New issue of Music & Copyright with India country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Music companies pivot toward lean strategies as part of tech transformation
The recorded-music industry has been shedding jobs at pace over the past year, and staff-cutting programs are set to be the order of the day moving into 2024. Record companies are busy rationalizing their workforces, as are music streaming companies, with Spotify leading the layoffs charge. While such reorganizations are about trimming costs, they’re also about preparing companies for a round of technical innovations that will lead to the transformation of business practices. Filesharing and streaming led to a huge amount of disruption some 20 years ago; now, it looks like music organizations are doing what they can to position themselves for a different kind of tech future.

NEWS FEATURE: Pressure mounts on European legislators to find a way to boost authors’ streaming income
The European Parliament has called for legislators to develop a set of rules to ensure that the music streaming sector is fair and sustainable, promotes cultural diversity, and protects rights holders from abuses by generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems. A resolution adopted unanimously by MEPs has called for the imbalance in revenue allocation from the music streaming market to be addressed, as the current rights distribution system leaves a majority of authors and performers with very low compensation. The resolution is insisting on a new European Union legal framework for the sector. Several industry groups responded positively to the vote. However, generating extra for authors will not be an easy process and little progress is likely to be achieved before this year’s European Parliament elections.

SECTOR ANALYSIS: The telco music bundle wanes, but partnerships with operators can still boost uptake in emerging markets
Partnerships between music streaming services and mobile operators have evolved over the years. Not so long ago, plenty of operators provided access to one of the many international music services free of charge as part of one of their subscription tiers. However, over time, bundle deals have become less generous. Few operators provide any hard bundles, with an increasing number simply promoting one or two services, while others offer billing or zero rating. The different levels of recorded-music market development worldwide have resulted in varying approaches to bundle rollouts. However, while operators in developed markets have shifted their focus to audiovisual entertainment, the usefulness of the music bundle should not be overlooked, particularly in less developed countries that are only just starting to live up to their emerging market tag.

COUNTRY REPORT: India
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed India music industry report. India is the second most populous country in the world, just behind neighboring China. The size of the population exceeded 1.4 billion for the first time in 2022, while the number of households topped the 300-million mark. However, despite such a sizable population, India’s different music industry sectors have always underperformed. Widespread music piracy has long hindered recorded-music sales, and rights collections have suffered from adverse legal rulings and a lack of licensing. The live sector has struggled with infrastructure shortcomings and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite the problems, there are real signs that the world’s biggest emerging market is living up to its billing. In the last few years, retail sales of recorded-music have been on the up, and rights collections have benefited greatly from a deal between authors’ society IPRS and Google for music use by YouTube. Moreover, live music is back on track, with ticket sales to concert tours and festivals already back to prepandemic levels.

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• Source: https://musicandcopyright.wordpress.com/2024/01/30/new-issue-of-music-copyright-with-india-country-report-7/