Innovation

SoundExchange is the sole organization designated by the U.S. Library of Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings. This innovation is something so simple yet needed in this industry. As companies such as Spotify have a payment platform that favors the world's biggest artists, there needs to be a group that advocates for the smaller voices and artists in the industry, some acquiring money that they didn't even know they had.

Inspiration

The idea of creating Sound Exchange started when there was a recognized problem that there was a lack of fair play in the music industry. The main purpose of doing the innovation was to collect and distribute performance royalties to recording artists and those who helped with the song as well. The organization also advocates for artist's rights and helps to educate artists. The mission is to support and prompt the music industry further.

Overall impact

Sound exchange defends musicians and makes sure that there are no barriers between an artist and their earnings. Through Congress, the executive branch, and courts SoundExchange ensures fair pay. This type of advocacy, although not a pressing issue in society, was pressing for creators. The creators preserve the value of their music by doing so.

More recently they have compensated legacy artists, royalty rate parody across all platforms, and equal treatment for artists abroad. While this is all great there is a long way to go, the next step is getting closer and closer to getting permission for radio use.

Business benefit

SoundExchange is a leading provider of royalty solutions for audio recording and publishing thanks to its innovation. Through its various technology solutions and products, such as the Music Data Exchange (MDX) which helps music producers and publishers collect and manage massive amounts of data, it has become the best in this space and has been able to differentiate itself through its unique product. Through its extensive network of partners, SoundExchange can serve as a critical component of the digital music industry. SoundExchange makes sure to put artists first which has led them to develop many partnerships and expand their business.

Social and environmental benefit

SoundExchange has brought together a group of creatives into a community where their dreams are supported. It allows for smaller voices in the industry to be heard and for people with similar values and life goals to be connected. It has had a great impact on the music industry in making sure that music creators are getting paid fairly for their work. SoundExchange has gained the trust of many music creators because they consistently make efforts that focus on protecting their rights. They welcome all music creators to gain more knowledge about the music industry and to learn how to navigate their way through it.

SoundExchange promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth because it tries to bring equality to the music space by making sure all artists are compensated accordingly. By giving accurate revenue to individual artists it helps promote decent work for all and makes sure it is a healthy and sustainable industry. All this also leads to the economic growth of the music industry.

We believed that SoundExchange fell into that category of industry, innovation, and infrastructure as music is such a big business, there needed to be a “superman” of sorts who saw the need to make for a more level playing field in the industry. Hopefully one day this will follow onto things in the distribution side of music, allocating a fair portion of money for those who deserve it, rather than huge artists who already make so much.

There is a lot of income inequality around the world that needs to be addressed and worked on. Sound exchange is taking on this goal by helping artists and labels get paid performance royalties. They recognize that there is unfair treatment within the music industry. These artists and labels who are working hard to make music have earned and deserve to be paid equally.

Interview

Wade Metzler, Licensing Agreements