Sound Exchange

SoundExchange Named As Finalist in Two Categories for The 2013 American Business Awards

11th Annual Stevie® Awards to be presented on June 17 in Chicago and
September 16 in San Francisco

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 13, 2013 – SoundExchange was named a finalist in two categories for The 2013 American Business Awards – “Company of the Year – Non-Profit” and for “Communications Campaign of the Year – Low Budget.” As a result, the organization will ultimately be a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie® Award winner in the program.
The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

SoundExchange Announces Largest First Quarter Payment Ever with $117.5 Million Paid to Artists and Labels

WASHINGTON, DC, April 16, 2013 – SoundExchange today announced a first-quarter 2013 distribution of $117.5 million. This quarter marks the organization’s largest first quarter payment to recording artists and record labels to date with a nearly 10 percent increase from the first quarter 2012 distribution. SoundExchange distributed a record-setting $462 million to recording artists and labels in all of 2012.
Since inception, SoundExchange has paid more than $1.5 billion in royalties to the creators of music. In addition, SoundExchange now works with more than 2,000 digital music services that rely on it to administer the statutory license for the use of sound recordings.

“Our first quarter numbers show that this digital radio revenue stream is continuing to grow. We are pleased to see 2013 off to an incredible start for the creators of music,” said SoundExchange President, Michael Huppe. “We are committed to making sure recording artists and record labels receive the compensation they rightfully deserve, and we are proud to help facilitate this growth that helps move the music and creative community forward.”

SoundExchange encourages recording artists and record labels to register to receive their share of this growing digital music revenue stream. Those that also become a SoundExchange member can choose to have SoundExchange collect digital sound recording royalties on their behalf internationally.

SoundExchange Ends Record-Setting Year with $462 Million in Total Distributions

WASHINGTON – January 16, 2013 – SoundExchange today announced a new record with total year-end royalty payments reaching approximately $462 million (up 58 percent from the prior year). Fourth quarter 2012 distribution also increased with more than 22,000 payments totaling approximately $134.9 million, a nearly 10 percent increase from its Q3 2012 distribution of $122.5 million.

SoundExchange Announces Largest Quarterly Payment to Artists and Labels to Date

WASHINGTON, DC, November 19, 2012 – SoundExchange today announced a third-quarter 2012 distribution of $122.5 million. This quarter marks the organization’s largest payment to recording artists and record labels to date. In total, SoundExchange has paid an unprecedented $326.9 million in 2012, which represents the first three quarters of 2012 and is $30 million more than all of 2011.

SoundExchange Announces $204.4 Million in Digital Royalties Paid Since Beginning of 2012 to Artists and Labels

WASHINGTON, DC – August 23, 2012 – SoundExchange today announced it has distributed $204.4 million in digital royalty payments to recording artists and record labels in the first two quarters of 2012. In its second quarter, SoundExchange distributed $95.8 million, the second highest quarterly distribution in the organization’s history.

SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization that helps the music and creative community thrive in the digital world. The organization collects and distributes performance royalties from non-interactive digital music services on behalf of recording artists and labels for the use of their sound recordings. To date, SoundExchange has paid more than $1 billion in royalties to the creators of music.

SoundExchange Releases List of Recording Artists and Record Labels with Unclaimed Digital Performance Royalties

 Organization Launches Effort to Encourage Music Industry to Register Online to Receive Digital Royalties They’ve Earned  

 WASHINGTON – August 15, 2012 – SoundExchange today released a list of more than 50,000 recording artist and record label names owed tens of millions of dollars in unclaimed digital performance royalty payments. This list also includes more than $31 million in royalties that are three or more years old.

 The  artists and labels named on the list have accumulated unclaimed royalties waiting to be paid out by SoundExchange, the nonprofit organization entrusted by the Library of Congress to collect and distribute royalties for sound recordings streamed on Internet radio, satellite radio and cable music services.

SoundExchange is encouraging recording artists and record labels to view the searchable database located on its website to learn more and register to receive their share. The unclaimed royalties, ranging from $10 to more than $100,000, have been collected by SoundExchange during the past decade.  Those that are not included on the list, and have not yet registered with SoundExchange, are encouraged to also register to receive future digital radio royalties.

SoundExchange and BandPage Collaborate on Initiative to Put $2 Million in Unclaimed Royalties in Musicians’ Pockets

WASHINGTON, DC – Aug. 7, 2012 – SoundExchange, a music industry non-profit focused on distributing digital performance royalties to recording artists and record labels, and BandPage, a leading solution for musicians to manage their presence online, recently teamed up to notify recording artists of unclaimed royalties with SoundExchange.

Together the two groups identified more than $2 million in unclaimed digital performance royalties for thousands of BandPage musicians who have not yet registered with SoundExchange. Bandpage musicians with unclaimed performance royalties will be notified by BandPage directly via email.

SoundExchange together with AFM, SAG-AFTRA and The Fund Announce Four New Reciprocal Agreements with Artist Societies Worldwide

WASHINGTON – July 25, 2012 – SoundExchange announced today, in conjunction with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and The AFM and AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund (“The AFM and AFTRA Fund”), that the organizations have signed four multilateral reciprocal agreements for collection of sound recordings royalties with Cyprus (ASTERAS), Germany (GVL), Japan (CPRA/Geidankyo) and Sweden (SAMI) foreign artist societies.

Music Industry Leaders Join SoundExchange Board of Directors

WASHINGTON, DC – July 12, 2012 – SoundExchange announced today the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Ray Hair and Paul Robinson will bring their collective knowledge and fresh perspectives garnered from their work across and within the music industry to the SoundExchange board.

Crabtree-Ireland, Hair and Robinson will fill the positions previously held by Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, national executive director, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); Patricia Polach, of counsel, Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C.; and Tucker McCrady, former vice president, Litigation, Warner Music Group, respectively. The SoundExchange Board of Directors is comprised of 18 individuals, split evenly between artists and label representatives, serving virtually all aspects of the recorded music industry.

Webcasting III Decision: D.C. Circuit Court Resolves Constitutionality Issue of Copyright Royalty Board

On Friday, as you may have heard the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in the pending appeal of the “default” 2011-2015 rates set in the Webcasting III proceeding. The appeal was brought by Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS), one of the two college groups that represent certain educational webcasters. In the appeal, IBS challenged two things: (i) The rates for non-commercial webcasters and (ii) the constitutionality of the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). (The CRB is the panel of judges appointed by the Librarian of Congress that sets the default royalty rates for Internet radio’s use of sound recordings.) Specifically, IBS argued that the Librarian’s appointment of the CRB judges violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.