https://pushyourmusic.com/publishing

Topgun Music, Baltimore, MD (2025)

02/17/2025

Copyright Office Launches Investigation into American Performing Rights Organizations

The U.S. Copyright Office has initiated a comprehensive investigation into the operations of Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) in the music industry. The probe was prompted by a request from the House Judiciary Committee, which expressed concerns about the growing number of such organizations and their operating methods.

Over the past twelve years, the number of PROs in the United States has doubled. While previously only three organizations – ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC – dominated the market, since 2013, they have been joined by Global Music Rights, PRO Music Rights, and AllTrack. This situation is unusual by global standards, as most countries operate with just one such organization.

The investigation will focus particularly on the fair distribution of royalties among artists. "It is difficult to assess how accurately independent performers and small publishers are compensated compared to popular artists and major companies," the Committee's letter notes.

Bar, restaurant, and concert venue owners have expressed concern about the increasing number of royalty payment demands from new organizations. They worry about potential legal disputes over copyright infringement, especially from lesser-known PROs.

The Copyright Office is accepting written public comments until April 11, followed by a reply comment period until May 7. Based on the information received, the office will assess the current situation and develop recommendations for improving the collective rights management system in the United States.

02/10/2025

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗽 𝗕𝗶𝘇𝗸𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁

The renowned rock band Limp Bizkit has suffered a major setback in their legal dispute with music giant Universal Music Group (UMG). Federal Judge Percy Anderson denied the band's right to terminate contracts dating back almost 30 years, which was a key demand in their $200 million lawsuit.

Last October, the band's frontman Fred Durst filed a lawsuit claiming that the band "hadn't received a penny in royalties" from UMG throughout their years of collaboration. However, the judge found this statement to be inaccurate: the band had been paid "millions in advances," and UMG had also invested significant funds in recording and distributing their albums.

"One cannot speak of a complete breach of contracts when millions in royalties have been paid as advances under long-term agreements," the judge noted in his decision.

This ruling is particularly significant because without contract termination, the band cannot file a copyright infringement lawsuit that could have resulted in substantial compensation.

However, not all is lost for Limp Bizkit. The court maintained other claims made by the band, including allegations of fraud and intentional misrepresentation of facts. Additionally, the band's lawyers were given the opportunity to amend the contract termination request.

"The facts speak for themselves. Universal will be held accountable for their actions," stated Frank Seddigh, the band's lead attorney.

Limp Bizkit has until the beginning of next month to file an amended version of the lawsuit.

Universal Music Group representatives declined to comment.

Source: Billboard
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01/30/2025

Spotify Wins Legal Battle Over Royalty Reduction Through Audiobook Addition

A U.S. Federal Court has sided with streaming service Spotify in a dispute with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) over music royalty payments. The organization, representing the interests of songwriters and music publishers, accused Spotify of illegally reducing payments after adding audiobooks to the platform.

In 2023, Spotify began offering its premium subscribers access to audiobooks without increasing subscription costs. This allowed the company to claim a lower "bundle" royalty rate, which, according to Billboard calculations, could save the service approximately $150 million per year.

MLC argued that this decision was "unilateral and illegal," and that adding audiobooks was merely a pretext for reducing payments to musicians. However, Judge Analisa Torres disagreed with this position.

"Audiobook streaming is a separate product with real value," the judge stated in her decision. She noted that even if only a portion of Spotify's millions of subscribers use this feature, the ability to listen to 15 hours of audiobooks per month cannot be considered merely a symbolic service.

MLC representatives called Spotify's actions "unprecedented" and are considering filing an appeal. In turn, Spotify stated that "bundle offerings play an important role in expanding interest in paid music and growing revenue for the music industry."

This court decision could become an important precedent for the music industry, showing how streaming services can legally optimize their royalty payment expenses through service diversification.

01/28/2025

US Musicians Still Not Getting Paid for Radio Airplay of Their Songs

The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), which would have required radio stations to pay performers for playing their songs on air, likely won't be passed before its January 3, 2025 expiration date.

The United States remains one of the few countries in the world, alongside North Korea, Iran, Rwanda, and China, where there is no full public performance right for sound recordings. This means that when a song plays on the radio, only the songwriters and composers get paid, not the performers.

