The New York Post is reporting that the smallest of the US performing rights societies, SESAC, is up for sale again. Whereas the asking price was $700 million some time ago, it has now reportedly dropped to $500 million. This sets the price at about ten years of annual profit, currently $50 million  year.

SESAC is privately owned and home to a number of high-profile songwriters such as Bob Dylan. One of the difficulties of selling it is that its natural partners, such as major labels, would have difficulty arguing that there isn’t a conflict of interest in representing both their commercial interest and those of rights holders. Warner has reportedly expressed interest.

But given that there is a growing trend towards integration at the level of PROs across the globe, would this not be the time for  a large body such as Germany’s Gema, Japan’s Jasrac or France’s Sacem to pitch? It would certainly benefit the flow of information and rights in both directions – a key issue in the sector.

In an unusual move but interesting move, three Nordic rights collecting societies – KODA, TONO and TEOSTO – announced at Midem 2012 that they are joining forces to share the back-end for their IT services. The goal is to reduce processing costs while meeting the needs of their respective members.

Since 2008, Denmark’s KODA and Norway’s TONO have been working together to develop shared IT systems. Now Finland’s TEOSTO has announced it will join the effort. Together, the three organizations intend to expand and accelerate the plans for developing common back-end systems. Read the rest of this entry…

There are very strong forces currently attacking the PROs in Europe. Although many musicians now regret the death of collective licensing in the US, some parties are pushing for it in Europe. Are the UK and Europe moving towards a US model? Are we seeing a dismantling of the PRS for Music monopoly in the UK?
Are the record labels themselves helping the dismantling of collective licensing? What is the true role vs. stated position of the publishers? What would the consequences be for the creation and exploitation of music in Europe.

These questions – and hopefully more – will be debated at a major conference organised by Music 4.5 in central London on June 9, 2011. For details, visit Music 4.5.

Music licensing is a tricky subject at the best of times. For start-ups, it can be a nightmare. March 9 2011 is the date for a workshop focused on providing up-to-date practical music and content licensing guidelines to tech startups and agencies. The workshop will examine different kinds of deals ranging from streaming music, online campaigns, apps, video and games involving both music and content in various combinations. It will also discuss the new developments within the regulatory landscape to be aware of and their implications.

Two in-depth case studies of how it has worked for Last.fm and PureSolo will be presented and discussed. Read the rest of this entry…

Improved tracking – and therefore more accurate payments – is becoming a major issue with members of author’s rights societies worldwide. The US body Sesac is introducing tracking using Vericast, from BMAT, to more accurately track music usage for select publishers. BMAT uses real-time audio recognition to spot the tracks being used in advertising and radio, even recognising music under a voice-over or that has been put through effects. Traditionally, societies have had to rely on users declaring uses. But this is a cumbersome system to manage, the result being that most payments could best be described as “guesstimates”.

Systems such as BMAT, however, are expensive. This is probably why Sesac in its press release says “Thousands of audio files from select SESAC publisher affiliates will be monitored across top broadcast and cable outlets”. In other words, they are focussing on the top earners from the top publishers at major media outlets. So although this will improve accuracy, it will most likely only do so for higher earners. For more details, visit Sesac and BMAT.

The MOFFOM Music on Film/Film on Music Minifest & Market will take place in Berlin on the original dates of the now cancelled Popkomm international music market. This event includes both a market part aiming at film and music professionals as well as a small film festival part targeting the broader audience of film and music aficionados.

Throughout the day of September 17, three panels will offer insights on soundtrack marketing strategies and the creative collaboration between filmmakers and musicians, as speakers like Mikkel Maltha (Zentropa), Andro Steinborn (NEU Filmproduktion), Thomas Jamois (Naïve Label) or Hannes Stöhr (“Berlin Calling”) share their experiences. The panels are moderated by John Groves (Vice President, Federation of Film & Audiovisual Composers of Europe – FFACE). For details, visit Just Temptation.