BOOKS & GUIDES

DISSECTING THE DIGITAL DOLLAR
‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ explains how the streaming business works, how the music industry has licensed the digital platforms and how digital royalties flow through the system.

When first published as a report by the UK’s Music Managers Forum in 2015, ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ also raised a number of issues which were subsequently discussed at a series of roundtables in 2016 involving artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, lawyers, accountants and managers.

The Third Edition of the book, published in July 2020, includes an updated version of the original report – covering recent market trends and copyright reforms – as well as a summary of the roundtable discussions, and four Digital Dollar guides providing further insight on label deals, transparency, fan data and song royalty chains.





MUSIC COPYRIGHT EXPLAINED
‘Music Copyright Explained’ is a free user-friendly guide to how music copyright works in the UK, produced by CMU Insights for the UK’s Intellectual Property Office and published in March 2021.

Available online or to download as a PDF, the guide explains how copyright gives music-makers control over the songs and recordings they create.

It also talks through how music-makers and the music industry generate income out of their music rights, and outlines all the key things music-makers and other creators need to know about music copyright and licensing.





OTHER GUIDES AND REPORTS
I have also written and edited a number of other guides and reports about music rights and the music business, and the wider media and digital sectors, via CMU’s consultancy unit. These include…

The series of ‘Digital Dollar’ guides commissioned by the Music Managers Forum and which accompany the main book, putting the spotlight on record deals, transparency, fan data, song royalties and AI.

The ‘Performer Payments On Streaming’ guide commissioned by the Pay Performers campaign, explaining how actors, musicians and other performers get paid when their work is streamed.

The ‘Building Trust’ white papers commissioned by Friend MTS, which review the responsiblities of digital companies to deal with copyright infringing and harmful content uploaded to their platforms.

The ‘Distribution Revolution’ report commissioned by the Association Of Independent Music, reviewing the evolution of music distribution, and setting out what labels and artists should consider when picking a distributor.