New trends in copyright business: Quku acquired into Asia, and new rules for original licensing emerged

Recently, there are many new developments in the global copyright business that deserve attention. Among them, the business acquired by Quku is currently spreading to Asia.

Recently, Blackx, a $100 million-backed Asia-focused music fund, announced the acquisition of more than 230 songs by Taiwanese songwriter Wang Zhongyan, including some of the hits of artists such as Faye Wong, Zhang Huimei, Zhang Xinzhe, Soda Green, Eason Chan, Wan Fang and Huang Xiaoyu.

In foreign media reports, Wang Zhongyan from Taiwan is an influential practitioner in the Chinese music industry, and she has collaborated on many artistic projects, which has also led her to become a filmmaker, music producer and freelance writer. Blackx said Wang Zhongyan is a sought-after songwriter whose signature songwriting style blends poetic prose with complex emotions. Currently, she is working on a film script.

The Asia-focused music fund that led the acquisition is managed by Prime Asia Asset Management and led by its founder and group CEO, Chee Meng Tan.

In an interview with foreign media last September, Tan said that Blackx aims to become Asia's leading artist-centric creative rights platform, promoting global understanding and appreciation of Asian culture. When asked what the company was looking for in the acquired repertoire, Tan said, "Our curatorial work is very thoughtful and we will allocate resources to support unique creations that we feel are meaningful to Asian cultural appreciation. Most importantly, these libraries must benefit creators and investors under Blackx's management. ”

Commenting on the acquisition, Wang said: "It is very satisfying to work with Blackx to allow artists and investors to participate fairly and effectively in the Asian music economy. Blackx's creator-first approach to acquiring, creating, and distributing IP, as well as expanding content, is very attractive to artists and content creators. ”

Jialun Wu, President of Blackx Greater China, said: "As an experienced and beloved music industry veteran, Wang Zhongyan's lyrics are both deep and emotional, appealing to people of all genres and ages. Her library will provide us with a wealth of exclusive, ready-made content that we will promote cross-platform in different formats. At Blackx, we will work with creators to maximize the vitality and revenue-generating potential of their music assets while expanding and optimizing their breadth of assets and businesses. ”

At the same time, Blackx explained that working with creators allows them to continue to create more valuable and engaging music content, and Blackx works with artists to cultivate IP value by providing them with creative and commercial services such as track management, rights agency, marketing and promotion.

In addition to copyright acquisition, some companies in the field of original licensing have also begun to try to formulate new rules.

Electronic music label Insomniac Music recently announced a partnership with startup Slip.stream to offer claims-free music to more than 200,000 creators on the latter's platform, aiming to challenge the traditional music licensing model and bring game-changing solutions.

Insomniac is known for music distribution, rights agency, label management, sponsorship and festival/club integration services, and owns labels such as Insomniac Records, HARD Recs, Bassrush, Factory 93 and more. Slip.stream bills itself as a "secure music platform for creators" with more than 65,000 songs, 60,000 sound effects and more than 200,000 creators.

Slip. Dan Demole, co-CEO of stream, said: "Creators can use Insomniac's music in their content, which is a big step forward in our mission to connect the world of user-generated content with record labels, rights agents and artists. I'm excited to see how our creators are using Insomniac's song library. ”

Meanwhile, backed by Sony Music Entertainment, Third Prime, and Lightshed Ventures' Slip. Stream partnered with FUGA, a B2B distributor owned by Downtown Music Holdings, to develop licensing API technology that allows it to protect Insomniac's copyright on YouTube and enable creators to use music safely to monetize their videos.

FUGA was brought under the umbrella of Downtown Music Holdings in 2020 and its marketing team has since expanded to now operate in 17 countries, including analytics, royalty accounting, neighboring rights, rights management and white label services, and is used by more than 800 music rights holders worldwide. Previously, FUGA also worked with Odyssey Music Network, a Berlin-based artist management and label service, and Phat Penguin, a Vienna-based label management company.

Slip. Dan Demole, co-CEO of stream, said the integration with FUGA isn't just for Slip. Stream offers endless opportunities and high-quality music for creators, while also creating new monetization and marketing opportunities for musicians.

Joe Wiseman, Director of Insomniac Music Group, noted: "The complexity of licensing traditional music can be a challenge, but we partnered with Slip. The collaboration between stream and FUGA has resulted in a game-changing solution. Through technology, we are creating opportunities for creators and new avenues for supporting our talented artists. ”

Zach Koche, Director of Business Development for FUGA Americas, said: "Insomniac is the leading platform for electronic music and is at the forefront of this genre, and we are excited to partner with Insomniac and Slip. Stream collaborates. We look forward to working with them across our full suite of distribution, marketing and branding services and further expanding Insomniac's global audience." ”