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Tag: CISAC

  • India’s music royalties hit the high notes with Rs 700 crore windfall

    India’s music royalties hit the high notes with Rs 700 crore windfall

    MUMBAI: India’s  music scene is singing a very different tune these days—one that sounds suspiciously like cash registers ringing. Music royalty collections in India have struck a crescendo at Rs 700 crore in 2024, surging 42 per cent year-on-year and quadrupling over five years in a performance that would make even Indian cinema proud.

    The star of this financial symphony? Streaming platforms, which have transformed from industry pariahs into the golden goose laying digital eggs. India’s global ranking for creators’ collections has leapt from a modest thirty seventh position in 2019 to twenty third in 2023, according to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in its latest annual report.
    Royalty collectionsBut before the champagne corks start popping in recording studios across the subcontinent, there’s a sobering reality check. Despite the impressive crescendo, India’s royalty collections remain woefully below potential for a market of this magnitude—a case of having the orchestra but missing half the instruments.

    The culprit? Indians’ stubborn reluctance to pay for premium music streaming services. While platforms like Spotify, JioSaavn and Gaana are desperately trying to wean users off their freebie addiction with subscription models—backed by music labels like Saregama—the conversion rate remains sluggish.

    Adding to creators’ woes is the dismal performance of non-digital revenue streams, which continue to hit bum notes. CISAC has been working overtime with the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) to bring global standards to governance, licensing and royalty distribution—essentially teaching old dogs new digital tricks.

    The organisations have crafted a fresh action plan for FY25, designed to explore untapped market potential and identify business opportunities. The blueprint targets improved collections from local digital services whilst diversifying revenue streams beyond the usual suspects.

    With India’s creative economy finally finding its rhythm, the question isn’t whether the music will stop—it’s how loud the next movement will be.

  • Dot Music domain for musicians and music industry sees global launch

    Dot Music domain for musicians and music industry sees global launch

    MUMBAI: For musicians the world over – both independent and managed – this should come as a breath of fresh air. The .music registry yesterday announced the global launch of the community-based .music top-level domain extension and its verified musicID. 

    Members involved in any form of music  can now  register their .music urls on a first come, first serve basis. Designed to provide verified digital identities for music artists, creators, songwriters, industry professionals, organizations and brands, .music will provide a trusted, vetted and secure digital space and safe haven for legal music consumption.

    The registration and use of .music  is exclusive to verified members of the global music community, enabling them to protect, control and oversee their music identities across the internet. In a time of increasing concern about non-consensual AI deepfakes, voice cloning, and the unauthorised use of the music community’s intellectual property, .music offers a credible solution to these challenging problems.

    The .music domain fosters a more trustworthy and transparent global music ecosystem by helping fans and platforms easily identify music (or content) created by real, authenticated humans and music (or content) entirely generated by unaccountable AI or bots, says a press release issued by the registry.

    “For the first time in music history, the global music industry will be able to register their unique .music name and verified digital music identity. The .music domain and its connected MusicID will provide a trusted, secure, and authentic music-centric Internet where the global music community can safely connect, engage, transact and thrive,” says the founder & CEO of .music Constantine Roussos, a Greek-Cypriot by birth. .

    “The .music launch marks a pivotal moment for the music industry to reclaim control of their digital footprint. By offering verified musicIDs, we are giving the global music community the ability to secure their digital identity, protect their creative works, and ensure that their presence online is authentic and safeguarded from impersonation, fraud, and AI misuse,” says id.music executive director Marina Roussou, the exclusive music identity provider for .music.

    The introduction of .music has got the entire music world excited and supportive of the initiative. A host of global association heads has come out in praise of its launch.

    “As a domain for the global music community, available only to verified artists, companies and organisations active in the music ecosystem, .music will be a valuable tool, strengthening trust and assuring authenticity. IFPI have been longstanding supporters of this initiative,” says International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)  CEO  Victoria Oakley.

    “The launch of .music verified digital identities is an important step forward in the effort to deliver a safe, trustworthy space for artists, fans, and the global music community. Congratulations to the entire .music  team!” says Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier, who represents labels that collectively create 90 per cent of recorded music sold in the US.

