"That guy I’m holding is named Logan. I got him recently during a trip to Nashville for the photoshoot that this picture comes from. I was on the lookout for a new guitar, and I spent a few hours at the guitar store in Nashville wandering around and playing several guitars that I got a feeling from while they were hanging on the walls. I actually passed Logan on the wall several times thinking that I just didn't really want him. But eventually, the feeling wore me down and I picked him up. It was a good fit and a good weight for the guitars I like, in addition to a really good sound and a really good feel. He didn't feel as twangy as some of the others and his tone resonates well. I took him up to the counter and was ready to purchase when they said that they would get me a new one still boxed up instead. That they didn't want to sell the floor model. I was kind of heartbroken but agreed to the boxed "new" one. As always, I opened it up to check that everything was in there and looked good. And wouldn't you know it - the boxed one had a long crack right up the back of the body of the guitar. I jumped over to the wall and grabbed Logan and said, “So yeah, I'm taking this floor model!” The clerk agreed and he was mine.

The best story may be how he got his name. Back at the hotel, I sat and played him for a few hours. Just waiting for a feeling of what his name should be, I got nothing right away. Then I took some pictures of him and when looking at the lighting I noticed that in the grain of him it looked like he has three marks coming down from the bridge to the bottom. My first thought was the Wolverine and that's when it hit me that the Wolverine was called Logan. And really he's just plain handsome.

What I would share with the online community right now is to maintain your balance. We're all gonna be in this situation for a while, so don't lose sight of your balance. Yes, work still needs to get done, but give yourself a break. If work has slowed, look for your own opportunities - especially songwriters and artists. Your publishers are still open for business. Reach out and get your data, make sure your publisher has all of your songs and that all the data is correct and send it back to them. And then balance the work with relaxation and/or creativity. Get plenty of sleep and eat. Discover the joys of Zoom happy hours with friends."

Rene Merideth, COO / Co-Founder at Exploration

It was so nice meeting those folks who popped into our open office hours this past week with inquiries like understanding YouTube Content ID and translating Spanish documents with the helpful expertise of our Spanish representative here at Exploration! For those of you who have any questions, we will continue to be available Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 12 PM PST via Google Hangouts Meet at the link here or at the phone number (US) +1 347-450-6962‬. PIN: ‪959 360 118 4047#. Come stop by and we hope to see you soon!

The 2017-2021 rates have increased from 1.7% to 1.78% of revenue after standard deductions, according to BMI and the RMLC’s rate court settlement first announced in January. Details also include the RMLC paying BMI $5 million to compensate for legal expenses accrued for the rate court litigation.

A recent report called “COVID-19: Tracking the impact on the Entertainment Landscape” by MRC Data and Nielsen Music showed that 60% of the US population are engaging with more entertainment now with 24% of those surveyed adding at least one new subscription service in the last few weeks.

YouTube is also reportedly testing out a new feature called “Chapters,” according to Android Police, which will enable viewers to see different separations by Chapter title while hovering over the scrubbing timeline in a creator’s video. If you also have the chance, we would really appreciate your honest feedback on Exploration’s Facebook page here. Please feel free to also give us a Like and Follow for more updates on your music rights!

In this newsletter:

Now, the details...
Compiled by Heidi Seo

Exploration Weekly - April 17, 2020

New BMI Radio Royalties Revealed Following RMLC Settlement

Rates for the 2017-2021 period have increased to 1.78% of revenue after standard deductions, according to details of BMI and the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC)’s rate court settlement announced in January. That’s up from the 1.7% rate the organization was getting in the previous licensing period. In 2016, the RMLC planned to implement a payment scheme on BMI and the other performance rights organizations - ASCAP, SESAC, and Global Music Rights - based on market share and holding rates for each PRO commensurate to a pro-rata share of the rate being paid to ASCAP. When the RMLC couldn’t get BMI to agree to a rate of about 1.4% of revenue for the current licensing period, it filed for litigation. In response, BMI went to court and was granted a 1.7% of revenue interim fee from the RMLC, which represents some 10,000 U.S. radio stations. The new rates are now based on a station’s revenue, with a standard deduction allowance of 12% to cover any commissions that radio has to pay out to outside agencies for landing advertising. The agreement also calls for the RMLC to pay BMI $5 million to compensate for legal expenses for the rate court litigation.

Consumers Willing to Pay More for Streaming During Pandemic, Nielsen Music/MRC Data Finds

MRC Data and Nielsen Music found that 60% of the US population are engaging with more entertainment now that so many people are working from home. The results came from their latest report, “COVID-19: Tracking the impact on the Entertainment Landscape”. In addition, 24% of those surveyed added at least one new subscription service in the last few weeks: 81% added video, 38% added music, and 14% added games. The findings were compiled from surveys taken from a 945-person sample representative of the US population, with data being collected from March 25 through March 29. The study then looked at the sample group’s activity for the prior two-week period, which would date it back to approximately March 12 when the US economy shutdown kickstarted.

YouTube Testing “Chapters” Feature to Help Users Better Navigate Lengthy Videos

YouTube is reportedly testing out a new feature called Chapters, according to Android Police, that allows viewers to see different separations along the scrubbing timeline. Hovering over one reveals the name of that Chapter, which are taken from those provided by creators in their description boxes. The feature seeks to make lengthy videos easier to navigate and are slightly different from timestamps that can be added in video description boxes and comments sections.

Spotify Signs Licensing Deal with Indian Company Shemaroo

Spotify recently signed a licensing deal with Indian company Shemaroo, further bolstering the streaming service’s catalog of Indian music. As a result, more than 25,000 tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog, just over a year after it launched in India. Shemaroo’s decision also comes from a wider streaming push. The company signed a licensing deal with Bytedance’s new Resso streaming service last month, too. Shemaroo’s flagship YouTube channel has also been growing, currently counting up to 34.6 million subscribers, the fourth biggest in India, according to industry site Radio and Music.

What Can the Music Industry Learn from the Biggest YouTube Channels?

Music Ally digs into Social Blade’s top YouTube channels in eight different categories to see where their success has come from and what music could learn from them. The rankings are measured from a channel’s influence based on metrics, including average view counts.

Is Liberty Media Too Powerful? Artist, Consumer Groups Oppose iHeartMedia Acquisition

Concerned artist and consumer-rights organizations - including the Artist Rights Alliance, Open Markets, Public Citizen, and the Center for Digital Democracy - wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in an open letter to voice their disapproval and criticism of the potential Liberty Media-iHeartMedia acquisition deal. Specifically written to Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, the letter took issue with Liberty’s controlling stake in SIriusXM (71%), its 33% ownership of Live Nation (through common stock), and the immense popularity of iHeartMedia as “the single biggest AM/FM radio broadcaster” with approximately 275 million monthly listeners. Furthermore, the critique continued by saying the deal “will almost certainly mean fewer options, less diversity, and higher prices” for listeners and additional career difficulties for musicians. That includes a higher barrier to receiving radio plays and negotiating fair royalty rates.

Random Ramblings

  • How to understand music copyright law.
  • The essential elements of music.
  • Drake earns a new milestone as the first male artist to have debuted three songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
  • Green Day breaks record for longest span of Alternative Songs No. 1s With “Oh Yeah!”.
  • Andrea Bocelli scores the largest simultaneous audience for a classical live stream on YouTube with “Music For Hope”.

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!

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