By Dwight Brown
Spring forward. Get ahead.
The publishing industry is becoming an investment goldmine. Artists who applied to a songwriting competition TV show get a wakeup call. A Berklee professor sues Spotify, while Spotify settles with NMPA. A hot debate over the length of copyright terms erupts.
There’s a lot going on for songwriters.
Michael Jackson’s estate scores $750m payday through publishing.
“An important, unrealized asset in this business is music publishing,” says Paul Young, a music industry studies professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music. “You’re giving permission to use a song … to a radio station, film company, TV company. Transactions that are far less threatened by music’s digital revolution.” His remarks are quoted in Marketplace.org’s article “Why Music Publishing is Still Lucrative,” which highlights the $750m mega deal Michael Jackson’s estate scored for selling its 50% share of Sony/ATV.
The Guardian breaks down impressive numbers for a company that owns the publishing rights to some works by The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga:
1985: Jackson buys ATV Music for $41.5m ($11m cash investment).
1991: Jackson sells 50% stake in ATV to Sony for $100m.
2016: Jackson estate’s sells 50% share of Sony/ATV to Sony for $750m.
Publishing gave Jackson, posthumously, his most massive payday ever. Way bigger than Thriller. And Billboard is quick to point out that the lifetime earnings from the original deal are closer to 1.31b, when annual dividends and other fees are included. Making Jackson’s song “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” sound prophetic.
Controversy regarding Songland TV show stresses songwriter rights.
March 20, 2015, Billboard ran an article spotlighting a new NBC show for songwriters called Songland, that would be produced by Dave Stewart, Audrey Morrissey (The Voice EP) and Adam Levine (The Voice coach). “While artists make money on songs that they record, songwriters have multiple avenues and points at which they can generate hefty revenue from their works.”
In March 2016, Hypebot featured a guest post by entertainment attorney/blogger Wallace E.J. Collins III Esq., in which he delved into onerous details on the Songland Submission Form.
Key areas of concern:
- NBC owns all rights to use and exploit all songs involved in show. Songwriters lose rights to songs that weren’t even selected.
- Songwriters waive rights to royalties and rights to sue.
Wallace, never assuming malicious intention, still made clear points:
- Most songwriters make their life’s savings off just a few big hits and giving away their best work for free is extreme.
- Writers should read all of the language in any agreements and decide if the risk is worth the reward.
Shortly, Billboard relayed an exclusive from NBC which stated that the language on the submission form had been changed to alleviate writers’ concerns. Morrissey clarified, “We wish to be abundantly clear that by signing the casting application, songwriters do not transfer ownership of any of their original songs. This show is truly a celebration of songwriters and their craft.” Problem solved and several lessons learned.
Berklee Prof. sues Spotify. Spotify settles with NMPA. Now what?
Billboard notes that singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick (an associate professor at the Berklee College of Music) and the law firm Gradstein & Marzano filed a class-action suit against Spotify. “They’ve infringed on 127 of my copyrights. Infringe-now-and-pay-later cannot become the norm,” says Ferrick. Her lawsuit follows one by Cracker frontman David Lowery. Both are complicated by a recent settlement…
The National Music Publishing Association (NMPA) announced its $30m settlement between Spotify and its members over over unlicensed and unpaid mechanical royalties due to publishers and songwriters. Billboard.com reports the agreement covers the period between Spotify’s inception through June 30, 2017. This settlement, together with the pending class action suits, serves to highlight the absence of (and real need for) a centralized and reliable database covering all music rights. In the wake of these legal actions, several companies have come forward with proposed solutions to this problem.
To reduce or not to reduce Copyright Terms? That is the question.
In a guest post on Hypebot Stephen Carlisle, of Nova Southeastern University, contemplates the possible demise of the current copyright term: Life plus 70 years after death for a human author, or 95 years for a corporate author. Post 70/95 years, a song enters public domain and is available for anyone’s use—free.
The rationale for supporting shorter terms:
- If copyrights are in public domain earlier, the public benefits.
- A copyright length of 14 years is close to that in the first copyright law.
- Protection offers negligible incentives to authors.
Carlisle counters with reasons for the longer copyright terms:
- The Berne Convention, signed by U.S. and 170 nations, commits to a minimum copyright term of ‘life of the author plus 50 years.’
- Terms begin upon death and a 14-year term cheats heirs out of viable income from songwriters who die young. (E.g. Kurt Cobain died at 27.)
- The 5th Amendment to the Constitution states that “…private property [cannot] be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Shortening copyright terms may not be such an easy feat, all things considered.
It’s now common knowledge: Publishing is a really, really smart investment. Writers should read agreements carefully before signing. The fight for proper compensation for songwriting is a work in progress. Copyright terms make a big difference.
This spring is a great time to have TuneCore Music Publishing Administration in your corner, and remember with TuneCore, songwriters always retain 100% of their songs’ rights.
SOUND BYTES
- Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees: Elvis Costello, Marvin Gaye, Tom Petty, Bernard Edwards.
- 9 things for artists to check after getting a streaming royalty statement.
- U.K. government explains imminent new rules for collection societies.
- SoundExchange debuts search tool for song codes Meta Data IDs.