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LinkedIn · Derrick McMichael II
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Warner Music just settled a $24 million copyright case with Crumbl Cookies. The cookie chain used 159 WMG recordings in TikTok and Instagram posts without licenses. Meanwhile, Japan just passed a law giving performers and record companies royalties when their music plays in public venues — extending that right overseas too. Two stories, same lesson: rights matter, but only if you know what you're sitting on. Top Music Attorney dropped a video this week that hit me hard. The #1 mistake artists make with BMI and ASCAP? Thinking they need a publisher to collect their publishing share. You don't. You can collect both writer AND publisher shares as an independent. Most artists are literally leaving money on the table because nobody told them the mechanics. Ari's Take has been screaming about this for years — the confusion between composition copyright and sound recording copyright, between what PROs collect and what your distributor handles. It's complex by design, and complexity benefits the people who already have legal teams. The Warner settlement is a reminder that major labels will spend millions protecting catalogs. But who's protecting YOUR catalog? Have you registered your copyrights? Are you collecting both shares from your PRO? Do you know the difference? Japan just expanded rights for performers. New tools are launching to track AI-generated music. The infrastructure is changing fast. The artists who survive aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest streams. They're the ones who understand what they own. How well do you know your rights paperwork? Be honest.
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Post ID: 931f4cf1…
Platform: LinkedIn
Last synced: 6/26/2026, 1:54:44 AM
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