Small Satellite Launch Startup ABL Space System Raises $49M, First Mission Set for 2021
Leslie Ignacio
Leslie Ignacio is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is a recent California State University, Northridge graduate and previously worked for El Nuevo Sol, Telemundo and NBC and was named a Chips Quinn Scholar in 2019. As a bilingual journalist, she focuses on covering diversity in news. She's a Los Angeles native who enjoys trips to Disneyland in her free time.
ABL Space Systems, a startup building low-cost launch vehicles for small satellites, announced that it raised over $90 million and plans to launch its first orbital mission by the first quarter of next year.
The El Segundo-based company secured $44.5 million in Air Force contracts and another $49 million in private funds led by Ethan Batraski at Venrock with participation from New Science Ventures, Lynett Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures.
Their launch vehicle, the RS1 aims to carry up to 1,350 kg into low Earth orbit — around 200 kilometer above the Earth. Early testing has been successful with the vehicle's performance hitting all its targets, the company said.
"We've completed hundreds of engine, stage, and ground system tests across multiple deployments to unimproved sites. All were performed on generator power with fully self-sufficient systems," said Dan Piemont, ABL founder and CFO.
The company's GSO system, which it uses to launch the RS1, is marketed as an easy way to launch satellites on-demand. That system employs shipping containers and a concrete pad to set up a launch. The simple infrastructure cuts down on the need for the large teams employed by traditional satellite companies.
ABL is among a number of U.S. rocket builders like Long Beach-based Rocket Lab and Hawthorne-based SpaceX that are competing in the growing small satellite market.
As the company ramps up toward their launch, it has expanded its footprint leasing additional propulsion test facilities at Mojave Air and Space Port and moved its operations into a 60,000 square foot production facility in El Segundo.
The RS1 satellite launch vehicle team, now made up of 80 engineers, designers and production experts.
The price tag for a launch is $12 million.
ABL founder and Chief Financial Officer Dan Piemont said these "large capacity, fit-for-purpose resilient launch system" offer commercial and government customers "value."
The company shut down during the first month of the pandemic slowing down production and testing, but it resumed operations shortly after.
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Musicians are facing a tough road and the pandemic hasn't made life any easier. But changes are afoot that could help.
A flurry of deals between music copyright owners and a grab bag of online video purveyors may be just the first step in a process that could see "the most important copyright reform since the U.S. passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 22 years ago," according to one industry observer.
With it, artists and rights holders should be better positioned to benefit from the growing relevance of music across social media platforms, gaming consoles, virtual gyms and much more.
<p>"There clearly has been a frenzy of activity," David Israelite, president and chief executive of the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), a trade association representing American music publishers and songwriters, told dot.LA. </p><p>The changes afoot stem from a battle that has been playing out in Europe that has pitted the creative community against some of tech's giants such as YouTube and Facebook. Those companies depend on content created by artists. </p><p>Last year, the EU adopted tough new copyright laws set to take effect by next June. Though the regulations are facing a slew of challenges, global digital companies are looking to come into compliance to get ahead of the curve, and possibly gain an edge over competitors. </p><p>In August, Santa Monica-based Snap <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-03/snap-lands-deals-with-top-music-companies-to-add-songs-to-videos?sref=QjdS4d5U" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">struck a deal</a> with several big music companies for rights to their music. L.A.-based Triller <a href="https://musically.com/2020/08/13/triller-signs-new-18-month-contract-with-b2b-firm-7digital/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed a deal</a> with digital music firm 7digital for back-end support on its licensing management. </p><p>In July, <a href="https://musically.com/2020/07/23/tiktok-licensing-us-publishing-nmpa/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok agreed to terms with NMPA</a>, which included a settlement for past violations and an agreement for the future. The Culver City-based company also recently signed deals with indie digital rights managers <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tiktok-signs-global-licensing-deal-with-indie-label-agency-merlin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Merlin</a> and <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tiktok-inks-new-global-deal-with-believe-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-independent-music-companies/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Believe</a>. </p><p>The Believe agreement could be