For the first time, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has released figures for the total industry revenue and value in the US for 2013. NMPA members have estimated that the industry has lost around US$2.3 billion in revenue in 2013 due to “outdated laws and regulation” based on digital music streaming.
Figures report US music publishers bring in US$2.2 billion each year, estimating that 52% of that revenue stemming from performance licensing, 23% from mechanical licensing, and 20% from sync licensing.
According to Billboard digital streaming companies are unable to deal with music publishers directly. This forces them to collect payments through the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI).
NMPA President and CEO David Israelite states: ” The new digital marketplace is changing how songwriters and their publishing partners can thrive” He explains how the marketplace continues to evolve, it is important that the industry regulates under outdated laws and government regulation.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced they plan to review both ASCAP and BMI’s consent decrees. Currently, the laws that stand were entered in 1941; ASCAP’s has not been updated since 2001 and BMI’s since 1994. Talk about outdated…
Digital Music News reported DOJD is requesting comments from songwriters, publishers, licenses, and service providers on whether the consent decrees should be modified, and if so any suggestions as to how.
Comments can be submitted to ASCAP-BMI-decree-review@usdoj.gov before 6 August 2014.
Written by Erica Whyman.