Music Publishing News Roundup 7.17.2015: YouTube Music Key • Apple Inquiry • PRS Controversy
Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki explains why Music Key will be different from other streaming services. At Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech event this week, Wojcicki explained that Music Key is video based, serving a different purpose than other services.
Describing the idea of music videos as “magical,” she added that user generated covers of popular songs is a point of interest for Music Key. They are focusing heavily on mobile usability and plan to launch publicly in “a few months.”
Apple’s large cut from in-app purchases is now under scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission. According to Section Five of the FTC Act, "unfair or deceptive acts or practices” are prohibited, and Apple’s 30 percent stake in all digital goods isn’t helping the already slim profit margins for app makers and musicians alike. Deezer CEO Tyler Goldman weighed in on the issue, explaining that Apple's cut creates even less room for profit and states “it will be an issue for the industry going forward.”
UK performing rights organization PRS had increased expenses and decreased artist payout during the 2014 year, according to a report by its administration of mechanical society MCPS. PRS’s operating-cost-to-royalty-income ratio was the least efficient it’s been in five years coming in at 11.47%. The company’s ‘legal and professional’ fees showed the largest boost in spending, and the monies distributed to songwriters and publishers declined by 2.7%.
