SoundExchange Becomes A Major Source Of Online Revenue

When non-profit SoundExchange first started in 2000 its royalty payouts were so small that they were only rounding errors on most copyright owner and artists income statements. Today that's all changed as the service recently announced that it sent out $1 billion in royalty payments last year alone.

This is quite an achievement since it took SoundExchange 10 years to reach the first billion in payouts but two years for the second. In fact, last year the royalties paid by the organization accounted for about 16% of the American music industry's total income.

So where does the money come from? SoundExchange collects money only from digital radio, with the bulk of it coming from SiriusXM and Pandora. As a result, the organization has now become one of the major PROs along with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

After deducting about 4.6% to cover its operating expenses, the organization sends 50% to the copyright holder (usually the record label), 45% to the featured artist and performers, and 5% to a special fund for session musicians and backup singers.

What's significant here is that artists actually get paid for radio airplay, unlike terrestrial radio where only the publisher and songwriter get paid.

If you're an indie musician and you're getting airplay on digital radio, there may be some money waiting for you in escrow. Sign up at SoundExchange today.

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AM/FM Still The Favorite Car Entertainment

Despite the inroads made by various streaming services, AM/FM radio still has the hearts of more than 90% of drivers in America, according to research company IPSOS.

In fact, most drivers say that they still like the traditional buttons and controls on a car radio as opposed to the virtual controls on the car's electronic interface.

According to the study, AM/FM radio still dominates as the top listening platform, with 84% of consumers using it, followed by 64% using the CD player, Sirius/XM at 22%, Pandora at 18%, iHeartradio at 8%, HD Radio at 7% and Spotify at 7%.

What's more, drivers used their CD players 3 1/2 times more than digital radio services.

If you think that this looks like digital or internet streaming is not taking hold in the car, it may be a case of the data leading you to a faulty conclusion.

For one thing, the people most comfortable with digital technology and streaming music, those of driving age between 16 and 24, aren't as car-centric as the generations before them. Many don't see the need to have a license, let alone a own a car.

This will eventually change as they marry and start families, at which point we'll see a big boost in auto digital services.

Also, the fact that digital services aren't integrated into the vast majority of cars on the road yet has a bearing on the results as well.

I bet if this survey is revisited in 3 to 5 years the results will be dramatically different.

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