Month: October 2014

Label executives and many distributors including most indies have been out there trying to sell artists and small labels on $5 a month streaming!  Because at $5 a month many more people will subscribe to these streaming services! 1) No they won’t.  Why would they pay for what they already get for free?  It’s totally… Continue reading Why is $5 Dollar a Month Streaming Good For Artists? Because 1/2 the Record Company Executives Will Lose Their Jobs! Yeah!

Do you trust your label to properly apply recoupable expenses against your SoundExchange royalties? Even at the best labels mistakes are consistently made. Currently all SoundExchange royalties are spit between the performer and the labels regardless of whether the performer is “recouped” with his record label.  These royalties go DIRECTLY to the performer. The record… Continue reading How MERLIN’s “PANDOLA” Deal Could Give Labels Access to Your Share of SoundExchange Royalties

We’ve been hearing from Indie labels and musicians all day wanting to know what to do about this threat to our SoundExchange income. I’ll give you more on this later this week but FIRST we need to back SoundExchange in this fight.  Since unlike MERLIN they really do have our interests at heart. They only… Continue reading Indie Labels Should Demand that MERLIN and Caldas Immediately Repudiate Pandora Filing or Step Down.

On Aug 6th this article  written by Glenn Peoples in Billboard Magazine  “Pandora Signs First Direct Label Deal With Merlin” http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6207058/pandora-label-deal-merlin Quote: Caldas added the partnership will financially benefit Merlin’s artists and labels. Although no financial details were made available, he suggested the terms are no worse than the statutory rates previously received. “We wouldn’t… Continue reading Did Merlin’s Caldas Lie in Billboard Article About Lower Rates?

What is the point of “secret” deals like MERLIN’s “Pandola” pay-to-play deal with Pandora Radio?   I mean the terms are not secret to the label that signs the deal right?   And the terms are not secret to Pandora Radio right?   So who is not in on this secret? Artists. Sleazy. I don’t… Continue reading MERLIN “Pandola” Secret Deal Violates WIN Fair Trade Principles

  MERLIN is theoretically an organization that looks after the rights of independent labels and independent artists. Charles Caldas is the CEO.  Last month they made a high profile deal with Pandora.   We knew what would happen at the time. We knew that Pandora would use the deal as evidence in Copyright Royalty Board… Continue reading Charles Caldas of MERLIN: Independent Labels’ Minus $15 Million Dollar Man

Originally posted on Music Technology Policy:
David Lowery just concluded a whistlestop tour of academic panels at George Mason University and the Columbia Law School, finishing with a keynote at the Continuing Legal Education program at CMJ.  We caught up to him for a recap of his brush with academia: MTP: What were these conferences…

If there were ever two deals and two indie music organizations to contrast and compare these would be the two. WIN and MERLIN As A2IM reported back in July On Wednesday, July 16th, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), of which A2IM is a member, issued the Fair Digital Deals Declaration, a commitment by Independent labels to… Continue reading WIN Fair Digital Deals Declaration vs MERLIN’S “PANDOLA” Deal

  Harrison trounces performers and labels with MERLIN deal.  Congratulations.  In the past I’ve had rather unkind things to say about Pandora and their chief legal strategist Chris Harrison.  But today I’d like to sincerely congratulate them on a game well played.  Pandora and Harrison have successfully outflanked performers by exploiting us where we were… Continue reading Set, Match and Game to Pandora and Chris Harrison: MERLIN Gives Pandora the Rate Cut They’ve Always Wanted.