SoundExchange distributed $208.7 million in sound recording performance royalties during the second quarter, bringing its 2018 distributions to date to more than $398.6 million. The quarterly result was up 17.5% from the year-ago period, and distributions went to 9.3% more payees, a total of 28,065, in Q2 2018. SoundExchange also increased its new registrations, recording 9,390 in Q2 2018 and 9,078 in Q2 2017. The quarterly performance adds to the cumulative $5 billion SoundExchange had distributed in its entire operation through March.
The performance royalty distributor had several other noteworthy activities in the period that it shared in its most recent report. Its SXWorks division launched new features for looking up and claiming recordings. It launched the Music Data Exchange alongside the RIAA and NMPA. And it remains an official backer of the Music Modernization Act, which faces a complicated path through the Senate.