Future of Music Coalition

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Future of Music Coalition is a national nonprofit organization that works to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want. More

FMC on Twitter

Our factsheet on the topic is here. https://t.co/nJn4ekJ9Oy

14 hours 45 min ago
Because the FAA hasn't created or implemented its final draft regulations, they can't enforce the new law & airlines can do as they wish.

14 hours 46 min ago
A blog that went viral last year suggested that you could show a copy of the law to gate agents and they would have to comply. Not true.

14 hours 47 min ago
.@deertickmusic weren't allowed to board a plane with a guitar because FAA hasn't yet implemented carry-on rules. http://t.co/59iC03NS4q

14 hours 49 min ago
@deertickmusic So bummed to hear about your airline troubles. Unfortunately the FAA hasn't implemented the rules yet http://t.co/BQN2a5T5QC

14 hours 54 min ago
RT @allyschweitzer: "[Americans] value musicians the same way we value jalapeño poppers.” Q&A w/ Ed Schrader's Music Beat: http://t.co/9gjb…

15 hours 37 min ago
Five things @alyankovic can teach us: http://t.co/inPF5GERym

16 hours 10 min ago
DC: Who's going to Fort Reno tonight? It's Night of 1000 Cakes!

16 hours 12 min ago
.@Soundcloud isn't giving Universal "back door access", but there are still important questions to be asked. http://t.co/LlLpQAPQtv

20 hours 3 min ago
David Byrne's raising similar concerns to ours about big publishers pulling out of PROs. http://t.co/rdMpQaqFDV

20 hours 50 min ago

FutureBlog

5 Things "Weird Al" Yankovic Can Teach Us About The Music Biz

by Kevin Erickson, Communications Associate

Last week, beloved musical humorist “Weird Al” Yankovic dropped his new album Mandatory Fun. Propelled by a set of eight viral videos, it quickly rose to the top spot on the Billboard charts, his first ever #1, with over 104,000 album sales. Al recently told the New York Times, “I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh, I’m on the bleeding edge of marketing, this is going to be a business model that will change the world.” But as a longtime (possibly obssessive?) fan of Al, I’d suggest there’s still a few things we can learn from him. read more

Copyright Hearing Recap: Music Licensing Pt. 2

by Juan Carlos Melendez-Torres, FMC Policy Intern

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet held its second hearing on music licensing on June 25, welcoming input from a variety of interest groups and organizations as a continuation of the ongoing reexamination of our country’s copyright system. You can find our coverage of the prior hearing here.

Nine witnesses testified before the committee, offering opinions that varied in focus but all highlighted major areas of potential reform. Witnesses for this hearing included singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash representing the Americana Music Association, Cary Sherman (CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA), Charles Warfield on behalf of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Darius Van Arman on behalf of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Ed Christian of the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC), Paul Williams as President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Chris Harrison of Pandora, President of SoundExchange Michael Huppe, and David Frear, CFO of Sirius XM.

By Griffin Davis, Communications Intern

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that streaming music host SoundCloud was close to finalizing licensing deals with the three major labels. The deals would reportedly grant each label an ownership stake in SoundCloud of 3-5 percent in exchange for their agreement not to sue over copyright infringement on SoundCloud. Meanwhile, a mini-controversy has erupted over Soundcloud’s implementation of its copyright enforcement procedures, making it important to separate fact from fiction.

You may have heard that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating potential anticompetitive behavior by major music publishers and Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), which collect and distribute royalties to songwriters and publishers for the performance of musical compositions. These “blanket licenses” are made possible by DOJ consent decrees and cover all forms of broadcast as well as concert venues or other establishments that publicly perform music (think bars or restaurants).

Make no mistake, PROs are crucially important to songwriters. They provide leverage to artists who wouldn’t otherwise have it in rate negotiations with music services; they pay their songwriter members directly under fair splits (50-50 between artist and publisher); and they allow music to be efficiently licensed to AM/FM, Internet and satellite radio, which means listeners have more opportunities to hear music, and songwriters have more opportunities to get paid.

By FMC Policy Fellow Jordan Reth

The US House of Representatives continued its review of existing copyright law yesterday with the Subcomittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet hearing on “Moral Rights, Termination Rights, Resale Royalty, and Copyright Term.” read more

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Artists in Conversation with Bob Boilen

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Featured Articles

House Copyright Review Timeline

Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, The Internet, & Intellectual Property

Jul 20, 2014

FMC Remarks at the International Copyright Institute Symposium

Event hosted by the United States Copyright Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization

May 13, 2014

FMC Keynote Address at Minnesota Music Summit

Interim Executive Director Casey Rae Speaks to MN Musicians and Composers

Mar 10, 2014

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FMC on Twitter

FutureBlog

5 Things "Weird Al" Yankovic Can Teach Us About The Music Biz

Copyright Hearing Recap: Music Licensing Pt. 2

Understanding SoundCloud's Copyright Woes

A Faustian Bargain for PROs and Songwriters?

Copyright Hearing Recap: Moral Rights, Termination Rights, Resale Royalty, and Copyright Term

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