IFPI and WIN's repertoire data exchange service RDx is now 'fully operational'

 By Emmanuel Legrand

The global repertoire data exchange service (RDx), the joint venture between the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), is now "fully operational."

 

  RDx's goal is to provide a supply chain for performance rights data among record companies and music licensing companies (MLCs) "to help improve the accuracy of revenue distribution to rights holders when their music is used." RDx is designed to bring simplicity, standards and efficiency to the exchange of data between rights holders and MLCs on a global basis.

  Following a request for proposals in 2018 and a competitive tendering process, IFPI and WIN chose British neighbouring rights society PPL to develop and operate the technology systems on behalf of Repertoire Data Exchange Limited.

 

Simplifying data-handling processes

  RDx aims at standardising data delivery processes to supply data to individual MLCs around the world, in order to boost the efficiency of information flows. According to the two partners, RDx "simplifies the data-handling process by offering recording rights holders, of all sizes and from any country, a single registration point to supply their repertoire data in a standardised format (DDEX RDR) that can be quickly and easily accessed by participating MLCs."

  The RDR message requires a valid ISRC to identify the Sound Recording being messaged about. A single registration point can "improve the timeliness, accuracy and efficiency of MLCs’ revenue distributions to rights holders worldwide. and provides mechanisms for increasing data quality and automatically alerting rights holders when potential rights conflicts are detected." 

  RDx is expected to "substantially simplify" the delivery by independent record companies of their repertoire and rights data to music licensing companies around the world, explained Charlie Phillips, Chief Operating Officer at WIN. He added: “WIN has long advocated for the benefits of a ‘global single point of entry’ for performance rights data, available to all right holders and MLCs. The 50:50 joint venture between WIN and IFPI has delivered on this objective, with the initial participants in the project having now set up RDx for all other right holders and MLCs to join from now.”

 

Over 1.4 million registrations

   For the past 12 months, PPL has been implementing and testing the systems, followed by a soft launch during which record labels got to use the system, including Beggars Group, Sony Music, state51 Music Group (read below the comments from state51's Paul Sanders on the benefits of the new system for indie labels), Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. 

 

  The service is now live and exchanging production data between the participating parties. To date, there were over 1.4 million registrations of repertoire data from labels partner that have been processed by RDx.

  Neighbouring rights' collective management organisations receiving production data from RDx include GRAMEX in Finland, PPL in the UK, Re:Sound in Canada and SENA in the Netherlands. Additional record companies and MLCs will join RDx in the coming months.

 

An innovative and transformative project

  “Music companies have made it a priority to invest in and develop systems for music data to be accurately managed and reported. Now live and available worldwide, RDx will significantly contribute to this aim," said IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore. "The addition of more and more record companies and MLCs will drive further operational efficiency and cost reduction for music right holders whilst also enabling MLCs to retrieve authoritative repertoire data from a single point – further enhancing the speed of accurate revenue distribution.”    

  Peter Leathem, Chief Executive of PPL, said the project was "innovative and transformative" for the recorded music sector. He added: "As a user of RDx, PPL has already begun to see the benefits of improved standardisation and quality of repertoire data, and the automation and efficiency that RDx enables.”


Paul Sanders (state51 Music Group): 'A more accurate and efficient system'
 

Paul Sanders, founder of state51 Music Group, which includes of music platform OpenIMP, digital music distributor and services company Consolidated Independent, and a recorded music division, The state51 Conspiracy, explains here what will be the impact of the RDx initiative for independent labels.

 

The issues had been obvious for a long time: Most MLCs operate their own repertoire databases and ask for registrations direct from producers. That means massive duplication of effort into a very heterogeneous environment, and then little pockets of chaos when rights change hands or mistakes have been made.

  Independent producers were, and still are, very badly affected by this, particularly when their recordings are played outside their home territories. Monitoring and distribution rules are a whole other can of worms, of course, but if as a small and under-resourced producer you can’t get your recordings in the database in the first place you have lost before you start.

  The agencies that represent independent producers are some help, but naturally take a top down approach so there is almost certainly a layer of independent repertoire that is uncompensated. 

 

A collaborative spirit

  Right at the start of the process that led to RDx, I was asked to attend an IFPI meeting at which the subject of repertoire registration and updates was discussed. Richard Gooch [Chief Technology Officer] at IFPI was proposing a short report be commissioned but needed some rights owner involvement to justify it. I offered to pay independent market share of the cost — by distribution of course, not by ownership. The report was written and discussed. 

  We then hosted two large workshops at The state51 Conspiracy’s lovely building in East London, to get some of the technical and operational issues discussed and worked out with people from the major labels and large MLCs. There was an amazingly collaborative and constructive spirit. If only more music industry projects worked like that!

  Out of it came the RFI/RFP process, and we were of course delighted that PPL won the contract. 

 

Feedings data to MLCs

  Simultaneously we were involved in a lot of DDEX working group activity to align the old MLC internal data exchange protocol to the rest of the DDEX standards, as it was a bit of an alien due to its different origins. The principle is of course that the producers send DDEX RDR (the updated DDEX MLC format) metadata to RDx where it is deconflicted and checked before being fed on to as many MLCs as have been brought into the system. 

  So the next phase for us was to bring the state51 Music Group’s technical platform — which we brand OpenIMP — up to DDEX RDR compliance. It’s not easy moving from a product-centered world to one built around the sound recording asset, so that took a bit of effort. We completed that work at the beginning of 2020, and validated Consolidated Independent — our platform services company — as a multi-party data supplier to RDx. 

  The state51 Conspiracy is a producer member of many MLCs, and we have another company in the group — Open Music Rights — that is an agency member of many MLCs too. So we cover our own recordings, can represent other rights owners, and can provide the technical service for other MLC members. 

 

A more reliable set of data

  So what does this project means for an indie label and what are the pros and cons? The implications for indie labels right now are a bit limited as few MLCs are involved. But even at this stage if your local MLC is using RDx you have a stable and well managed metadata format and some infrastructure which means repertoire can be registered and maintained reliably and at much lower cost than before.

  The DDEX consortium and team have been outstanding — and together we have removed the threat of supply chain competition from the commercial market, to the great benefit of independent producers. The same will now happen for public performance and broadcast, and of course this will have implications for private copying levy distributions too, as better coverage seeps into the systems. 

  The next phase will be even more interesting, as it seems to me that international repertoire data flows are likely to improve dramatically, and so international royalty flows should follow suit. There’s a big gap between the ex-home territory earning in streaming, for instance, versus public performance, even though we know a huge amount of international repertoire is played in public via the consumer services. 

 

Transparency and efficiency

  It might be that more independent producers find it possible to join MLCs outside their home territory. Whether they do or not, the international collections via MLC mandates and agency agreements will be more accurate and more efficient. 

  This, by the way, is a huge credit to the major labels, which should be thanked for seeking accuracy and fairness as well as efficiency, when many would say they had been beneficiaries of the inefficiencies. 

  There is another aspect to this, which is that as more MLCs move to RDx, the whole system will become more transparent and more efficient. Naturally MLCs serve their members, who tend in smaller markets to be local producers, and we know some struggle to invest in systems that would make their markets more open.

 

Impact on smaller markets

  RDx is highly likely to have a secondary effect particularly in these smaller markets, which I expect to start clustering around shared technical systems and processes. This of course means that local producers in small markets will find it much easier to register and collect in the larger markets. Anything that gives musicians access to bigger and more efficient markets is very welcome! 

  What are the cons? Well, all this requires investment from small independent producers in processes and in data management. And RDx does not address monitoring and distribution rules, areas where smaller independent producers are still at a huge disadvantage.