She started Pretzel Labs two years ago and has focused the Israel-based company on a goal of cutting childrens’ phone and computer time. The self-funded company has already found success with its products: Kids Court, in which an Alexa-voiced based judge settles fights between kids in a playful way, won the 2018 grand prize of $20,000 in the Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge. 

Levin, speaking earlier this week at the VOICE Summit in Newark, N.J., said she’s discussing potential collaborations with well-known brands in the children’s interactive games market. In an interview with Karma, she declined to identify these companies.

Numerous studies suggest potential damage such as depression from unchecked screen time, and groups around the world urge parents to reduce kids’ hours before screens. The World Health Organization has called for zero screen time for kids under two years and no more than one hour for children two to five.

Levin said Pretzel Labs’ games offers alternative to visual games by involving families. More than one person can play at a time.               

• “We saw a very high demand, especially since a lot of parents are trying to reduce kids’ screen time and this is a new medium that they can use to play and learn,” Levin said. “When I got my first Alexa I realized it’s a magical creative medium and I immediately knew I wanted to make things in this space.”
• Pretzel Labs has created 10 apps on Alexa, including Kids Court, Freeze Dancers, which instructs listeners through dance steps, and Garbage Hero, which asks them to dispose of different types of trash while teaching them about important historical figures. 
• “We need to let people know that young children should not be in front of a screen for long periods,” Leigh Tooth, the lead author of the study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, said in an online interview. “There is emerging evidence that this could be detrimental to their development and growth.”
• Karma Takeaway: Pretzel Labs see its products as a way to protect children from the harmful effects of too much screen time, while building family bonds.

The post Pretzel Labs’ Alexa Apps Aim to Cut Screen Time, Build Family Ties appeared first on Karma Impact.

U.K.-based Jukedeck, which has raised about $2.8 million, mostly from Cambridge Innovation Capital, allows producers to create music through the genres and instruments selected on the app. TikTok is a social media video app with over 500 million monthly users. 

Jukedeck isn’t the only A.I.- based music technology drawing attention. Last week, Landr, a Montreal-startup that provides an A.I.-based audio post-production, raised $26 million. In May, Amadeus Code, which helps songwriters create chord changes and beats using A.I., raised $2 million. 

• A.I. is already being used in music mastering to save on the costs of hiring sound engineers. “AI is not inventing a new business process, it is completing a process that is already there. It is just reinterpreting what is already there,” Paul Resnikoss, founder of Digital Music News, said in a Karma interview. 
• Jukedeck, winner of TechCrunch’s 2015 Disrupt London Battlefield competition, has also developed a tool to interpret video and automatically mix music into it. According to Resnikoss, artificial intelligence solutions like Jukedeck help Tiktok avoid having to “pay rights for a whole song to artists when they just need short videos or audio snippets.”
• “The technology will help those who are already in the music industry. It makes it quicker for them to produce, since the business requires faster results now,” Yair Silva, a sound engineer at JAMBOX Entertainment Studios, a New York recording studio, told Karma.
• Resnikoss agrees that “consumption is so different. Now artists are just pumping out music and pushing stuff out. AI may not be as creative as artists, but we will hear more names of music apps using AI, for sure.” 
• Karma Takeaway: Jukedeck’s acquisition by TikTok underscores the growth of AI-based music making with more competitors creatively disrupting the production and mastering processes.

The post TikTok Said to Eye Jukedeck as A.I.-Made Music Becomes a Real Industry appeared first on Karma Impact.

Twitter users snickered and tech journalists still make fun of the politically tone-deaf location choice for his meditation practice, amid other lifestyle choices like intermittent fasting and other habits he shared.

For meditation to mature as a serious business, it will take more than a handful of tech CEOs and lifestyle gurus on a spiritual quest. The population of Americans who meditate more than tripled over five years, to 14.2% in 2017 from 4.1% in 2012, but is still tiny compared to other lifestyle fads.

How long will it take for meditation to become mainstream? 

Yoga took centuries to become the behemoth industry projected to reach $11.6 billion by 2020, growing to encompass several listed companies, multiple categories and overall cultural awareness of the benefits of regular yoga practice. Helena Blavatsky, a little-known Russian spiritual guru and author, is credited with bringing Eastern philosophy, as well as yoga, to the Western world in the 19th century, along with others who set in motion practices and schools that enable millions of Americans today master sun salutations. 