    “We are pleased to see the launch of .music, a project that we believe will strengthen the global music community by creating a new level of trust, connection and reliability between all the players involved and, most importantly, with music consumers. Cisac has been a longstanding supporter of the .music initiative and we are delighted to see this ambitious project reaching the finishing line and coming to fruition,” says director general of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (Cisac) Gadi Oron, the world’s largest network in the creative sector with 227 societies in 116 countries.

    “On behalf of the International Music Council, I extend our warmest congratulations on the occasion of .music going live on 8 October.  We celebrate this monumental achievement aimed at offering dependable and secure digital domains for music globally. This is perfectly in line with the five music rights and we are delighted to be part of it,” says International Music Council (IMC) president Sheila C. Woodward, the world’s largest network of music organisations and institutions in 150 countries with direct access to over 1,000 organizations and 600 million through its members.

    “Today’s music industry is global and digitised. ICMP is pleased to partner .music. The newly launched .music online domain name provides a global gateway for music creators and businesses around the world,” says the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) director general John Phelan.

    “The .music domain is launching at a vital time for the music industry. The NMPA applauds this ambitious initiative and the protections it offers creators who face evolving threats to authenticity from AI,” says National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) president & CEO  David Israelite.

    “With the music industry currently at a pivotal moment in time when it comes to protecting human creation in the face of AI and other disruptive technologies, the launch of the .music domain is another welcome tool that will help ensure authenticity and trust between artists, businesses and consumers alike. IMPF has been an active supporter of the community-based .music top-level domain for over a decade, so we’re incredibly aware of and grateful for the hard work that has got us to this point,” says counsel to the board of directors of the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) Ger Hatton.

    “.music places security, respect for rights, and innovation at the heart of its approach. The FIM is proud to have contributed to the success of this project through its continuous support. Beyond a mere domain name, .music offers a high value-added service to professional musicians,” says the International Federation of Musicians (FIM)  general secretary Benoît Machuel, representing musicians’ trade unions, guilds and associations worldwide.

    “The Recording Academy is thrilled to continue our support of the .MUSIC initiative, especially during a time of such immense evolution of our industry where it has never been more important to protect human creativity. From its inception, the project has sought to provide a safe and reliable digital domain for music creators, and it will foster more trust and security for our entire music ecosystem,” says Recording Academy/Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.

    “A2IM has supported the .MUSIC initiative from the outset, and we’re thrilled to see it become a reality. This domain fosters trust, connection, and reliability within the global music community. It will create a safe, innovative ecosystem that benefits artists, labels, and music consumers alike, fulfilling our shared vision for a stronger, more unified industry,” says American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) president & CEO Richard James Burgess, representing the collective voice of independent music.

    “Impala’s aims include effectively tackling infringement and giving music consumers the best digital infrastructure based on trust and security. A community run .music system with commitments prevailed with support from Impala and others in the sector. It’s great that the .music domains are now available and will be administered in a way that achieves our mutual objectives and creates a safe and innovative ecosystem. This is part of our mission of growing the independent music sector in Europe,” says Independent Music Companies Association (Impala)  executive chair Helen Smith), representing prominent independent music companies and national trade associations in Europe.

    “The International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) and Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US) congratulate .music on their launch. This development offers artists and their teams access to a new top-level domain name extension and opportunities to verify digital identities as AI and deep fakes escalate the long-standing issues of trust and veracity online. Representing artists and managers worldwide, IMMF and MMF-US are always interested in connecting our communities with innovation and tools to build a more trustworthy online ecosystem for artists and fans,” says International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) and Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US) president Neeta Ragoowansi, representing national and regional associations of self-managed artists and managers from over 50 countries.

  • “AI is better than humans at many things but feels no emotions”: Silk Road Communications’ Achille Forler

    “AI is better than humans at many things but feels no emotions”: Silk Road Communications’ Achille Forler

    Mumbai: On 5 December 2023, the International Music Creators Seminar was organised by the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) in collaboration with CISAC and the Asia Pacific Music Creators Alliance (APMA). The seminar comprised informative panel discussions, each focused on delving into various aspects of the music industry. Particularly, the inaugural panel centered on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the music industry.

