SoundExchange Payments To Musicians, Rightsholders Up 17% Last Year
SoundExchange has announced a fourth quarter 2011 distribution of $89.5 million to more that 18,000 musicians and rightsholders. That brings the year-end estimated royalty payments to $292 million, up 17% from the prior year. Total royalties distributed since inception total $900 million with 2010 administration rate of 6.7% percent and the 2011 rate project to be lower.
Acknowledging rapid growth in the digital music space, SoundExchange made executive and technical team hires and added data and claims departments last year. In a statement reviewing 2011, SoundExhange also touted other accomplishments including:
- Conducting 80+ database matches with a variety of organizations from Harry Fox to several digital distributors to register artists and rights owners.
- Registering 15,300 new artists, labels and rights holders in 2011; up from nearly 12,000 in 2010.
- Expanded international reach, concluding several new reciprocal agreements to exchange royalties with foreign counterparts
- Increased capacities for processing royalty data and payments through technical overhaul that will continue throughout 2012.
SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization (PRO) appointed by the Copyright Royalty Board to collect and distribute statutory performance royalties owed to recording artists and sound recording copyright owners. SoundExchange royalties are paid by Internet radio, satellite radio and cable TV music-only channels for their use of sound recordings, and are distributed by SoundExchange to recording artists, record labels, and a non-featured artist fund.
