royalties news stories on Newser

Amazon Offers Kindle Authors Whopping 70% Royalty

Harry Kimball — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:25:43 CST

In a bid to boost its ebook business, Amazon is now offering authors and publishers 70% of every sale of a title for the Kindle. The move more than quadruples the standard royalty of 15% or less, to put more in writers' pockets even as the price of their books...

To Save the Music Industry, Ban Music—and Whistling

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:38:56 CDT

The music industry wants royalties for the 30-second previews on iTunes—which is "bullshit," writes Nicholas DeLeon for TechGear. It's yet another foolish move in the battle to save the music industry, complains DeLeon. Luckily, he has a "foolproof" way to do just that: Ban music, "shut the whole damn...

Music Gang Busted in iTunes Royalties Scam

Rob Quinn — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:08:26 CDT

A group of ten British DJs have been arrested for allegedly using stolen credit cards to download their own music from iTunes and Amazon, the Times of London reports. The gang is believed to have made $300,000 in royalties from the $750,000 they spent buying 19 compilations they...

Fading Radio, Recording Outfits Clash Over Royalties

Harry Kimball — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:50:36 CDT

The recording industry and radio-station owners are clashing in Washington over the issue of royalties, Bloomberg reports. Both sides have spent tens of millions on lobbying, and contributed to the campaigns of legislators of both parties. At present, radio stations pay royalties to songwriters and publishers, not artists. “This issue...

Mayor of Batman, Turkey, Aims to Sue Warner Bros.

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:51:01 CST

The mayor of Batman, Turkey, is threatening to sue Warner Brothers for a share of the nearly $1 billion The Dark Knight has generated. The unauthorized name use has wreaked psychological havoc in the Anatolian oil city by driving up unsolved murders and female suicides, Huseyin Kalkan tells Variety —though...

Royalty Rates May Kill Internet Radio Site

Kevin Spak — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:06:21 CDT

One of America's most popular online radio sites may pull the plug without a new deal on royalty rates, the Washington Post reports. Pandora attracts 1 million listeners a day to create personalized radio stations, but also pays 70% of its revenue in per-song royalties—a fee traditional radio has...

Obama Earns $3.9M in Royalties

Peter Fearon — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:08:12 CDT

Barack and Michelle Obama earned $4.2 million last year, mostly from royalties from Obama's two books, Dreams From My Father and the Audacity of Hope . The Obamas' newly released returns for 2007 show they paid $1.4 million in federal taxes and gave $240,370 to charity, USA Today...

Hollywood Studios Strike Back

Lucas Laursen — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:52:20 CST

Hollywood studios are moving quickly to spread the pain of the writers' strike, saying they'll start—as soon as today—suspending dozens of long-term deals with TV production companies and laying off assistants, development executives and production managers who work for striking writers. "Anyone who's not working on pilots or...

Radio Should Pay to Play, Artists Argue

Dustin Lushing — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:26:56 CDT

It's time AM and FM radio broadcasters started paying for the music they play, a group of music industry types has decided. They're lobbying Congress to amend the federal law that has exempted terrestrial radio from paying artists' royalties for nearly a century, Business Week reports.