    On the sidelines of the event, Indiantelevision.com caught up with music industry veteran and Silk Road Communications founder Achille Forler, to gain valuable insights on the topic…

    Edited Excerpts:

    On the use of AI causing a potential threat to the music industry and artists’ creative processes, with the rising use of AI tools to make dubbed versions of a song in different artists or people’s voices

    Any technology, be it atoms or bioengineering, can be applied for good or bad. Deepfaking, impersonation, and plagiarism are the negative aspects of AI. They pose a greater risk to music creators than piracy ever did.

    We are at the very beginning of the revolution, but now is the time to ensure its developments occur within the boundaries of the common good. Copyright protects an original expression of a self. AI-generated works can never qualify for copyright protection. It is a good time to ask ourselves, what is a human being? How can technology prove that a creation has a human, and not AI, origin? We must create tools that will fingerprint human creations and filter out AI productions. A working group has been set up on this topic by IPRS and some sister societies.

    On the steps that regulatory bodies like IPRS should take to shape the guidelines for the ethical and legal use of AI in music composition and production

    The good news is that creators have taken up the issue. The International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (CISAC), representing five million creators worldwide, and of which IPRS is a member, is very clear on AI and its potential to work for or against creativity. It has proposed guidelines to be followed. https://bit.ly/4a2VCsp WIPO also has a comprehensive page on AI and intellectual property in general: https://bit.ly/484ZXtf

    A significant portion of the Conference on Asia-Pacific Collective Management Organizations, which IPRS organised in Jaipur, was focused on this subject.

    On the positives of AI that you see

    Music is born of deep emotions. AI is better than humans at many things but feels no emotions. It can write poems about love but never pined for the beloved, felt the fire of love tingle through its bones, or suffered a heartbreak. On the other hand, we can already see how AI can help Copyright Societies increase compliance by users, improve their collection capacity through smarter licensing, collect royalties that are impossible to collect today, and speed up the distribution of these monies to music creators.

    I already use AI tools on my music licensing platform, SyncMama, to help clients find the right tracks for their videos within minutes simply by uploading a reference track or pasting a YouTube link. We released version two of this audio similarity search tool, Maya. The next version will enable search by prompts like.

    We experiment with the use of prompts, but they have a learning curve because they require more precision—and more attempts—before you find what you’re looking for.

    Our top priority today is video preview. You upload your video on SyncMama and add a track of your choice. Maya analyses the video and matches the audio track to the video by giving you up to three edit options. If the selected audio section is one or two seconds longer or shorter than the video, Maya will time-stretch the audio to fit exactly your video. Click download, and your video will be ready for broadcast.

    We believe that AI tools like these will greatly facilitate the work of promo producers, advertising agencies, and anyone who needs music for their videos.

    On the music industry better supporting and nurturing the growth of amateur talents who are just beginning their journey, ensuring they have opportunities to shine and develop their unique voices

    Budding talent needs a helping hand. The report on music publishing released last week by E&Y shows that the economic value of music to corporate users is at least 12,000 crores. What value would radio, television, films, or games have without music? If corporate users of music were to carry out their legal duty to pay the IPRS, that money would go a long way to nurture and support new talent.

    On ensuring that artists remain at the forefront of decision-making processes to safeguard their interests and maintain the spirit of artistic expression, in a world increasingly influenced by AI

    The answer is in this video:

    SyncMama Valentine

  • International Music Creators Seminar 2023 spurs collaborations, advocacy, and visionary discourse

    International Music Creators Seminar 2023 spurs collaborations, advocacy, and visionary discourse

    Mumbai: The Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) hosted the International Music Creators Seminar on behalf of CISAC and the Asia Pacific Music Creators Alliance (APMA) on 5 December 2023. The APMA International Music Creators Seminar 2023 featured insightful panel discussions, each dedicated to exploring different facets of the music industry.

    The first panel was about how artificial intelligence will revolutionise the music industry. Renowned artists and industry experts who attended the panel highlighted the positive potential AI tools have for creators, and the exciting AI revolution that is already happening cannot be stopped. Generative AI can extend the frontiers of human creation, enhance artistic expression, and deliver to creators new licensing opportunities and revenue streams. But AI also requires smart regulation. The industry needs to come together to prevent AI from undermining human creativity and threatening the livelihoods of creators.

    In the discussion Dr. G.R. Raghavendra – Senior Consultant IPR, DPIIT, former Joint Secretary, Govt of India, Achille Forler Founder Silk Road Communications, João Kruss Gomes Chairman MACA, Mayur Puri – lyricist & screenwriter alongside moderator Benjamin NG, Regional Director for Asia Pacific, CISAC shed light on leveraging AI while ensuring regulatory frameworks uphold creators’ rights. “The integration of AI in music creation presents boundless opportunities for artists globally. It’s imperative to develop robust regulations to safeguard creators’ rights in this evolving landscape,” mentioned lyricist, IPRS Board Member and APMA vice chairman Mayur Puri.

    Commenting on the same, Senior Consultant IPR, DPIIT, former Joint Secretary Govt. of India Dr. G.R. Raghavendra said, “In the vast landscape of AI, it’s important to dispel the notion that it’s inherently risky. Throughout the course of technological evolution, every leap forward has been met with the creation of rules and protections to ensure responsible usage. AI, such as ChatGPT, is essentially a machine that can’t replicate the depth of human abilities—it’s not that creative or original. When we talk about using someone’s work, whether in AI or any other field, seeking permission and offering fair compensation is not just a courtesy; it’s a fundamental aspect of ethical practice. In the grand scheme of technological advancements, maintaining fairness and ethical standards becomes the cornerstone of integrating AI responsibly into our lives. So, as we navigate this exciting era of innovation, let’s keep in mind the importance of consent, fair compensation, and ethical considerations in the realm of AI.”

    The second panel, fair value of music in the streaming economy delved into the streaming landscape, emphasizing the need for creators to receive equitable returns from this burgeoning market. Discussions led by leading creators, legal experts, and industry veterans Dhinraj Shetty – MD Sony Music Publishing (India), Swanand Kirkire – lyricist, singer & Actor, Irfan Aulia – Musician, Managing Director, Massive Music, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Collective Management Organization Wahana Musik Indonesia, Notapol Srichomkwan – songwriter and chairman MCT, Tarsame Mittal – Music Entrepreneur, moderated by Satoshi Watanabe of CISAC, highlighted the necessity for adaptations and government interventions to ensure a fair music ecosystem.

    The third panel, the future of female representation & contribution in the Music Industry, featured discussions by lyricist and screenwriter Kausar Munir, music composer Sneha Khanwalkar, composer and music producer Merlyn D’Souza, music composer and producer Hiral Viradia, and Nanni Singh – chief executive showcase events, moderated by poet and lyricist Irshaad Kamil, on gender dynamics in the music industry. The panel passionately advocated for breaking down stereotypes, fostering inclusivity, and creating a diverse and inclusive musical landscape.

    “The industry must actively foster an environment that embraces diversity and empowers female creators. It’s time to dismantle barriers and create more opportunities for women in music”, stated eminent lyricist and screenwriter Kausar Munir.

    Javed Akhtar, legendary lyricist, screenwriter, poet, and chairman of IPRS, expressed his satisfaction with the event’s success, stating, “The International Music Creators Seminar 2023 underscores the power of collaborative innovation. The recently established collaboration with KOMCA ushers in a transformative period, encouraging a dynamic interchange of creation between India and Korea. Our commitment to creating an inclusive and equitable music industry where creator rights are safeguarded and creativity is nurtured was highlighted through stimulating panel discussions. Our narrative revolves around breaking down barriers, creating opportunities, and envisioning a world where creators and creativity flourish. We look forward to bringing such platforms to India and elevate our artists.”

    The International Music Creators Seminar provided a platform to underscore the importance of cross-border partnerships and smart regulation for a vibrant and equitable creative landscape.