Tag Archives: recent news

Recent News

Apple Makes Swift Change in Plan

taylor swiftLast week, indie labels and artists put pressure on Apple to compensate artists during the three-month trial period for its new streaming service. Musicians feared, in particular, that they would miss out on opportunities to get financial return from new music launched during Apple Music’s free introductory period, beginning June 30.

This weekend, Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member Taylor Swift posted an open letter on her Tumblr page saying she would withhold her latest album, 1989, from the service because of this situation. The letter read, in part: “I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company … This is not about me. Thankfully, I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team, by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt … We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers, and producers for the three-month trial period.”

According to Billboard, Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue reached out to Swift, letting her know he had heard her concerns, as well as the concerns of indie musicians across the country. Apple also announced that it will now be paying royalties to artists and record labels during the introductory first three months.

Recent News

Corporations Respond to Young

Neil Young’s newest album The Monsanto Years takes direct aim at corporations like Monsanto, Starbucks, Walmart, and Chevron. In the interest of presenting both sides of the story, Billboard asked the companies to comment on the Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) on the lyrics to musician’s song “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop.” Read the hilarious results and watch the video for the song.

Recent News

Revenue Drops as Music Accessibility Goes Up

The National Publishers Association announced that last year the US music publishing industry experienced a 2.5% drop in revenue from 2013 ($2.206 billion) to 2014 ($2.142 billion). At the organization’s annual meeting President David Israelite discussed ways to improve the bottom line, among them: redefining the economics of the streaming model to acquire a bigger piece of the pie from satellite radio stations and music streaming services and converting more free streaming subscribers into paid subscribers. He also expressed hope for Apple’s streaming service in improving music publishing revenue.

Recent News

Indie Labels Not Pleased with Apple Streaming Agreement

Though all three major US labels have signed with Apple new streaming service in advance of its June 30 launch, many indie labels are not pleased with the deal and have yet to sign on. They are most upset about Apple Music’s three-month free trial period in which rights holders will not be compensated for their streamed tunes. The trade group American Association of Independent Music has cautioned its indie label members to take their time in weighing various factors before signing the agreement.

One of the largest indie labels, Beggars Group wrote: “We are naturally very concerned, especially for artists releasing new albums in the next three months, that all streaming on the new service will be unremunerated until the end of September.  Whilst we understand the logic of their proposal and their aim to introduce a subscription-only service, we struggle to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple’s customer acquisition costs.”

Recent News

Are Native American Casinos Exempt from Labor Laws?

The courts seem to be split when it comes to whether workers at casinos owned by Native American tribes are protected by federal labor laws. On June 4 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed a complaint against WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, alleging that management threatened blackjack dealers who were trying to organize. A few days later, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appleals ruled that the NLRB does have jurisdiction to rule on a complaint against Manistee, Michigan, casino after the tribe outlawed strikes by workers.

Recent News

Nile Rodgers to Be Honored at BMI Awards

Billboard announced that Local 802 (New York City) member Nile Rodgers will be presented with the BMI Icon Award at this year’s BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards held in August. The award recognizes an artist’s ability to connect people through song and defy musical expectations. The Grammy-winning co-founder of the band Chic has penned hits like “Good Times” and “Le Freak,” and collaborated with many musicians throughout the years. At last year’s BMI London awards he took the BMI Song of the Year award for Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”

Recent News

Trump Not Free to Rock in the Free World

Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) member Neil Young decried Donald Trump’s use of his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as part of his presidential campaign announcement on Tuesday.

An official statement from Young read: “Donald Trump was not authorized to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in his presidential candidacy announcement. Neil Young, a Canadian citizen, is a supporter of Bernie Sanders for President of the United States of America.”

Young wrote the 1989 song as a critique of the George H. W. Bush Administration, and its lack of concern for the plight of America’s poor. Use of it by the billionaire conservative was a complete misrepresentation of the liberal song’s meaning.

Recent News

Canadian Appeals Court Mandates Google to Remove Pirate Site

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Canadian Court of Appeals has upheld worldwide injunctions requiring that Google remove search links from certain pirate sites around the world. It is highly unusual for a court to make an order that could place limits on expression in another country. Justice Harvey Groberman explains, “It has not been suggested that the order prohibiting the defendants from advertising wares that violate the intellectual property rights of the plaintiffs offends the core values of any nation.”

The court battle against Google began when a one-time distributor for Equustek Solutions Inc. relabeled Equustek’s products to pass them off as their own through their website. Equustek alleged trademark violations and misappropriation of trade secrets, and the judge told Google to remove a number of websites used by the defendants from its search indexes. Google removed the URLs from google.ca only, which led Equustek to complain of a “whack-a-mole” approach.

The International Federation of Film Producers Association and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry have since joined with Equustek, bring their own arguments and calling for removal of pirating sites.

“Google raises the specter of it being subjected to restrictive orders from courts in all parts of the world, each concerned with its own domestic law,” writes Groverman. “… it is the worldwide nature of Google’s business and not any defect of the law that gives rise to that possibility.”

Recent News

UFCW Members Vow to Block “Right to Work” in Missouri

While thanking Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for vetoing a bill that was designed to silence workers, the 20,000-member Missouri United Food and Commercial Workers vowed to the state’s proposed “right to work” legislation.

“Right to work sounds good on paper, but in reality it means lower paying jobs, fewer benefits, and more dangerous workplaces. It is being pushed by out of state special interests who believe workers do not deserve a say in the terms of their employment. Plain and simple, it’s a corporate giveaway at the expense of everyday Missouri families,” the organization says.

Recent News

Court Refuses to Block Net Neutrality Rules

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a last minute effort by Internet service providers (ISPs) to stop net neutrality rules from becoming effective June 12. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association, USTelecom, the Wireless Association, among other groups, sought block the FCC’s reclassification of Internet services as a Title II telecommunications service. The FCC had voted to reclassify Internet services back in February in order to allow implementation of net neutrality laws.

“This is a huge victory for Internet consumers and innovators! Starting Friday, there will be a referee on the field to keep the Internet fast, fair and open,” FCC chair Tom Wheeler said in a statement. “Blocking, throttling, pay-for-priority fast lanes and other efforts to come between consumers and the Internet are now things of the past. The rules also give broadband providers the certainty and economic incentive to build fast and competitive broadband networks.”