Music Industry Leader SoundExchange Celebrates Year of Milestones with 2013 Total Distributions Reaching $590 Million

Announces Record-Setting $170.4 Million Paid to Artists and Labels in Fourth Quarter 2013

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SoundExchange, which celebrated its ten year anniversary in 2013, closed out the year with another record-setting distribution, paying $170.4 million to recording artists and record labels in the fourth quarter. Total year-end digital radio royalty payments reached an all-time high of approximately $590.4 million (up 28 percent from 2012). Since inception, SoundExchange has put nearly $2 billion into music creators' pockets.

(Click here to view an infographic on these and other achievements).

SoundExchange royalties are paid by 2,000+ non-interactive Internet radio, satellite radio and cable radio services for their use of sound recordings. These royalties are distributed by SoundExchange directly to the recording artists and record labels that earn them.

SoundExchange maintains one of the lowest administrative rates in the industry at 4.9 percent in 2012.

"I'm pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year for SoundExchange, and for digital radio. We processed tens of billions of digital performances in 2013 reported by thousands of music services every month. This is further proof that consumers are streaming digital radio now more than ever," said SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe. "We are ensuring that digital radio listening is being converted into a reliable revenue stream for music creators. We look forward to continuing our mission to support, protect and propel the music industry forward in 2014."  

Other significant organizational accomplishments in 2013:

• Collaborated with industry partners to help defeat the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA) which had attempted to dramatically lower royalty rates for webcasters.
• Added two new members to the Board of Directors: Jim Mahoney, Vice President of The Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and Darius Van Arman, co-owner and founder of Secretly Label Group.
• Continued to fight for music creators' rights, which included the filing of a lawsuit to recover up to $100 million in unpaid satellite radio royalties. 
• Signed seven new international agreements for the exchange of royalties with foreign counterparts.
• Presented with prestigious Gospel Music Association's (GMA) 2013 "Impact Award" for contributions to the Christian and gospel music community. SoundExchange also received two silver American Business Awards, including one for Company of the Year-Nonprofit.
• Broadened the executive leadership team with the addition of Barry LeVine, Vice President, Industry Relations and Julia Massimino, Vice President, Global Public Policy.
• Revamped SoundExchange.com and added new resources for site visitors including: advocacy, international, and stories which features artist and label testimonials.

(Note: The 2013 administration rate is not final as payments are still being received.)

About SoundExchange
SoundExchange is the independent nonprofit performance rights organization representing the entire recorded music industry. The organization collects statutory royalties on behalf of recording artists and master rights owners for the use of their sound recordings from satellite radio, Internet radio, cable TV music channels and other services. The Copyright Royalty Board, created by Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the only entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties from more than 2,000 services. SoundExchange has paid nearly $2 billion in royalties since its inception. For more information, visit www.SoundExchange.com or www.facebook.com/soundexchange.

SOURCE SoundExchange