SoundExchange's portal provides new tool to help resolve copyright disputes

By Emmanuel Legrand

US music neighbouring rights society SoundExchange has introduced a new tool to help resolving ownership claims for sound recordings. The 'Overlaps & Disputes' feature, available on the society's client portal SoundExchange Direct (SXDirect), sends instant notifications to rights owners when other parties make competing ownership claims. SoundExchange said it should enable rights holders "to resolve overlaps as they occur" and eventually "result in fewer royalties being held up by disputes and thus faster payments."

  "We are committed to raising the bar for the industry by providing innovative solutions for music creators," said SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe. "Music creators deserve to be paid fairly and accurately, and these new capabilities ensure they receive their royalties faster, too."

  SoundExchange also introduced the 'Submit Recordings' tool which provides rights owners with a dashboard in SXDirect where they can add new sound recordings by inputting the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and related metadata. Once entered, the data receives immediate validation and gets immediately added to SoundExchange's Repertoire Database.

Spirit of collaboration

  New SXDirect features also include: 'Associated Recordings', which displays all sound recordings currently associated with a music creator's account and the claim percentage for each track; 'Search & Claim' through which users can search SoundExchange's complete database of sound recordings; and 'Upload History', which provides music creators with a history of files that have been uploaded to SXDirect.

  "By introducing this portal update, SoundExchange is once again demonstrating they are the vanguard on transparency in the music industry," commented Rob Gruschke, Vice President of Global Collective Rights at Beggars Group. "Combining this with their powerful new self-service features, empowers sound recording copyright owners to submit ISRCs, make new claims, and resolve overlaps faster to maximise their royalty streams with a spirit of collaboration."