Would anyone in the community be interested in doing live music reviews?

📍 1. CONTEXT / INDUSTRY SHIFT Spotify and BMG have quietly rewritten the streaming playbook. They’ve signed a direct U.S. publishing license, cutting around the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) - the body that processes mechanical royalties for most publishers under the Copyright Royalty Board model. Why it matters: it marks the first time a major publisher has opted out of the collective system and gone direct. That’s not just a contract, it’s a declaration of independence. This shift means publishers can negotiate their own mechanical rates, reporting cadence, and payment pipelines. It also means streaming services could face a fragmented royalty landscape where deals are private and data transparency gets murkier. - 📂 2. CASE FOCUS / BREAKDOWN • BMG’s move: The company frames it as “faster, fairer, and more direct” payment to songwriters. • Spotify’s motive: Simplify reporting, reduce latency, and lock in favorable economics before more publishers demand renegotiations. • System crack: If Sony or Kobalt follows, the MLC could lose leverage and scale, effectively returning us to pre-2018 chaos when every service had separate licenses. • Creator angle: Speed of payment improves, but independent writers may lose the unified protection and audit power the MLC provided. - 📈 3. STRATEGY OR BUSINESS PRINCIPLE This is a “split shift” moment - the era of uniform streaming splits may be fading.BMG’s strategy is vertical control: own the data, the negotiation, and the payout line. Spotify’s strategy is horizontal leverage: play direct with the biggest catalog owners to stabilize margins. The underlying principle: whoever controls the interface between data and payout controls the future of creator economics. - ✅ 4. TAKEAWAYS / ACTION STEPS 1. Understand your royalty chain Know whether your publisher is part of the MLC, a direct license, or both. The difference can affect not only your income but how long it takes to reach you.

Hey everyone, a quick heads-up! We’re having our first Virtual Coffee hangout this Wednesday on Zoom. Nothing formal. Just a chill meet-and-greet to finally put some faces to names and make this space feel like what it’s meant to be, real people, real connection. The Zoom link is available IN the Calendar Section (or HERE ) Even if it ends up being one or two of us, that’s already a win. See you this Wednesday, October 15th - 7:30 PM CST(8 :30PM EST · 5:30 PM PST) Looking forward to it. Gil

First Coffee hour - Meet/Greet Feel Free to join us/mark the date/time..

- 📍 1. CONTEXT / INDUSTRY SHIFTMassive Attack has formally requested that their full catalogue be removed from Spotify (globally) in protest of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investment via his VC firm in Helsing, a defense tech company developing AI-powered systems (including drones) and weapons systems. At the same time, Massive Attack joined the “No Music for Genocide” campaign, under which more than 400 artists and labels are asking that their music be geo-restricted in Israel as a protest against military action in Gaza and ongoing human rights concerns. This move escalates a growing trend: artists pushing not just for better royalties or exposure, but for ethical alignment with their platforms. It forces questions about the moral responsibility of streaming services, the separation (or lack thereof) between personal investments by execs and the platforms themselves, and how culture intersects with politics & human rights. - 📂 2. CASE FOCUS / BREAKDOWN • Massive Attack’s action — Formal request to their label (Universal Music Group) to remove music from Spotify globally, and geo-blocking in Israel for all streaming platforms. • No Music for Genocide campaign — Coalition of 400+ artists and labels, raising awareness and taking collective action via streaming restrictions, to protest alleged genocide & human rights violations. • Spotify / Helsing connection — Daniel Ek’s VC investment in Helsing, a defense-AI company. Spotify maintains the two businesses are separate, but artist backlash shows audiences see overlap. - 📈 3. STRATEGY OR BUSINESS PRINCIPLE Ethical alignment is becoming a core litmus test for both artists and consumers. -Platform leaders’ outside investments are under scrutiny, not just platform policies. -Collective action by artists amplifies impact, forcing labels and DSPs to address values, not just royalties. -Geo-blocking is emerging as a new form of protest, expanding how artists weaponize distribution rights.