A Little Knowledge... #68

Welcome to A Little Knowledge #68 – our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter.

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???BULLETIN NEWS:?NMPA steps up Spotify fight: ‘Welcome to OUR version of a bundle’

US publishing body the NMPA held its annual meeting last week. The walk-on track for boss David Israelite's 'State of the Industry' speech was LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out'. ?Who on earth might Israelite want to send crashing to the canvas? Take a guess... Yes, Spotify.?

• Israelite's speech was almost entirely focused on the NMPA's current battle with the streaming service.
• To quickly recap: after adding audiobooks, Spotify recently reclassified its premium tier as a 'bundle', which means lower mechanical royalty payments.
• Cue?a furious protest from the NMPA; a letter to the DSP?alleging copyright infringement?around lyrics, music videos and podcasts; a?lawsuit against Spotify for unpaid royalties?filed by the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC); and a?legislative proposal by the NMPA?that would enable publishers to opt out of statutory licensing in the US.
• It became clear this week that the NMPA is just getting started. Israelite announced that the body has now filed an official complaint about Spotify with regulator the Federal Trade Commission. It has also referred the company to 10 state attorneys general, inviting them to investigate Spotify's "bait and switch practice", and?referred the row to consumer advocacy organisations including the National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, and Truth in Advertising.

???Read our analysis, and our thoughts about what might happen next,?here .

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????TOOLS:?Co:brand –?short video analytics and more

Short form video has a huge influence on music listening, and it’s no surprise that artist teams are constantly on the lookout for tools that help them develop and execute successful campaign strategies across these platforms.

• When?Co:brand?first came across Music Ally’s radar, we were impressed by the comprehensive suite of features that have historically been missing in similar tools. And little wonder, as, according to the Co:brand team, the platform was built in close collaboration with a number of record labels.?
• Co:brand offers a mix of an analytics software and creator campaign management tools for music industry professionals at record labels and agencies.?
• The company charges based on how many artists you track, and will track all of these artists catalogue.
• We take a look at its core functionalities and?features, pricing - and alternatives.

?? Subscribers can read Tools in full?here

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?? MUSIC ALLY JOBS

The latest and best jobs for the global music business, trusted by both top music industry companies and experienced professionals on top of their game.

Are you looking for a job? Click here to see the full list of vacancies!

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?? A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA...

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And finally… our daily Bulletin newsletter is loved by subscribers for its instant industry analysis - but secretly, the part they like most is the ‘A Little Something Extra’ section at the bottom of the email. Here's a few of the best recent links:

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak?gets the Jive Bunny treatment ?for an interview where he kept repeating the same answer.
• It won't be as exciting in a pew-pew-pew way as we're hoping, but who could pass up an invitation to?the first annual Space Piracy conference ?
• Some tasty news for fans of classic cozy game Stardew Valley:?it now has an official cookbook .

This is only a glimpse into this week's The Knowledge newsletter – subscribe for FREE ?and every Friday it’ll arrive in your inbox with:

??? The best new platforms in TOOLS; ?? Highlights from our latest COUNTRY PROFILE REPORTS; ???? Some great and/or strange music in SOMETHING 4 THE WEEKEND; ?? A look back in TIME MACHINE; ?? The Music Ally Focus PODCAST; and ?? more links to our favourite unusual stuff in A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA.