Music in Podcasts

[davideduardo]

Here is a David Oxenford (attorney specialized in FCC and regulatory matters) article about the complexity of using music in podcasts by radio stations... despite having music performance rights contracts.

https://www.broadcastlawblog.com/20...ail&utm_term=0_550fd6c4c6-7384dceaae-70189869

It starts by saying,

"Our friends at Edison Research recently released a study on music discovery highlighting the ways in which people discover new music. Among their findings was that broadcast radio, YouTube and streaming services were among the largest sources for that discovery. That report caused one radio trade publication to suggest that podcasts, which ranked relatively low among the places where new music is discovered, might have opportunities to grow there. What that suggestion overlooks is one of the biggest reasons that music podcasts have not taken off – rights issues. There still is no easy way to clear the rights to major label music – so most podcasts are limited to spoken word featuring limited, directly licensed music."

 

[TheBigA]

One year ago, SoundExchange sought to simplify the licensing process for using sound recordings in podcasts:

https://www.soundexchange.com/2019/...-licensing-for-music-creators-and-podcasters/

But it really didn't address several issues that Oxenford mentions. This is a big deal, and as usual, the music industry is allowing their short term greed to get in the way of long term greed. They want to get paid now, and in reality, music is a long-term investment.

It's been my experience that even record labels & artists, who each stand to benefit from music in podcasts, are reluctant to use music in their podcasts.