Streaming Wars

Concerns about the commercial data that comes through all these distribution, royalty and other essential services are also growing. Not only does it allow you to snaffle up a rising star, it would be one of the most sophisticated and complete webs of price tracking your rivals imaginable in the music market. And no regulator wants to rely on... See more

Hellman & Friedman 's majority stake in Global Music Rights marks a watershed moment — private equity firms now control three major PROs (alongside New Mountain Capital's BMI and Blackstone's SESAC). Blackstone 's successful acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund further cements institutional investors’ central role in the financialization of music... See more

Lawsuits from major publishers against Suno and Udio are not, as libertarian boosters, VCs and Tech Bros would say, an attack on innovation. They are a warning shot against a business model that turns creative labor into raw machine fuel under the pretense of fair use.

if you drive through Culver City you will see billboards for Amazon movies everywhere. Why? Because the directors who come to the studio lot to take a meeting there to make a movie, they drive there and they’re like, ‘Oh they’re marketing my movie.’ But they’re not.”

To prevent a future where cultural output is shaped by economic power alone, this report calls on digital services, rightsholders, regulators, and policymakers to take shared responsibility for ensuring that the streaming ecosystem supports innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth .