SoundExchange president Michael Huppe writes that while radio broadcasters have the right to represent "members’ interests, it cannot do so credibly when pushing for two hypocritical positions in two different hearings on the very same day in Congress."
Why so many musicians are selling the rights to their work newstatesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newstatesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
March 13, 2021
“The future for me,” Bob Dylan sang in 2001, “is…a thing of the past.”
Presciently, it turns out, because the future for all of us, not just Dylan will consist significantly of hearing the songs of Dylan’s past. The same goes for Shakira, Neil Young, Barry Manilow, and all the other musicians who have sold their back catalogs for hefty fees over the past few years.
In the ongoing scramble by funds, investors, and companies to buy up these catalogs, Dylan’s has been the pre-eminent purchase. Universal Music bought his songs for a rumored $300-$400 million. But that is only the crest of a tide of money washing through the industry, acquiring old songs. The bet is that, by squeezing these songs for streaming audio revenue and also selling these songs into soundtracks across video platforms, the catalogs will earn consistently high returns.
Trane Technologies holds an investor meeting.
Tuesday 12/15
Eli Lilly hosts a conference call to announce and discuss its financial guidance for 2021.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for December. Consensus estimate is for a 7.5 reading, higher than November’s 6.3 figure.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports import and export price data for November. Expectations are for a 0.3% month-over-month rise in import prices, after a 0.1% dip in October. The October decline was the first for the import price index since April. Export prices are seen rising 0.3%, a tick higher than the October data.
Wednesday 12/16
Singer Bob Dylan Daniel Janin/AFP via Getty Images
The movie world isn’t the only one being shaken up by streaming, and artists and investors are cashing in.
World-famous musicians like Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks recently struck multi-million-dollar deals to sell all or part of their song catalogs in what is expected to be a continuing trend.
Royalties from publishing rights have proven to be a reliable source of income, attracting investors looking for anything that can add diversity to their holdings. For the artists, it’s a chance to capitalize on the popularity of streaming, not only with the ability to negotiate a big lump sum payment now instead of receiving a steady trickle of revenue over time but also to expand the use of their tunes in videos, films, and television shows.