particularly beneficial. It allows the independent artists affiliated with Believe-owned TuneCore to upload tracks onto TikTok, <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tunecore-offers-free-distribution-to-tiktok/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the company announced last week</a>, potentially bringing them a massive new global audience. </p><p>And in-home fitness, much of which relies on music, is becoming more popular. Apple, for instance, <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/09/apple-fitness-plus-a-personalized-fitness-experience-comes-to-life-with-apple-watch/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recently announced a new subscription fitness program</a> that will involve music. </p><p>The company is "doing it the right way – licensing from the very start," Israelite said. NMPA will undoubtedly be watching other competitors in the fitness space closely.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1594810205183-18a8b0ce6c13?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&w=400&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEzMzIxMn0" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ0MjY2NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjA0MTMyNH0.u9Jw-CUCzI1EEbsUATH9Zlc7u-6jeSKd47QHOKyofjg/image.jpg?width=980" id="57a2e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c78ff84a9cd9b9c9061bfb94b7aefd0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..."> European Union member countries will begin enforcing Article 17 by June 2021 that require platforms to make an upfront effort to avoid copyright violation. </small>
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Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@guillaumeperigois?utm_source=RebelMouse&utm_medium=referral">Guillaume Périgois</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=RebelMouse&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a>
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</p><h2>Why Are All These Deals Happening Now?</h2><p>In the U.S., the current legal framework – which emerged with the DMCA, before social media existed – requires platforms to respond to takedown notices, but not to proactively ensure that songs that show up in user feeds are properly licensed. </p><p>When a song's rights holder issues a takedown notice, it leaves the platform with the choice of obtaining a license, removing the song from the platform (and potentially upsetting users) or possibly getting sued. </p><p>Songs have two kinds of copyright: one for the sound recording, and one for the underlying composition. If a platform is making money in part thanks to a song, both copyrights are relevant. </p><p>Since the performer is the face of the music, the songwriter can sometimes be forgotten. </p><p>"You often see (platforms) start with labels then move on to publishers. Sometimes they won't, though, or sometimes they won't get to the smaller, independent publishers," Israelite added. </p><p>Platforms can also take "Safe Harbor," meaning "what they don't know is on their platform, they're not liable for," said Wilson Hays of L.A.-based <a href="https://pex.com/" target="_blank">Pex</a>, a tech company that monitors audio and visual assets across the web. But by June of next year, <a href="https://www.termsfeed.com/blog/eu-copyright-directive-article-17/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the EU will begin enforcing</a> reforms that require platforms to make an upfront effort to avoid copyright violation. The new E.U. laws won't apply directly to content posted in the U.S., but companies with international operations may find it easier to roll out compliance changes across their global operations rather than taking a piecemeal approach. </p><p>Hays believes that many are already trying to get ahead of Article 17's requirements before the new legislation takes effect. It may behoove them to do so, since <a href="https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2020/06/02/senate-ip-subcommittee-hearing-dmca-reform-grand-bargain-no-longer-working/id=122124/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the U.S. is looking at its own copyright reforms</a>. </p><p>This is a big deal, Hays said. </p><p>"Life will get better come 2021 for independent rights holders because they will have tools at their disposal that will allow them to have more control over their content — on top of generating more revenue," he added. "This attribution will happen prior to upload, allowing any creator to participate in whatever revenue is generated from the get-go."</p><p>Indian social media companies, too, are facing a tougher regime of music copyright enforcement. Several short-form video companies that have gained popularity in the wake of TikTok's ban in the country, including Triller, are <a href="https://musically.com/2020/09/08/t-series-takes-on-indian-short-video-apps-over-music-usage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facing lawsuits</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-16x9">
