3 Count: 138% Raise

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1: BMI Wins Rate Court Ruling to Get Songwriters Paid 138% More From Live Events

First off today, Ed Christman at Billboard reports that the performing rights organization (PRO) BMI has emerged victorious in a rate court with agreeing to raise the rate concert promoters pay for the use of musical compositions.

BMI, along with ASCAP, are the major PROs in the United States. They collect royalties on behalf of songwriters when their music is used in public spaces, such as concerts, bars and restaurants. However, due to consent decrees, both BMI and ASCAP have limitations with how they set their own rates, with disputes like this one heading to a specialized rate court.

Here’s BMI was in a legal battle with Live Nation, AEG and the North American Concert Promoters Association. BMI, in negotiations, had initially asked for 1% of event revenue but dropped that to 0.8% as the case headed to court. Though the court only raised the rate to 0.5%, it still represents a 138% increase in the rate for BMI and the artists it represents. Others in the case also expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying that it was an increase far below what BMI wanted. The rates cover the period ending December 31, 2022.

2: New Copyright Act Will Reboot Nigeria’s Copyright System

Next up today, Realnews reports that, in Nigeria, the nation has just passed a new copyright act that it says will bring into compliance with existing international treaties.

The act, simply entitled the Copyright Act, 2022, repeals and replaces Copyright Act, Cap C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The new act clearly defines both rights and exemptions to those rights, deals directly with digital works, and includes a notice and takedown system.

The law was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday and also enjoyed public support from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), whose representative said that the act would go a long way to address the issues of piracy in the country.

3: Kick Streamers Ignore Rules & Risk Bans with Movie Marathons Streams

Finally today, Jacob Hale at Dexerto reports that the new streaming site Kick may be growing in popularity among streamers, but that some users are flouting the site’s rules and hosting movie marathons and other infringing streams.

The site was launched by Twitch celebrity Trainwreck with the goal of offering a better deal for streamers, including a higher revenue split. However, since the site is new and moderation is more limited, hundreds of streamers have taken advantage by hosting movie watch parties, even though the terms of service forbid it.

Twitch users who share such streams routinely face bans and other actions, usually through automated tools that seem not to be used by Kick. It is unclear what Kick is doing, if anything, to target these infringing streams.

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