// Writer · 6 signals

Henry Blackwell

Licensing A professional commercial recording studio captured during a live session, photographed through the control…
Licensing · 6 min

The Cost Comparison Tech Giants Don't Want in the AI Copyright Regulation Debate

A friend who runs a small commercial studio sent me two numbers last month. The first was an invoice: $4,200 for a three-day session to cut a 90-second cue for a regional ad.

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Music Publishing A wide-angle photograph of two music executives shaking hands across a sleek glass conference…
Music Publishing · 5 min

Music Publishing's Regional Land Grab Isn't About Buying Catalogs Anymore

When a mid-size publisher announces it is "entering" the Latin or African or Southeast Asian market, the instinct among people watching the cap table is to ask how big the catalog was and what…

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Music Rights An intimate bedroom recording studio at golden hour, warm sunlight streaming through a window…
Music Rights · 5 min

AI Music Detection in Practice: What Holds Up When the Verdict Gets Challenged

A dispute lands on your desk on a Tuesday. A distributor flagged a track in your catalog as machine-generated, pulled it from three DSPs, and now the artist's lawyer wants to know what produced that…

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Licensing A close-up photorealistic shot of a thick legal motion document resting on a polished…
Licensing · 5 min

The Anatomy of Music Licensing Disputes: How a Defendant Turns "Pay Up" Into "Prove It"

The advice rights-holders run on is simple enough to fit on a notecard: assemble a catalog, document the unlicensed use, attach a damages figure large enough to command attention, and the platform…

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Touring A photorealistic wide-angle shot at dusk of a weathered white touring van parked at…
Touring · 5 min

The Brexit Impact on the Music Industry Was Never About One Big Wall — It's About Forty Small Ones

The damage was never a wall. A wall you can see, cost, and campaign against. What landed on touring musicians after Brexit is harder to photograph: not one barrier but a few dozen small ones, stacked…

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Streaming A photorealistic editorial photograph of two young women sitting on opposite ends of a…
Streaming · 5 min

Gen Z Consumer Behavior Isn't One Audience — Here's What That Means for Your Playlist Strategy

A label marketing lead I know spent most of a quarter building a single "Gen Z" playlist partnership.

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