Exploration Weekly - ASCAP and BMI Launch SONGVIEW, Tencent Ups UMG Stake to 20%, DSPs Prep to Secure New Mechanical License Administered by The MLC

“True friends are always together in spirit.”

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

PROs ASCAP and BMI launched SONGVIEW this week, a data platform free to access by the public, providing music users with an authoritative view of copyright ownership and administration shares from both repertoires. The database breaks down ownership shares by ASCAP and BMI share percentages as well as shares listed as Other, if applicable.

French media conglomerate Vivendi announced on Friday December 18 that a consortium led by China’s Tencent will exercise its option to acquire a further 10% stake in Universal Music Group (UMG), raising the consortium’s holding to 20%. The Tencent deals put a floor valuation of EUR30 billion ($36.9 billion) on UMG.

The new blanket mechanical license established by the Music Modernization Act of 2018 will cover the use of musical works in the US by eligible digital audio services, starting January 1, 2021. Digital service providers (DSPs) are preparing to secure the license by working with two new organizations created by the MMA: The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), which is responsible for administering this new blanket license, and the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC), which is responsible for representing the digital audio services that will be operating under the new blanket license.

Music publishers have been a staple of the music industry. More recently, there has been a rise in companies and self-employed individuals who do a lot of the work as a publisher, but strictly work as administrators and are not owners of the publishing. Learn more about the role of the Publishing Administrator below in our weekly “Music Industry - 5 Mins or Less” video series!!

In this newsletter:

ASCAP and BMI Launch SONGVIEW, a Comprehensive Data Resource for Music Users
Tencent to Increase Universal Music Group Stake to 20%
A New Era: A New License for US Digital Audio Mechanicals - Digital Audio Services are Already Preparing to Secure New License Administered by The MLC
Congress Approves $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package
Spotify to Launch in South Korea in First Half of 2021

Now, the details...
Compiled by Heidi Seo

Exploration Weekly - December 25, 2020

ASCAP and BMI Launch SONGVIEW, a Comprehensive Data Resource for Music Users

Performing rights organizations ASCAP and BMI announced the launch of SONGVIEW, a comprehensive data platform that provides music users with an authoritative view of copyright ownership and administration shares in the vast majority of music licensed in the US. The information is accessible, free to the public, on both ASCAP’s and BMI's websites. For the initial launch of SONGVIEW, data was drawn from over 20 million songs in ASCAP and BMI’s combined repertoires and put through the SONGVIEW reconciliation engine. The online databases now display the breakdown of ownership shares by ASCAP share percentage, BMI share percentage, and shares listed as Other, if applicable. Additional information featured in SONGVIEW includes: Songwriters and their affiliations, Publishers, Performers, alternate song titles, ISWC and IPI codes, BMI and ASCAP song IDs (if applicable), and publisher contact information. Reconciled songs appear with a green checkmark to indicate that ASCAP and BMI agree on the information and have the same data in each of their respective systems.

Tencent to Increase Universal Music Group Stake to 20%

On Friday December 18, French media conglomerate Vivendi said that a consortium led by China’s Tencent will exercise its option to acquire a further 10% stake in Universal Music Group, raising the consortium’s holding to 20%. A Tencent-led consortium completed its deal to buy 10% of UMG in March this year. It retained an option running until January 2021 to double its stake, through a second purchase on the same valuation. The Tencent deals put a floor valuation of EUR30 billion ($36.9 billion) on UMG. According to Vivendi, it plans to sell other minority stakes in UMG and to pursue an IPO of the unit by 2022 at the latest.

A New Era: A New License for US Digital Audio Mechanicals - Digital Audio Services are Already Preparing to Secure New License Administered by The MLC

The Music Modernization Act of 2018 (MMA) established a new blanket mechanical license covering the use of musical works in the U.S. by eligible digital audio services. This license will become available starting on January 1, 2021. For most digital service providers (DSPs) operating digital audio services in the U.S. that offer interactive streaming or digital downloads to consumers, the MMA imposes several new obligations that they will be required by law to fulfill. Some of these require immediate action, while others must be completed no later than February 15, 2021. The MMA created two new organizations to help DSPs fulfill their new responsibilities: The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), which is responsible for administering this new blanket license, and the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC), which is responsible for representing the digital audio services that will be operating under the new blanket license. Both The MLC and the DLC began reaching out to DSPs months ago, to help DSPs prepare to fulfill their new legal responsibilities under the MMA.

Congress Approves $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package

Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package on Monday night, which will deliver much-needed economic aid to individuals and businesses across the country. The package includes a $15 billion aid package in line with the Save Our Stages Act, which will provide grants to live venues and independent movie theaters. The music industry hailed the bill’s passage with the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Artist Rights Alliance (ARA), Music Artists Coalition (MAC), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), Recording Academy, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), SAG-AFTRA, and Songwriters of North America (SONA) issued a joint statement which read, in part: “...these relief provisions will save lives and livelihoods, and they are a substantial step on the road to recovery.”

Spotify to Launch in South Korea in First Half of 2021

Spotify has finally officially announced that its service will be rolled out in South Korea, the world’s sixth-largest music market in the first half of 2021. The news follows a report published in The Korea Herald in March stating that the company had set up an office in Seoul at a WeWork building in the Daechi-dong area. South Korea will become Spotify’s 93rd active market.

Random Ramblings

Explore the Billboard's year-end charts.
Taylor Swift makes a record by claiming the first two spots of the Billboard Top Album Sales chart with "Evermore" and "Folklore" albums.
Spotify trends analysis.
Queen’s road to critical acclaim.
Pentatonix put their signature spin on Rodgers and Hammerstein's “My Favorite Things".

Who is Exploration?

Exploration is proud to be the company of choice to administer much of the world’s most important media. Utilizing competent staff and advanced technology, our clients are able to better control their data and collect their money.

We’re writing a free book on how the music business works. Learn more here.

The catalog metadata template offers the minimum viable data needed to collect publishing royalties. Download the .csv file here.

To see who is collecting your royalties, request a free copyright audit here!

Please feel free to reach out anytime if you have any questions or ideas!

Hope you have a great weekend!