Radio stations have argued for decades that they adequately compensate artists through free promotion. However, this argument is losing strength today: more than half (52.9%) of songs played on radio are tracks older than two years, and only 36.5% are new releases. In some formats, like "classic hits," up to 100% of airtime is devoted to older music.

Well-known artists, including Randy Travis and Gloria Estefan, have supported the bill, but strong broadcaster lobbying continues to block its passage. Meanwhile, digital platforms such as streaming services are required to pay performers.

"This is especially unfair to artists from previous years who can no longer actively tour due to age and are losing potential income," music industry experts note.

01/23/2025

GEMA Sues AI Developer for Illegal Use of Popular Artists' Music

The German copyright protection society GEMA has filed a lawsuit against American company Suno, which develops artificial intelligence systems for music creation. According to GEMA, the company is using musicians' works without permission and profiting from it.

GEMA discovered that Suno's artificial intelligence creates content that is very similar to well-known songs whose rights belong to the organization's members. Among these works are hits like "Forever Young" by Alphaville, "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega, and "Daddy Cool" by producer Frank Farian.

"We want to cooperate with companies developing artificial intelligence, but this is only possible if rules of fair partnership are followed and necessary licenses are obtained," said Tobias Holzmüller, CEO of GEMA.

This is not the first such lawsuit against AI developers. In June 2024, three major music labels sued companies Udio and Suno for training their systems on copyrighted music without a license. And in November 2024, GEMA already sued OpenAI for using song lyrics to train artificial intelligence.

The unique aspect of the new case is that it's being considered in Europe, where copyright laws are stricter than in the US. Under European rules, copyright holders can prohibit the use of their works for AI training or demand fair compensation for such use.

"This lawsuit is part of our overall measures to ensure fair treatment of authors and their proper compensation," emphasized Kai Welp, GEMA's chief legal officer.

The case will be heard in the Munich Regional Court and could become an important precedent regarding the use of music for training artificial intelligence systems in Europe.

01/15/2025

🎯 5 Secret Royalty Collection Tools That 90% of Musicians Don't Know About in 2025

Yesterday I consulted with an artist who has millions of streams. Want to know how much royalty they were receiving?

Less than $100 per month.

All because they were using only one of the possible income sources.

Sharing working tools with you 👇

1. Topgunmusic Corp
Not just a publisher, but your global administrator:
▫️ Collects royalties in 180+ countries
▫️ Author retains 100% of copyrights
▫️ Registers composition rights directly

2. PRO (Performance Rights Organization)
Key tool for authors:
▫️ Manages copyright
▫️ Collects author's share
▫️ Issues licenses on behalf of rights holders

3. Lime Blue
For collecting neighboring rights everywhere except USA:
▫️ Direct agreements with societies
▫️ Fast payments
▫️ Transparent reporting

4. SoundExchange (for USA)
Separate revenue stream from:
▫️ Internet radio
▫️ Satellite radio
▫️ Streaming services

5. YouTube (royalty collection for composition)
▫️ Monetization of ALL videos with your music:

Please joins us and collects all your publishing royalties.

Topgunmusic Corp is an independent boutique administrator-publisher based in Baltimore.
We work directly with performing rights organizations to ensure that your music is registered globally and mechanical and performance royalties are collected across all platforms—including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Facebook, and more. With TopGunMusic Corp, your copyrights remain 100% yours, while you earn royalties from every stream.

Please contact with us https://topgunmusic.org/contact

09/10/2024

Which of My Songs Can I Register With Topgunmusic Corp?

You should only register songs with Topgunmusic Corp for which you have full or partial copyright ownership.

If you have co-writers: Ideally, you and your co-writers should agree on the split of shares before releasing the song, signing an agreement. Download a template at https://topgunmusic.org/. Without this prior agreement, your co-writers may register incorrect shares, leading to a dispute. Until it's resolved, no one will receive publishing royalties for the song.

Remixes: If you're the remixer, you can only register the song with Topgunmusic Corp if you have an agreement with the original authors granting you a share in the authorship. Many remix agreements don't include an authorship share, so make sure you clearly understand your rights before registering. And though it should be obvious: if you create an unlicensed "unofficial" remix without permission to record and publish, you can't legally release it or register it with Topgunmusic Corp.