Since then, a handful of publicly listed companies, and an entire yoga empire has emerged, with dozens of product categories from retreats to clothing, gadgets and multimedia publishing platforms.

With meditation, it’s trickier as it’s not just about exercise in form-fitting clothing. But a growing number of startups are willing to try and disrupt this niche mindfulness segment, ramping up efforts to capture a significant position through music and entertainment as well as vying to persuade Americans to invest as much in their minds as well as they’ve been spending on their bodies.

Meditation to the Rescue

Demand for meditation apps, gadgets and content platforms is fueled by growing scientific evidence showing health benefits of meditation as well as increasing industry leaders and CEOs for personal growth and management.

With American employees among the most overworked globally, more companies are looking for ways to alleviate burnout, help their retention stats and reduce costs through tools like meditation and other natural wellness solutions.

For many, meditation is not just about a feel-good therapy to improve sleep, it also represents a new type of leadership and new management techniques.

Emma Seppälä, co-director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project at the Yale School of Management wrote about “growing interest among leaders in meditation as a way to build leadership skills and achieve business goals” in Harvard Business Review.

“Most of our new clients are not sold by mindfulness as a novelty,” she wrote. “They want to see how these approaches are truly beneficial to existing priorities like retention, talent advancement, innovation.” 

And let’s not entirely dismiss the power of a growing cohort of influencers and celebrities embracing meditation.

While a handful of meditation teachers like Deepak Chopra have captured the imaginations of an older consumer base, a new slate of meditation apps and gadgets is vying to win the hearts and minds of the millennial meditators.

With thousands of apps out there, meditation is an increasingly competitive field. So far, no single meditation app has secured a dominant position in the U.S. space.

Wave

With Wave, co-founders Mason Levey and Brad Warsh are specifically aiming to target millennial meditators who they feel are still are left on the sidelines of this space.

“We are millennials and we really built this for ourselves,” Levey, Wave’s CEO, told Karma. “All of the meditation offerings all sit in one bucket. They are all very traditional, music is an afterthought. They feel a little sterile. Wave is completely music-driven.”

In December, Wave raised $1.5 million, led by Lerer Hippeau. The latest seed round of $4.15 million, which closed this month, also included Lerer Hippeau and Collaborative Fund from the pre-seed round, in addition to Ludlow Ventures and Crosslink Capital.

Having previously founded Y7 Studio, which positions itself as “sweat drippin’, beat bumpin’, candlelit yoga,” the founders are now aiming to apply the same  entertainment approach to the more uptight meditation space.

Investors like Leher Hippeau are are on board. In Wave, they saw founders that have done it before. 

“We saw that they had an engaged and growing audience, a beautiful brand, and a novel approach to the market,” Caitlin Strandberg, principal at Lerer Hippeau, told Karma. 

Turning their attention to meditation made sense.

“They wanted to make it more culturally conscious and more relevant to the masses,” she says. “When you are meditating and thinking, you can feel and think through music.”

Lerer Hippeau, which does not describe itself as impact investor, backs companies and founders who are “purpose-minded” and looking to change the world. With Wave, the firm is betting they will do the same thing for meditation market as Nike did for running.

“Music is culture, Strandberg said. “Meditation is going to have a cultural moment.”

Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio includes environmentally friendly footwear company Allbirds, Humankind, a personal care brand that wants to rethink use of single-use plastic; and Talk Space, a remote-based therapy app.

Wave’s product, which launched last week, offers 10 original albums and music-guided meditation through the Wave app as well as Wave bolster.

Unlike some of the existing players like Calm who are already working with corporate partners like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Wave is focusing on individual consumers at home.

Calm

Calm, the unicorn of the meditation world founded in 2012, has raised $143 million in six rounds. Most recently, the company announced a $27 million round on July 1, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Calm’s focus is on relaxation and helping people sleep better, featuring a roster of celebrities including Stephen Fry and Mathew McConney lulling you to sleep.

Like Wave, Calm is planning to “double down on entertainment” through their content, TechCrunch reported. With the Lightspeed-led round, the company plans to expand into “self-help masterclasses, stretching routines, relaxing music, breathing exercises, stories for children and celebrity readings that lull you to sleep.”

Calm’s music offering already offers hundreds of hours of original music, nature sounds and white noise.

