What is a Mechanical License?

For over a century now, American copyright law has worked to create and maintain a system that ensures copyright owners are compensated for the use of their intellectual properties. At the same time, the system also works to provide the maximum availability of compositions to individuals that may wish to recreate and distribute them. Artists and producers have been reproducing compositions since the beginning of the music business. Obtaining the rights to create these physical reproductions is referred to as mechanical licensing.

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In this newsletter:

NetEase Cloud Music, China’s second-biggest music streaming provider, said it counted over 611,000 registered independent artists as of the end of December, 2022, a growth of over 160,000 registrations since last March.

The musicFIRST organization in the US has welcomed renewed support for the American Music Fairness Act from six organizations representing community radio groups in the US.

The public performance licensing joint venture from PPL and PRS for Music, PPL PRS Ltd, celebrates its fifth anniversary with a report of £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in public performance revenues distributed since its launch in 2018.

Now, the details...

Exploration Weekly - March 3, 2023
Compiled by Ana Berberana

Netease Cloud Music Now Counts over 611,000 registered independent artists

Netease Cloud Music (NMC) says that it counted more than 611,000 registered independent artists as of the end of December, 2022, and that its content library includes approximately 2.6 million music tracks generated by its registered independent artists. This number was confirmed by NetEase CFO Charles Yang on the company’s earnings call on Thursday, who also told analysts that NCM’s “in-house music studios also made solid progress, popularizing a batch of hit songs,” in 2022.

Music industry welcomes renewed support from US community radio groups for proposed new royalty

Spotify announced a new listening feature that incorporates artificial intelligence technology on Wednesday (Feb. 22). Instead of clicking through an editorial playlist like Today’s Top Hits or an algorithmic one like Discovery Weekly, premium users in the United States and Canada can now turn to “DJ,” which supplements algorithmic recommendations with commentary about the selections delivered via an AI voice platform.

PPL and PRS for Music Joint Venture Hits $1.2 Billion After Just Five Years

The public performance licensing joint venture from PPL and PRS for Music, PPL PRS Ltd, celebrates its fifth anniversary with a report of £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in public performance revenues distributed since its launch in 2018. “The launch of PPL PRS Ltd in 2018 was a landmark moment for the music industry, after 84 years of PPL and PRS for Music independently licensing the public use of music across the UK,” says PPL Chief Executive Peter Leathem OBE. “Five years on, both music users and music creators are now reaping the benefits. Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the joint venture has facilitated the distribution of more than £1 billion in royalties to performers, songwriters, publishers, and recording rightsholders.”

Spotify has lost its heart… it’s all about the Plus button now

The heart icon has a long history as the way to like things on social media and streaming services, but now Spotify is retiring it. Well, consolidating it to be specific. “Starting today, we’re consolidating the Heart icon and the “Add to playlist” icon into a single symbol: the Plus (+) button,” explained the company. “When you hit Plus (+), you’ll be able to save and choose the destination for any song, playlist, or podcast with a simple tap.” It’s a small user interface tweak, but Spotify says it could be a significant one, with its research having showed that it makes saving songs and podcasts easier – and that “saving songs and podcasts makes users more likely to listen to them again”.

PopArabia sues Anghami over allegedly unlicensed songs

Streaming service Anghami – a key player in the Middle East and North Africa region – has been sued by PopArabia and its partner Reservoir Media for allegedly streaming songs without licence. The lawsuit was seemingly filed late last year with the courts in Abu Dhabi – where both Anghami and PopArabia are based. The lawsuit identifies twelve specific tracks being streamed by Anghami where PopArabia and Reservoir have an interest in the song rights and which, they claim, have not been properly licensed by the streaming service.

Random Ramblings

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  • The Weeknd earns a new Spotify milestone.
  • Billboard Explains: The origins of Hip-hop.
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  • Track-by-track breakdown of "Fireflies" with Adam Young of Owl City.

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