Emmanuel Legrand

Organisations from the creative sectors have joined forces to launch the Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media (ARIAM), a Los Angeles-based global coalition calling for responsible AI in the creative industries. Founding members include the BBC, ITV, The Walt Disney Company, Condé Nast, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, The New York Times, the Financial Times, Reach and Wiley and Adobe. "ARIAM is a results-focused, solution-orientated, cross-content sector, glo...

A group of a dozen book publishers — including the five main book publishing houses: Hachette, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan and ​Simon & Schuster — have sued online platform WeLib for alleged copyright infringement in the US District Court for the ⁠Southern ​District of New York. The publishers, who are all member companies of the Association of American Publishers (APA), said they brought this action "to stop the mass distribution by Defendants of millions of legally prote...

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has unveiled AVR+, a new machine-readable technical format designed to enhance the accuracy of the sharing and processing of music data across the global audiovisual industry. CISAC said the new format will ensure that creators are "more accurately identified and fairly paid" and marks "a major step toward more consistent and interoperable metadata exchange across the audiovisual value chain." AVR+ is based on the Glob...

Victor Finn, the Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), has announced plans to retire from his role in 2027 after almost two decades in the job, marking the beginning of a planned leadership transition. The IMRO Board has initiated a formal succession process, with executive search firm Board Works charged with selecting the organisation's next CEO. Finn said: “With the Board's recent approval of our five-year strategic plan, and to ensure a smooth and orderly tr...

Adam Tiran has been elevated to the position of General Manager of Africori, the Warner Music Group-owned South Africa-based independent distribution and label services company. Based in Johannesburg, Tiran reports to Simon Robson, President, EMEA, Recorded Music, WMG. Tiran was a founding member of the Africori team and has worked at the company for more than 13 years, under the leadership of Founder and CEO Yoel Kenan, serving most recently as Director of Operations and International Lead.

Bucks Music Group has signed Scottish songwriter, producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist Jack McNeilage, known as Jack David, to an exclusive global publishing deal. London-based McNeilage has written songs that have amassed over 300 million streams on Spotify alone. McNeilage began as one half of the duo Able Faces, which enjoyed success in Germany and The Netherlands. McNeilage began writing and producing for dance music acts, including Timmy Trumpet, VAMERO, Tom Enzy, POLTERGST, and many mor...

India's neighbouring rights society PPL India has been granted registration as a Copyright Society under the Copyright Act, 1957 by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and has been permitted to operate as a licensing and collecting for the use of sound recordings on behalf of labels and performers.

On the occasion of Music Day on June 21, four French music industry organisation — ADAMI (neighbouring rights society representing performers), SCPP (neighbouring rights society representing owners of sound recordings), SNEP (record labels) and SACEM (authors and publishers) — have called on policy-makers to "to stop allowing platforms to exploit with impunity what our authors and artists have sometimes spent years creating." In an open letter, the organisations claim that "behind every song are...

A global coalition of artists, songwriters and music managers have put on notice the world's record labels and publishers about the misuse of their rights in AI deals in an open letter coordinated by the European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) with support from organisations around the world. "We are increasingly concerned that artists and songwriters in existing recording and publishing agreements are receiving letters from major labels and publishers informing them that they will be opted in ...

Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia has acquired the rights to Sound Pollution Songs' existing catalogue of approximately 5,000 works. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In addition, Additionally, SMP and Sound Pollution Songs have entered into a long-term administration agreement covering future works. The Sound Pollution Songs catalogue includes works performed by artists such as Bonafide, Elaine, Foredoom, Srexoria, Sabaton, Twilight Force, and Wormwood, among others. SMP said the dea...