Headspace

Headspace, founded in 2010, has raised $75.2 million and has millions of members in more than 190 countries.

The founders also have been on a mission to bring mindfulness to the masses and “improve the health and happiness of the world.” It also has a mobile app-based product, with tiered subscription packages.

“We want to create the most engaging health platform we can,” Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson told Fast Company in 2015. “We certainly don’t have all the answers. But we do think we have a role to play in starting to get the public to reframe how they think about health.”

Headspace boasts to have a scientific approach to meditation and a seven-person science team led by Chief Science Officer Dr. Megan Jones Bell. 

Headspace is aiming to launch “the world’s first prescription meditation app” next year.

Nobody is dismissing meditation as a passing fad. But what’s less certain is whether the best way to treat stress is with technology, which is accused of contributing to the disconnectedness that stressed people feel. 

Projected Growth

Analysts expect consumer spending on mindfulness solutions as well as corporate employee wellness budgets will continue to expand. A survey in 2018 said 83% of the companies anticipate continuing or growing their well-being programs in the next three to five years. 

The meditation market is expected to grow to $2.08 billion by 2022, according to Marketdata . 

“Meditation is a really amazing market, there is a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress, we know mediation is going to be here for a long time,” says Lerer Hippeau’s Strandberg. “Caring for your brain as well as your body is going to be increasingly important.”

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Apple is planning to fund exclusive, original shows for Apple Podcasts, which is already the biggest provider of the downloadable programming, according to Bloomberg News. Up to this point, podcasts on Apple’s service have been agnostic with respect to creator.

The move would mark Apple’s first big financial commitment to podcast content, and could stifle No. 2 rival Spotify and smaller startups trying to find their foothold in the quickly developing market.

Apple “has yet to outline a clear strategy” but it “plans to pursue the kind of deals it didn’t make before,” meaning direct investments into content, unidentified sources told Bloomberg. 

Apple has given no indication of which content producers may be involved, Nicholas Quah said in the most recent issue of his podcast industry newsletter Hot Pod. The impact of any deals would depend on the weight of Apple’s partners.

“A deal with, say, an indie production studio like Pineapple Street and Neon Hum has very different ramifications compared to a deal with NPR, Radiotopia, iHeartMedia, Rooster Teeth or Wondery,” Quah wrote. 

What is unclear is whether Apple would pursue exclusive streaming rights to established shows or bankroll completely new projects. 

Regardless, Apple’s core business is hardware — specifically, the iPhone where most podcasts are played. Its recent ventures into content like television, games and news are seen as efforts to diversify as iPhone sales stall.

Effects on the Industry

Apple, which essentially launched the podcast business with Apple Podcasts, has lately paid it more attention as ad revenue takes off. Annual podcast ad revenue in the U.S. soared 53% to $479 million last year. 

“There was no podcast industry until they created the app. It was very scattered,” Chris Bannon, chief content officer of Stitcher, told Karma. “I don’t think they will willingly let go of that ‘podfather’ role.”

After not tinkering much with the podcast business since its 2005 founding, Apple has in the last year rolled out enhanced analytics for creators and made the programs available through a web player. 

Those moves may have been signaling that the company recognizes the power it wields. The alleged original programming move may help it distance itself further from rivals. 

Apple Podcasts accounts for 52% of the listener market, according to data from the Spotify-owned distribution startup Anchor. That’s more than any of the other platforms combined, and it’s without a single original show.

Spotify has 19% of the market, grabbing market share through an aggressive push over the last year or so. The Swedish company started 2019 with a podcast acquisition spree, buying up Anchor, Gimlet Media and Parcast in less than two months. It has since added a Podcasts tab within its app and web player to enhance discoverability. 

Unlike Apple though, content is a key part of Spotify’s podcast plan. The platform has funded shows from comedian Amy Schumer, journalist Jemele Hill and popular NPR podcaster Guy Raz, and even inked a podcast content deal with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.

While Spotify may have enough of the market to stay competitive, a move by Apple into original content likely would have the biggest effect on smaller independent startups such as Luminary or Podimo, who have been trying to crack the code on paid podcast subscriptions.

The smaller companies won’t be able to compete against Apple Podcasts’ domination, its status as the world’s most valuable brand, according to Forbes, and 2 billion iOS devices reach. They may be forced to pivot away from subscription models to a more generalized podcast network that lists their shows on open distribution avenues — including Apple Podcasts.

Still, Apple’s move may provide the indies with opportunities to grow, by casting a brighter light on the industry and bringing in more listeners.

“I assume their decision to make exclusive content is going to drive more consumers to the medium, which I think will be good for all of us,” Bannon said. “They have the power to get people to pay attention.”

The post Apple Aims to Keep “Podfather” Status with Reported Plan for Exclusive Shows appeared first on Karma Impact.

PBS Kids aired the first episode of “Molly of Denali” on Monday morning. The educational animated show, which is targeted at kids ages 4 to 8, follows an Athabascan 10-year-old girl named Molly Mabray whose parents run a trading post in her rural Alaskan town. 

To ensure the show’s cultural accuracy, creators Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh (who are not of Native descent), along with producer Boston public broadcaster WGBH, hired more than 60 people of Alaskan Native, First Nations or Indigenous heritage to advise, write the show and voice the characters. 

Native people portrayed in mainstream media were historically stereotypes of the Wild West and a recent study said a persistent negativity persists in current programs. 

That survey from the First Nations Development Institute found that 78% of people believe “it is important to feature more stories about indigenous people on TV, in movies, and in other entertainment.” 

• A 2019 study from the Center for Scholars & Storytellers found that in children’s television programming, 65% of human characters in the U.S. and 74% in Canada are Caucasian. That same study found that only 38% of main characters are female.
• Introducing children to characters that are different from themselves has been shown to prepare them for school and help develop compassion for others.
• Linda Simensky, vice president of children’s programming at PBS, noted to the New York Times that “Molly of Denali” was only capable of reaching its representation goals because of proper funding from both the federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Department of Education — a luxury many shows, especially independent projects, don’t enjoy. 
• The number of scripted television shows in the U.S. nearly tripled to 495 last year from from 210 in 2009, according to Statista. 
• Karma Take: Because of streaming, the amount of outlets available has significantly increased the number of shows that can be produced. This creates opportunities to invest in production companies and independent creators developing and producing storylines with diverse characters.

The post PBS Kids’ First Indigenous-Led Show Highlights Challenges in Bringing Diverse Storylines appeared first on Karma Impact.

The company is the latest player in the fast-growing mobile esports space, vying to make e-sports more accessible.

“What we see is a lack of services or a range of games providing an experience for the lapsed hardcore player or that casual player looking for a more core experience,” Kam Punia, founder and CEO of Pixion Games, told Karma. “We are uniquely positioned as professionals and ex-hardcore players to bring esports to everyone.”

Private equity firm Eldridge Industries led the round with participation from Jabre Capital Family Office and three unnamed angel investors. The company specializes in inclusive, easy-to-master multiplayer games that can be played in short sessions, which it refers to as “lunchtime e-sports.”

E-sports ad revenue is expected to exceed $200 million by 2020, according to eMarketer. present a lucrative path for advertisers to reach an audience, as they are accustomed to advertising through mobile games and applications. Pixion Games previously received an undisclosed amount of pre-seed and follow up funding from former executives of King, the maker of the popular mobile game “Candy Crush.”

• Pew Research Center estimates that more than 5 billion people around the world own mobile devices, over half of which are smartphones.
• Esports typically present cost and accessibility barriers to casual players, as most games are played on PC computers or gaming consoles, which can cost upwards of $1,000 and must be connected to larger immobile monitors.
• Mobile gaming still makes up 45% of the overall gaming market with revenues expected to top $68.5 billion in 2019, according to esports research firm Newzoo.
• Karma Take: Growth of mobile esports titles presents an opportunity for both amateur players and advertisers to tap into the booming esports market.

The post Pixion Wants Bring “Lunchtime Esports” to Everyone appeared first on Karma Impact.

Lagos-based ROK, founded by actress and producer Mary Njoku, started as an original content incubator for IROKOtv, a video-on-demand service. The company, creator of more than 500 movies and 25 television series since 2013, plans to continue Njoku’s method of low-budget, on-location film production, which it says creates local jobs. 

Canal+ plans to expand production throughout other African regions. The French-language Canal+ presents a potentially powerful partner for ROK, as almost half of the continent’s residents speak French and the number is rising. 

• Canal+ is looking for new customers as streaming services including Netflix and Amazon siphon off users. 
• Netflix is also eyeing Nollywood; it recently slated its first Nollywood film, Lionheart, as well as its first African animated series, Mama K’s Team 4. 
• Nollywood is the second-largest film industry in the world in terms of production output behind India’s Bollywood. It is also the No. 2 employer in Nigeria behind the agricultural sector, according to the International Monetary Fund.
• Nollywood typically produces about  50 films per week with an average budget between $25,000 and $70,000. By comparison, the average cost of a top Hollywood film in the U.S. is $250 million.
• Karma Take: As streaming wars go global and push once-leading TV providers to seek opportunities overseas, Nigeria may rise as a leading production hub for high volumes of affordable content.

The post Vivendi’s Canal+ Acquires African Film Studio ROK to Help Cut Losses in France appeared first on Karma Impact.

The fund, ROKiT Games Limited, will invest in both mobile and console titles. Selected companies will be eligible to receive up to a $500,000 investment from ROKiT in exchange for an equity stake in the game.

ROKiT Games Limited already has invested in Ddraig House Game Studio, a U.K.-based company behind the Celtic heritage-inspired game “Lunafon: Tales of the Moon Oak.”

As a smartphone maker, ROKiT provides a unique opportunity to mobile game developers specifically, as selected games will be installed on ROKiT’s phones and promoted through its content network.

• The global games market is expected to generate $152.1 billion in revenue this year, a 9.6% increase from 2018, according to esports market research firm Newzoo.
• The gaming industry is dominated by a handful of companies that churn out blockbuster titles, including “Super Mario” maker Nintendo, “Grand Theft Auto” maker Rockstar Games, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft.
• Indie games, especially on mobile, tend to meet their demise quickly if they cannot sell large quantities or rack up high download totals, which make in-game advertising lucrative.
• Alternative investment opportunities for developers have increased over the last few years. Some examples include the Indie Fund, a collective of successful developers who invest in up-and-coming games; Fig, a community-based funding platform; and Epic Games’ MegaGrants program, which provides grants to indie games built on its Unreal Engine.
• Karma Take: While the crowded gaming market may make it difficult for independent developers to break through, its fast growth is opening doors for investors to champion alternative voices.

The post Smartphone Maker ROKiT Launches $50 Million Indie Game Development Fund appeared first on Karma Impact.

The ad networks unveiled a podcast platform, Podfront UK, which allows U.K. advertisers to buy premium inventory for Wondery and Stitcher’s podcasts, which include “WTF with Marc Maron,” “Freakonomics” and “Dirty John.” The company will also expand opportunities for U.K. brands to advertise to the U.S. market and other European countries.

Podfront claims to be the first example of top U.S.-based networks making a significant move into the European podcast market. It joins three major players in the U.K.: Dax, Acast and Audioboom.

• Last month, Wondery raised $10 million and appointed its first head of international, Declan Moore. 
• Weekly U.K. podcast listeners have nearly doubled to 5.9 million in 2018, from 3.2 million in 2013, with the biggest increase in the 15- to 24-year-old demographic, according to the U.K.’s telecommunications regulatory body, Ofcom.
• Ad spend in the United Kingdom is a fraction of the U.S., Digiday reported, citing industry sources and market research. However, a report from Dax found that 75% of U.K. agencies expect to increase their podcast ad spend in 2019.
• The market is largely dominated by the U.K.’s public service broadcaster, British Broadcasting Corporation, which lists about 720 series on its website. Of the top 10 podcasts on Apple Podcasts this week, three are produced by the BBC. The top podcast, however, is Wondery’s “The Shrink Next Door.”
• Karma Take: Though still in its infancy compared with the U.S. market, the U.K. podcast sector is gaining listeners, and hungry U.S. companies are eyeing that growing base.

The post U.S. Podcast Rivals Stitcher, Wondery Team Up with Eyes on Growing U.K. Market appeared first on Karma Impact.

Music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have long been criticized for skimpy payouts to artists. Moreover, music has become a core piece of major social platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and SoundCloud, making rights management nearly impossible. 

However, in the last two years — during which Spotify has shot from a $16 billion private company to an almost $27 billion public tech giant — ownership rights and compensation in the music industry have become a hot topic in Washington, D.C. 

Last week, the U.S. government took a step toward fixing some of the problems and creating a fairer modern music industry. The need for a fairer industry is one of the few points on which streaming services and artists agree.

As part of the Music Modernization Act of 2018, the U.S. Copyright Office created a team to oversee licensing music to digital services and ensure songwriters are paid.

From the Studio to Capitol Hill

Over the last few years, different legislation seeking to modernize the music industry has made its way to Capitol Hill. 

In 2017, former U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) introduced the Music Modernization Act to improve how artists receive payment from streaming services. The act was later combined with two others to form the current legislation. 

Today’s Music Modernization Act is composed of: 

• Music Modernization Act of 2017, which creates a blanket license allowing streaming services to distribute music without negotiating rights for individual recordings. The act  also authorizes a nonprofit governing body to maintain the blanket license, establish a database of license owners and help match musical works with their sound recordings. 
• Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act, which extends federal copyright protection to Feb. 15, 2067 for works created prior to Feb. 15, 1972. Prior to this, recordings made before 1972 were only protected by state law, not federal copyright law, meaning they were not guaranteed royalties for plays on services and digital radio.
• Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act, which designates that SoundExchange, a Congressional nonprofit organization that distributes royalties, also allocate a portion of royalties to producers, mixers and sound engineers that helped create a recording.

The omnibus Music Modernization Act unanimously passed in the House of Representatives on April 25, 2018, after which, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), a songwriter himself, introduced the bill to the Senate. Despite pushback from satellite radio giant SiriusXM, the Senate also unanimously passed the legislation on Sept. 18. President Donald Trump signed the Music Modernization Act into law the following month.

The honeymoon between streaming platforms and musicians was short-lived. 

On January 27, the Copyright Royalty Board ruled that the revenue percentage for songwriters be increased 44%. Songwriters will receive a 15.1% cut by 2023, up from the 10.5% level of 2012.

Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and Google all filed notices of intent to appeal the ruling, much to the chagrin of different music industry groups.

“No amount of insincere and hollow public relations gestures…can hide the fact that these big tech bullies do not respect or value the songwriters who make their businesses possible,” David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) wrote in response.

Despite the hurt feelings, streaming services and musicians are trying again to reach an agreement.

On July 5, the U.S. Copyright Office chose a group led by the NMPA, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and the Songwriters of North America (SONA) to create and operate the Mechanical Licensing Collective, the group mandated by the Music Modernization Act to manage the new blanket license.

The Mechanical Licensing Committee will launch a portal for publishers and artists to track and manage royalties. It will also negotiate a budget with streaming services, which are required by the Music Modernization Act to fund the collective. 

That will likely be the next fight, as the sides, who have rarely agreed, once again discuss money.

The Modern Music Industry: A Dysfunctional Family

Today’s artists need streaming services to find audiences and stay relevant. But the services  have yet to prove their worth for smaller artists. 

In today’s digital-first industry, it’s difficult for artists who aren’t on Top 40 radio to make a living from royalty payouts. According to Digital Music News, an artist’s song would have to be played around 337,000 times on Spotify to take home the U.S. monthly minimum wage of $1,472. On YouTube, a song would need around 2.1 million plays. 

Why couldn’t the deep-pocketed giants like Spotify, Amazon, Apple and Google behind leading music streaming services pay artists more? After all, without musicians, labels, songwriters and publishers, these services would have nothing to offer music-loving audiences. 

It’s not that simple. Despite their popularity, streaming services still struggle to profit. In fact, Spotify turned its first profit ever in February 2019. 

The answer for both parties could be, as media industry research firm MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan outlined recently, to increase prices for subscriptions. This would allow services to pay higher percentages to artists while adding to their bottom line. 

But, unlike entertainment services like Netflix, music streaming services don’t offer an exclusive hook to keep consumers paying (See: Netflix Originals). If they raised their prices, consumers would likely leave for more affordable alternatives.

Because of this conundrum, the two parties would have likely ended in a stalemate without a push from Congress. Thanks to the Music Modernization Act, streaming services will have to improve their management of ownership rights and properly pay artists. In turn, artists will be able to more clearly define fair licensing on these services.

Despite the unresolved issues, streaming services and musicians agreement about the value of  the Music Modernization Act should not be ignored. It shows that there are core principles that can move the industry forward.

Current developments have the potential to create a fairer industry for streaming services, music tech startups and musicians. They could also help more artists carve out sustainable careers in the digital age.

The post Music Modernization Act Brings a Level of Fairness to the Industry — But There’s Still Further to Go appeared first on Karma Impact.