The Milestone of Royalty Payments
The Soundexchange performance collection organization has currently paid royalties amounting to $12 billion to artists and rights holders since its founding in 2003.
This milestone was announced with the payment of royalties in February, as stated on Monday (February 24). This occurs less than a year after Soundexchange payments reached the $11 billion mark in 2024.
The non-profit organization also reported that it distributed $248.6 million to creators in the fourth quarter of 2024, highlighting a $1.05 billion increase, which is up 4.9% year-over-year.
Commitment to Creators
“This milestone is a reflection of our energetic commitment to increasing the value of music, in combination with a healthy and growing digital musical ecosystem,” said Michael Hipp, the president and executive director of Soundexchange.
“There is nothing more satisfying than to give money to those who earned it with their talent, artistry, and passion. This is our reason to be, and our privilege and honor to reliably serve the community of creators at Soundexchange.”
“There is nothing more satisfying than serving money to those who earned it with their talent, artistry, and passion.”
Michael Hipp, Soundexchange
Soundexchange is the only organization licensed to collect royalties for 114 entities in the USA. This covers the license law for non-interactive providers of digital music, which means providers that offer a radio-like experience for users, such as SiriusXM. Interactive services like Spotify and YouTube are not covered by these licenses.
Soundexchange collects fees on behalf of 700,000 creators in the United States and processes neighboring rights in partnership with 60 international partners, helping 474,000 creators when their music plays abroad.
New Initiatives and Partnerships
The organization recently signed a deal with the South African Association of Rights for Musical Execution (Sampra), enabling American recording artists, for the first time, to access neighboring rights in the South African market.
Since its launch in 2003, royalties from satellite services have increased by 711%, while subscription fees have grown by 294%, and non-signed fees have risen by 215%, as reported by the organization on Monday.
Last fall, Soundexchange launched a registry for rightsholders to indicate if they agree to allow their records to be used in artificial intelligence training. Pro stated that the registry “will provide a necessary resource for creators and rights owners to protect their rights related to the use of their content in AI models.”
Additionally, JKBX is managing payments through the JKBX creator program, which pays bonuses to songwriters whenever their songs are traded, regardless of whether they own the rights to these songs.
SoundExchange surpasses $12bn in distributions to artists and rightsholders to date
