SoundExchange has forecast that it will deliver $860 million in payouts this year. President and CEO Michael Huppe gave the prediction at the A2IM convention. Huppe also used his speech to discuss the organization’s policy platforms. Continue Reading
When the Copyright Royalty Board set new figures for the 2016-2020 time frame, SoundExchange was vocal in its stance that the $.0017 and $0.0023 rates were too low. Now it is preparing to mount an appeal of that decision, filing a statement to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 31. Continue Reading
Intellectual property attorney Angus MacDonald was the first to calculate that Pandora paid more than half of all SoundExchange collections of royalties to record labels. In this column, he calculates a higher percentage for 2015, noting that the growth of SoundExchange royalty collections is tied closely to Pandora, and that the pace is slowing. Continue Reading
SoundExchange is launching a new tool for seeking and finding data about international standard recording codes. The SoundExchange ISRC Search Site is a free resource for exploring the roughly 20 million ISRCs reported to the industry organization. From this new database, the ISRCs can be used for tracking and reporting use of sound recordings. Continue Reading
Royalty payments are the single biggest cost for Internet radio and audio streaming services. Guest columnist Bret Kinsella examines SoundExchange’s Q4 financial statement, and matches it up to streaming growth metrics. The two datasets don’t match, but it’s not about lower revenue to the music industry. It’s about the money taking different paths to get there.
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Garth Brooks has been recognized by SoundExchange as the first country artist to secure more than 1 billion streams on digital radio. The achievement means that Brooks received the SoundExchange Digital Radio Award for his popularity across digital radio. Continue Reading
SoundExchange released its digital radio report for Q4 2015, a publication marking growth for both the quarter and the year. The company’s royalty quarterly distributions increased 16% over the year-ago period to $211.4 million. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) published its acknowledgement of SoundExchange’s intent to audio the music royalty payments of Pandora and several broadcast groups. An audit sounds alarming, but in fact is a standard annual process. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: SoundExchange’s 2014 unclaimed royalties drop; a primer on streaming inequalities; Pirate Bay co-founder at it again. Continue Reading
If it’s difficult to identify winners and losers in the new CRB webcaster rates, the official comments emanating from three major participants tell a story: Major webcasters OK with it; music industry not. Continue Reading
SoundExchange released its third-quarter figures for payments made and received from digital radio. The rights manager paid out $204 million in the quarter to 87,219 payees. The timing of this release is pointed, as today the Copyright Royalty Board is slated to release its decision on the statutory royalty rates to be paid by non-interactive streaming platforms during 2016-2020. Pandora is one of the bigger players to be impacted by this ruling, but SoundExchange has just as much on the line. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will finalize the Webcaster IV proceeding today. Here’s the background, the players, and what’s at stake.
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