Sony Stops Licensing Of Digital Streams As It Allows DRM-Free Music
from the interesting-timing dept
The timing on this one may be something of a coincidence, but it's worth noting that at just about the same time that Sony is getting a ton of press for finally realizing that DRM doesn't make sense, the company has also told the Harry Fox Agency to stop licensing its music for digital streaming (via Mathew Ingram). As Ingram points out, this decision is really about the rather arcane details of copyright law and two (of the many) different license requirements that are out there. The RIAA labels have all been pushing (not surprisingly) for whatever combination of licenses that will bring them the most money. This isn't new, of course. We saw it in the battle over what licenses satellite radio had to pay. The same battle is now happening with digital streaming services. The Digital Media Association has asked the copyright board for a ruling saying that an audio stream should only be required to pay a performance license (as it's a performance) rather than a reproduction license (like for a product that's actually being distributed). Because of that, Sony has basically said it won't be distributing any more music for streaming until this is settled. It's likely the other labels will follow as well. It's hard to see how they can really argue that an audio stream isn't simply a performance, since the whole point of a stream is for it to be fleeting, like radio, rather than a fully stored download. Yet, when you're unwilling to look at new business models, it's no surprise that you look for any opportunity to use whatever laws and government subsidies you can to your advantage.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Typically dumb...
I wonder how these guys would operate with terrestrial radio if payola didn't work for them so well?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Typically dumb...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Whatever happened to the idea that playing music over the radio (terrestial, satellite and internet) was another form of advertisement?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sony's idea of DRM-free music
"To obtain the Sony-BMG tracks, would-be listeners will first have to go to a retail store to buy a Platinum MusicPass, a card containing a secret code, for a suggested retail price of $12.99. Once they have scratched off the card's covering to expose the code, they will be able to download one of just 37 albums available through the service, including Britney Spears' "Blackout" and Barry Manilow's "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So the strategy is apparently this:
2) Make it as difficult to procure them as possible.
3) Wait for the poor sales figures and blame it on "Piracy".
4) The circle is now complete - back to DRM we go!
PRANG!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
RIAA stupidity strikes again
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
not as easy as RIAA bashing.
I'm never one to take the side of the "man" but a little clarification:
- This is Sony ATV PUBLISHING company (Not Sony BMG - the two have completely different artist rosters) that is restricting the issue of mechanical licenses.
- It's largely seen as a defensive move in reaction to DiMA's (an organization which includes Apple, AOL, Yahoo and others) brief to the Copyright board asking that INTERACTIVE streaming (not radio-esque non-interactive streaming such as SOMAFM) is not counted as reproduction and therefore not subject to a mechanical license.
Whether you side with DiMA or Sony in this siutation, the point is that this is not Sony BMG. Artists have much more favorable terms with publishers and, due to the abhorrent terms in most record contracts, can see the majority of their income in their later careers come from the publishing side.
For example, see Radiohead's decision to re-up with Warner/Chappell Publishing even after they dumped EMI - which leads me to another point -
Radiohead recently signed an "experimental" deal with Warner Chappell publishing which effectively CUTS OUT Harry Fox and other collecting socieites and brings all licensing duties in-house to the publisher. I've heard the theory that this move by Sony is a pre-cursor to a similar move by that company.
And what will be the effects of cutting out HFA? Well, at least one effect will be more favorable licensing terms, as well as the ability to license music for all of the novel new ways people want to use music these days. In the end, this could be another salvo in the digital evolution of the publishing industry.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]