, US efficiency rights org BMI has filed a petition in a New York court docket to find out the license charges to be paid by SiriusXM, the end result of a long-running disagreement over the suitable funds to be made by the satellite tv for pc radio large.
There was additionally information this week on the M&A entrance, with MBW uncovering a USD $25-million buy of a 51% stake in an unknown firm by Ok-pop large HYBE.
In the meantime, Harmony Music Group‘s recordings division introduced the merger of Harmony Information and Fantasy Information beneath the Harmony Information model, with the entity to be run by Co-Presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) UNIVERSAL, CONCORD AND ABKCO SLAM ANTHROPIC’S MOTION TO DISMISS, SAY AI COMPANY IS TRYING TO ‘STALL’ COPYRIGHT CASE
The music publishers who sued AI developer Anthropic final yr for allegedly infringing the copyrights on tune lyrics have requested a US federal court docket to reject Anthropic’s request to dismiss a lot of the case in opposition to it.
“Anthropic’s protection of this case up to now has been to stall as a lot as attainable, mischaracterize the info alleged in publishers’ criticism… and misstate the regulation,” legal professionals for Common Music Publishing Group, Harmony Music Group and ABKCO wrote in a response to Anthropic’s movement to dismiss.
Anthropic final month filed a movement with the US District Court docket for the Northern District of California to have a big a part of the copyright infringement case in opposition to it dismissed, which, if granted, would remove three of the 4 costs introduced in opposition to it.
Anthropic requested the court docket to remove the costs of contributory infringement, vicarious infringement, and “elimination or alteration of copyright administration info,” a violation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)…
2) PHARMA GIANT JOHNSON & JOHNSON SUED FOR ALLEGED ‘RAMPANT’ COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT BY SONY AND UNIVERSAL-OWNED PRODUCTION MUSIC FIRM APM MUSIC
Pharmaceutical large Johnson & Johnson has been sued for alleged ‘rampant’ copyright infringement.
In its lawsuit, filed in a California court docket on Thursday (September 5), distinguished US manufacturing music home Related Manufacturing Music (APM) claimed that Johnson & Johnson has been utilizing its music in promotional movies posted to YouTube and Fb with out permission.
APM holds a catalog of greater than 1 million tracks. The corporate says within the lawsuit and on its web site that its catalog consists of a number of “various and in-demand manufacturing music libraries”, together with KPM Music, Bruton, Sonoton, Cezame, and Kosinus.
The corporate is collectively owned by Sony Music Publishing and Common Music Publishing Group (neither of that are named as plaintiffs within the go well with)…
3) BMI FILES RATE COURT ACTION AGAINST SIRIUSXM
US efficiency rights group BMI has filed a fee court docket motion in opposition to SiriusXM to find out what it says are “truthful and applicable charges for a license” with the satellite tv for pc radio service.
Within the petition, filed in a New York court docket on Thursday (September 12) and obtained by MBW, BMI notes that it licenses the general public efficiency rights in america of over 22.4 million songs and compositions.
The PRO explains additional that, in Might 2023, it quoted to Sirius XM “the payment and principal phrases BMI deemed affordable” for a BMI license for the interval January 1, 2022 by way of December 31, 2026.
Nevertheless, BMI and SiriusXM “have been unable to conform to closing phrases”, the submitting added…
4) HYBE BUYS 51% STAKE IN MYSTERY COMPANY FOR $25M
Based on regulatory filings, HYBE lately spent USD $25 million to amass a 51% stake in an unknown firm.
In HYBE’s semi-annual report, in a piece devoted to occasions that “occurred after the date of writing”, it was reported that the “consolidated firm entered into an settlement to amass shares of one other company for USD 25 million on August 1, 2024.”
This part of the regulatory submitting added that, “by way of this transaction, the consolidated firm’s [HYBE’s] shareholding is 51%, and it’s scheduled to be included as a subsidiary within the third quarter.”
HYBE’s swooping for a majority stake within the thriller agency follows a development of M&A offers struck by the Ok-Pop large because it expands globally and into numerous verticals aside from music…
5) CONCORD LABEL GROUP MERGES FANTASY RECORDS WITH CONCORD RECORDS; COMBINED BRAND LED BY CO-PRESIDENTS MARGI CHESKE AND MARK WILLIAMS
Harmony Label Group, the recorded music division of US-headquartered music firm Harmony, has introduced a major change to its lively label line-up.
The corporate’s Harmony Information and Fantasy Information manufacturers have been merged beneath the unified Harmony Information banner, led by Co-Presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams.
Cheske and Williams are based mostly in Los Angeles and report back to Tom Becci, who was appointed final yr to the newly created function of Harmony Label Group Chief Govt.
A brand new emblem has additionally been unveiled for the brand new iteration of the Harmony Information label…
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and cut back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide