Soundtrack Showdown

Hi this is ZipLaw! This is our Roundup Newsletter where we run through all the top news stories of this past week and explain how they impact law firms.

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Here’s what we’re serving today:

• 🎵 IP: TikTok v Universal
• 🏭 Property: Time for Data Centres
• 📦 Logistics: Suppliers choose Land
• 🔋 Energy: EV makers re-route
• 🤝 Trade: New Brexit Deal?

MEMO

• 🏦 Interest Rates: The Fed and the Bank of England kept interest rates steady between 5.25% and 5.5%, hinting at a cautious approach despite inflation easing. The two seem to be waiting for more signs of sustained inflation drops before considering rate cuts.
• 💡 Big Tech & AI: Microsoft's earnings soared, largely thanks to its aggressive AI integration, despite investor worries over the costs. Simultaneously, Alphabet's big AI spend at Google cloud services raised eyebrows, even as it outperformed revenue expectations.
• 🚗 EV Market Dynamics: BYD leads in EV sales but faces growing competition. Renault's Ampere IPO is off due to shaky investor confidence, while GM remains optimistic about US EV growth despite a sales slump in China. Toyota holds onto its top vehicle seller title.
• 💼 Musk's Pay Package Dispute: A Delaware judge nullified Elon Musk's $55.8 billion Tesla compensation, criticizing Musk's dominating role in the deal's approval, prompting Musk to consider relocating Tesla's incorporation to Texas.

🎵 Intellectual Property

Universal vs TikTok

In Short: Universal Music Group is pulling hits from stars like Taylor Swift and Drake off TikTok, shaking up the music and social media worlds.

What’s going on here?

Picture this: you're scrolling through TikTok, ready to jam to a Taylor Swift anthem, but wait—silence? Yep, that's right. Universal Music Group (UMG), the titan behind some of the biggest names in music, has hit the pause button on TikTok. After what seems like an eternity of back-and-forth chats that went nowhere, UMG pulled the plug during one of the music industry's glitziest weeks, the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. So, if your TikTok dance routine was set to a UMG track, you might need to start looking for a new tune.

Why does it matter?
TikTok has become the go-to platform for catapulting songs to global fame overnight, acting as a launching pad for both new and established artists. However, UMG is calling foul, accusing TikTok of not adequately compensating for the music that's been instrumental in its massive success. Despite TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, boasting over $110 billion in sales last year, UMG claims that its share from TikTok was a mere 1% of their total revenue.

The stakes are high with TikTok's user base exceeding a billion. UMG's decision to pull its music has far-reaching implications not just for TikTok, but also for the artists, their fans, and the broader music industry. UMG's bold move might not just be about royalties; it could be a tactical play to bring TikTok to the negotiation table for a more equitable licensing agreement, like those TikTok has with Warner Music and Sony Music.

Plus, UMG isn't stopping with TikTok; it's leveraging its influence to demand better compensation terms with other streaming giants like Deezer and Spotify too. This confrontation could set a precedent for how streaming platforms and music producers share the digital stage and profits, ensuring artists get their rightful share of the spotlight and revenue.

⚖️ How does this impact Law Firms?