Music Business Roundup: MIC Creation, "Uptown Funk!" Adds Writers, & More

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Each week on Songwriter U, Songspace recaps the top stories in the world of music business. Here’s everything you need to know from the week ending on May 1st.

MIC Is Created
Companies that are involved in music distribution and streaming, including Google, Amazon, Pandora, and NPR, have joined together to form the MIC (Music. Innovation. Consumers.). This group aims to stop legislation that would give artists and songwriters higher royalty rates, which makes sense as they would be the ones having to pay more money if rates rise.
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Five Writers Added to “Uptown Funk!”
The popular Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars track gained five extra songwriters this week, as a YouTube claim made by the writers of “Oops Upside Your Head” caused the royalties from song to go into escrow because they claimed they owned a percentage of it. To resolve the issue and not be involved in a lawsuit, the writers of “Oops” were collectively given 17% of the song.
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Copyright Review Ends
A two year long review of copyright in the US came to an end this week. The review allowed people from different organizations to voice their opinions, such as introducing the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act, and other recommendations from Maria Pallante, the Register of Copyrights and Director of the United States Copyright. With the conclusion of the review, it is Congress’s turn to take action.
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Grooveshark to Shut Down

The music streaming site Grooveshark has been fighting legal battles for years, but this week it finally lost and has been permanently shut down. In recent court cases, the company was found to have had its employees upload copyrighted content without licenses – the three major labels teamed up to stop the service altogether.
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Hollywood vs. Piracy Sites

Though no consequences are specified, the Motion Picture Association of America has sent out letters to European piracy sites that distribute films and TV shows, warning that they have 24 hours to shut down.
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