Arrangements of public domain works: While you can register arrangements of public domain works with Topgunmusic Corp, you must be certain the composition is actually in the public domain - you can't release or register arrangements of a song still under copyright without the song publisher's permission. If you need to confirm a work is in the public domain, check at https://www.pdinfo.com/index.php

Cover versions: By definition, a cover version is your performance of someone else's song, and therefore you have no copyright in it. You can't and shouldn't register a cover version with Topgunmusic Corp.

Remember these rules and only register songs with us for which you have full or partial ownership rights.

Join to Topgunmusic Corp https://topgunmusic.org/

09/03/2024

Under Which Name Should I Register My Works with publisher?

You must use your legal name.
Music Publishing operates using your full legal name. You can add your artist/performer name afterwards in the 'recording information' section, however, you should not register your works under your artist/performer name.

📧 Connect with us today: [email protected]

08/01/2024

Resolving Disputes Between Authors in Performing Rights Organizations

Conflicts over the distribution of copyright shares are common in the music industry. Today, we'll explore how these situations are resolved in performing rights organizations (PROs) with the assistance of publishing administrators.

Disputes between co-authors of compositions can arise from misunderstandings, unintentional actions, or more serious issues. When conflicts occur, PROs typically remain neutral and don't take sides.

A dispute between authors arises when the sum of their claimed shares for a particular composition exceeds 100%. This is known as "share overlap."

When a dispute is detected, royalties for the contested composition are put on hold. The PRO notifies all involved parties, including the copyright administrator (such as Topgunmusic Corp), of the need to resolve the situation independently.

Topgunmusic Corp assists their clients in such disputes and conducts an initial assessment of the validity of the claims. If new claims appear legitimate, they inform the PRO.

Once the authors reach an agreement on the distribution of shares, Topgunmusic Corp communicates the agreed-upon data to the PRO. This allows the hold to be lifted and royalty payments to resume.

Key points:

- PROs don't intervene or act as arbitrators in disputes
- Disputes must be resolved by the authors themselves, with publishers acting as mediators
- Royalties are withheld until the parties reach an agreement
- Publishers assess the legitimacy of claimed shares

Resolving disputes regarding copyright shares is a crucial aspect of the work done by music publishers and rights administrators like Topgunmusic Corp. Their role in facilitating these resolutions ensures that artists receive their fair share of royalties and helps maintain harmony in the collaborative world of music creation.

Collect all the royalties due to you with TopGunMusic Corp as your partner.
Submit your application: https://pushyourmusic.com/

07/25/2024

What If I Have Multiple Artist Names and One Writer?

Music publishers register songs using the full legal name of their client songwriter, not the recording artists themselves. The performer details are included in a song’s metadata once you add its recording information (ISRC) within your account.

We can advise you music strategy through our consultancy services.

Collect all the royalties due to you with TopGunMusic Corp as your partner.
Submit your application: https://pushyourmusic.com/contact

11/23/2023

Do I need to sign a contract with Topgunmusic Corp as a publisher if I am already a member of Performing Rights Organization (PRO)?

Topgunmusic Corp does not replace your Performing Rights Organization (PRO). We help you manage your current PRO catalog and make sure you receive all the performance and mechanical royalties. When you join Topgunmusic Corp, we register your songs at global PROs to collect performance royalties directly.

Joining Topgunmusic Corp also gives you the ability to collect mechanical royalties that are not collected by PROs. Mechanical royalties are generated from physical sales and interactive streams (Spotify, Apple Music).

11/21/2023

Topgun Music client: Sunbios

Sunbios is an electronic project of Ira Ange и Denis Kulikov, symbiosis of two artists, live vocals and techno rhythms, yin and yang. Guys release their tracks on Bonzai Progressive, Beatfreak Recordings, Orbita Project.

Within first year of their career, they performed live vocal sets in such top places as Café Del Mar Phuket, Bermudos Phuket, Gazgolder Moscow, Purpur Afterparty, Breaking Bad Bar Sochi, Center Club etc.

Topgun Music

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