<a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1527334919515-b8dee906a34b?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&w=400&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEzMzIxMn0" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ0MjY2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjQzMDU5NX0.vDamg-65AmkrOVrmYwlAZ8S7Bs8xOEo-6WK7OEk3O2k/image.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=200%2C726%2C274%2C80&height=700" id="fc235" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c457d1c550e785bd9f69581160fa173" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Amazon-owned streaming video company Twitch also relies heavily on music.</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@casparrubin?utm_source=RebelMouse&utm_medium=referral">Caspar Camille Rubin</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=RebelMouse&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a>
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</p><h2>Music Has Become a Core Component of Social Media
</h2><p>On YouTube, for example, there are at least 10 seconds of music on 84% of the platform's videos, and over half of all videos on Instagram contain music, according to Hays. Getting their licenses in order allows platforms to let their users include music in their videos without needing to worry they will be taken down.</p><p>Amazon-owned streaming video company Twitch also relies heavily on music. <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9431760/jeff-bezos-twitch-music-royalties-artist-rights-alliance-letter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The company has taken heat</a> for Jeff Bezos' <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9429423/jeff-bezos-stumped-twitch-royalties-congressional-hearing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">poor performance before Congress in July, when representatives asked him</a> if the company pays out royalties. He couldn't say, but the answer is… rarely. </p><p>Platforms that delay getting their licensing deals in order can save themselves cash. They can also avoid navigating the complex copyright landscape. But as they grow, that strategy can come back to bite them. </p><p>"Once they begin generating substantial revenue, then they'll draw the attention of rights holders," said Hays.</p><p>At least part of the change has to do with a growing intolerance by the creative community of extremely wealthy companies using their music without proper licensing. Another driver is the successful, high-profile legal disputes that Israelite said have "sent a message to other companies." </p><p>Peloton, for example, faced a protracted legal battle before <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nmpa-and-peloton-announce-settlement-of-litigation-joint-collaboration-agreement-301012233.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">agreeing to terms</a> that, as with TikTok, accounted for past violations and set new terms for artists featured on its platform. Such cases, Israelite noted, have "accelerated the choice these companies have to make": Either license properly, or be a copyright infringer, and bear the consequences of receiving takedown notices or getting sued. </p><p>In the wake of Jeff Bezos's embarrassing admission to Congress, Twitch is "starting to become more of a focus for the need for proper licenses," said Israelite. </p><p>As has already been seen in India, TikTok competitors in the short-form video space can't just focus on having the right algorithm and attracting a big user base. Israelite pointed to Triller as an example of a startup that has deals with record labels (for the recordings) and some publishing deals but may soon have to play catch up. </p><p>"I think they'll have to deal with a pretty large problem for a significant number of songs being used without proper permission from publishers." </p><p>Israelite also noted that Twitter has no publishing licenses yet. </p><p>More ripples are likely to emerge wherever music can be found in the digital landscape, from social media to gaming, fitness and beyond. Whether that change comes in the form of lawsuits or licensing agreements remains to be seen. </p>
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University of California, Los Angeles economists say the glass is half full for the U.S. economy — at least for now.
The quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday wanly touted a "better-than-expected outcome" for the U.S. economy in the near term, a major upgrade from the last report's forecast of a "depression-like" crisis for the economy. But the new, relatively optimistic assessment is highly reliant on how the pandemic progresses, the authors cautioned.
<p>California's economy is broadly expected to mimic the nation's so long as pandemic-related shutdowns dissipate in 2021. Still, the optimistic outlook doesn't expect a full recovery for California until after the end of 2022, when economists forecast state unemployment will remain close to 6%, compared to just under 5% for the U.S. overall.</p>
<p>Part of the reason for this improved forecast is that the economy opened up earlier than anticipated and there were no new shutdowns, despite multiple states experiencing a surge in cases over the summer. Moreover, consumers and businesses adapted quickly to new technologies and remote working, while the Federal Reserve committed to near 0% interest rates until labor market conditions recover. In fact, borrowing rates are at historic lows, below even the levels reached during the Great Recession.</p>
