WASHINGTON DC (Hypebot) – SoundExchange, which collects royalties for artists and rights owners from satellite and net radio, cable music channels and others that stream recordings, has passed $3 billion in payments.
SoundExchange has paid more than $3 billion in digital royalties to artists and record labels since its launch as a non-profit in 2003.
The milestone reflects the explosive growth in digital radio and that growth is accelerating. Last year SoundExchange paid $773 million which represents 16% of revenues for the entire U.S. recorded music industry.
“Three billion dollars in distributions marks a phenomenal milestone not just for SoundExchange, but for the entire music industry,” said SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe. “While we celebrate this great achievement, SoundExchange continues to advocate for every artist and label to be paid fairly whenever their music is used on every platform. There are platforms that are currently not paying a dime for the music they use to build their billion dollar empires and the future of music depends on all creators being paid fairly for their hard work and creativity.”
Help Celebrate $3 Billion and Counting
To celebrate, SoundExchange is asking all artists and labels to recognize this achievement by tweeting or mentioning @SoundExchange using the hashtag #3BillionPaid. Artists are also asked to share their videos in an effort to encourage continued support for and growth of digital royalty payments.
