
Media Beat: May 31, 2017
Canadian media under attack, sign the petition
Big Canadian ISP companies make money on every byte of data for the news, information and entertainment consumed by Canadians, but share none of it with Canadian news outlets and other Canadian content creators — Media Action Plan
Spotify seeks to restructure US$1B debt
Investors can convert their debt to equity at a 20% discount of Spotify’s IPO share price — Hypebot
Spotify settles $43M class-action suit
In a major victory for indie musicians, the combined class action lawsuits against Spotify brought by Cracker frontman and artist advocate David Lowery and singer/songwriter Melissa Ferrick have been settled with the music streamer establishing a $43.4 million fund to compensate songwriters and publishers whose work had been used by the service without proper licensing — Hypebot
Aboriginal leader joins News Media Council
George E. Lafond is a member of the Muskeg Lake (Treaty 6) Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and former elected Tribal and Vice-Tribal Chief for the Saskatoon Tribal Council.
Facebook joins Amazon in banning sale of Kodi boxes
The social network will no longer allow the sale of the devices as pressure builds from producers, sports promoters and trading standards to stop them being widely available to the public — Variety
Could Canadiens games be moving to TSN?
James Duthie may be regretting letting that one slip. Duthie, the TSN television host, said this during an appearance on the Sports Illustrated media podcast last week with Richard Deitsch, after being asked how the $5.2-billion Sportsnet-NHL deal has affected his network — Fagstein
Ryan Seacrest re-signs with iHeartRadio for US$73M
The three-year deal comes with a new NYC studio allowing him to keep his new gig with Kelly Ripa — Radar Online
Seacrest feels short-changed by Katy Perry ‘Idol’ deal
The media superstar is reportedly getting far less than the whopping US$25M deal the singer will earn in the new season — NY Daily News
iHeartMedia debt holder unease grows
The creditors want an ownership stake in the radio giant in exchange for forgiving some of the $20 billion in debt — but that equity stake offer has not yet been made — NY Post
Videotron appeals CRTC ruling to stop offering unlimited music service
Videotron has stopped selling or renewing the plans, but asked the CRTC to grandfather the existing plans until the subscribers have paid off their handsets or at least give it more time to implement the changes — Financial Post
Worth Noting
R&R swinging DJs from the ‘60s
3-book series is a twenty-five-year tribute (1954-1979) and legacy to those pioneering behind-the-microphone icons of our Golden Days of Rock & Roll Radio--the deejays who brightened our mornings and capped off our nights — LinDee Rochelle, Amazon books
Disney made more last year than any studio ever
The Walt Disney Studios will become the first studio ever to reach the $7 billion threshold at the global box office, setting a new industry record. With a powerful $290 million global debut for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney's year-to-date grosses are $6,988.3 million from Jan. 1 through Dec. 18, 2016, including $2,700.4 million domestically, also an industry record, and $4,287.9 million internationally, a Disney record — TechDirt
Geist on ‘safe harbour’ provision and so-called ‘value gap’
Michael Geist argues with Miranda Mullholland’s Economic Club of Canada plea to re-balance the drift that gives big tech firms the upper hand in how they manage creative content – Blog
Miranda Mullholland speech to the Economic Club of Canada – Listen and watch
Copyright ruling called ‘bad news for consumers, bad news for Canada’
Internet service providers are bracing for a flood of requests to turn over the identities of subscribers that allegedly download pirated movies after a court decision some Internet policy experts warn will increase “copyright trolling” in Canada at the expense of consumers — Emily Jackson, Financial Post
Fair use copyright reforms essential in a world of technological change
Fair use would also better align with reasonable consumer expectations about uses of copyright material that do no harm to rights holders' interests, and promote understanding and respect for the law — The Age, Australia
Macca goes to court to reclaim Beatles copyrights
McCartney has sued the music publishing division of Sony Corp. in federal court. The case involves copyrights for 267 Beatles songs written between 1962 and 1970 — FreeAdvice