<p>The economic bounce-back was always expected to be big, as temporarily laid-off workers returned to work. Because the economy reopened earlier than USC analysts predicted, recovery numbers, which had been expected in 2021, came instead in the third quarter, leading to "stronger 2020 growth and weaker 2021 growth," the report said.</p>
<p>GDP is expected to grow 0.3% in the fourth quarter with real GDP declining overall to 4.2% for all of 2020, the authors wrote in an essay entitled "The recovery is losing momentum." For context, that's 50% steeper than the decline of 2.8% from the Great Recession in 2008. But those numbers are far better than the annual 8.6% decline <a href="https://dot.la/coronavirus-recovery-ucla-forecast-2646249300.html" target="_self">forecast in mid-June</a>. The forecast for 2021 is 3.5% growth and 4% growth for 2022.</p>
<p>"That there's more economic activity than we expected that's good news, but it's not something that you'd say we're out of the woods, because we're not," Jerry Nickelsburg, the director of the forecast, told dot.LA. "The economic outlook depends critically on the trajectory of the pandemic and the public health response to it."</p>
<p>Nickelsberg forecasts that it will take the U.S. until the first quarter of 2022 to achieve the same level of economic activity that it saw in the fourth quarter of 2019.</p>
<p>He expects 2020 fourth quarter growth to be relatively weak, with more bankruptcies and layoffs. And winter will put a damper on economic activity in many parts of the country where it has been moved outdoors, Nickelsberg said.</p>
<p>Unemployment isn't expected to reach pre-pandemic rates until late 2024 at the earliest.</p>
<p>And that's with some rather optimistic assumptions, including that there is widespread availability and usage of an effective vaccine in early 2021 or that the pandemic has a relatively mild impact on economic activity in 2021 and 2022. The report also assumes another, more limited federal fiscal stimulus round before the end of 2020.</p>
<p>"None of these assumptions are assured, and if they do not come to pass, our forecast, presented here, is too optimistic," the authors wrote.</p>
<p>Though employment recovery has been fast as workers returned from temporary layoffs, sectors that rely on more human contact have seen a rise in permanent layoffs. In those sectors, employment "won't fully recover until consumers and businesses return to old habits, which won't be for some time, if ever," the forecast said.</p><p>But it's on theme that the forecast is a little more uncertain, as Nickelsberg said, "there's a higher probability that we are too optimistic than that we are too pessimistic."</p><p>California's leisure and hospitality industry have been hurt by the drop off in international tourism. But home sales have bounced back after a precipitous first-quarter drop. </p><p>"There is heightened uncertainty now, uncertainty about the pandemic, uncertainty about fiscal policy, another stimulus package or not out of Washington, uncertainty about the election, there's lots of uncertainty in the economy right now," said Nickelseberg.</p><h2>A Dive into L.A.'s Tech and Gig Economy</h2><p>The forecast noted that the gig economy in California has been hit harder by the pandemic in terms of overall unemployment. </p>
<p>L.A. County has more than one million gig workers as of 2018 — roughly one gig job for every four traditional jobs — and the numbers are growing faster in this segment than the U.S. overall.</p>
<p>That helps explain why L.A. has seen steeper drops in overall employment during the "pandemic-induced recession," the report states, especially since a greater share of its gig workers are in transportation, arts, entertainment and recreation, which have been hit especially hard.</p>
<p>Many have been buoyed by the unemployment benefits provided by the coronavirus stimulus bill.</p>
<p>That's especially relevant because gig workers tend to make less than their conventional counterparts. Gig workers in the professional, scientific and technical sector in L.A. earn an average of $52,000 annually, compared to their counterparts who earn $142,000.</p>
<p>The forecast examined tech industry jobs, with five large clusters led by the Bay Area and followed by Southern California, then Boston, Seattle, and Manhattan. The report noted that tech jobs increased dramatically in most of those areas from 2005 to 2020, while in Los Angeles there was only a moderate increase of 36,000 tech jobs.</p>
<p>Although L.A. County ranked second out of 20 counties for having the most tech jobs in the U.S., it was 11th on that same list for average pay. Tech workers in L.A. earned an average salary of $142,000, slightly above the national average of $135,000 for the industry. In Santa Clara, tech workers received an average salary of $287,000, while in Manhattan that number is $205,000 and in Seattle $200,000.</p>
<p>Though the tech industry has done well amid the pandemic, the forecast noted that it could be harder to see a near-future increase in tech workers in the Bay Area and New York, with high costs of living, as companies experiment with remote working.</p><p><em>__</em></p><em>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/latams" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>@latams</em></a><em>. You can also email me at tami(at)dot.la, or ask for my Signal.</em>
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