February 28, 2017Vol 4 | Issue 1

www.soundexchange.com1

In This IssueB O A R D N O T E S

Warner Music Group’s Ron Wilcox Appointed to SoundExchange Board of Directors 2

A W A R D N O T E S

SoundExchange President and CEO Listed Among Billboard’s Power 100 3

M E M B E R S H I P N O T E S

SoundExchange Direct is Evolving: Letter of Direction Summaries Added for Registered Users 3

A R T I S T N O T E S

Sound Off with SoundExchange ft. Vassy 5

R O Y A L T Y N O T E S

Sorting Out Royalties: Two Rights Management Case Studies 5

M U S I C N O T E S

New Exhibit Looks at Intersection of Music and Politics 7

C A P I T O L H I L L N O T E S

It’s Time to Act: Tell Congress to Reject the Local Radio Freedom Act 8

2 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

Warner Music Group’s Ron Wilcox Appointed to SoundExchange Board of Directors

Last month, SoundExchange appointed Ron Wilcox of Warner Music

Group (WMG) to its Board of Directors. Wilcox serves as WMG’s

Executive Counsel, Business Affairs, Strategic and Digital Initiatives and is

known for his extensive background in the music industry.

Wilcox replaced Jeff Walker of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

“I am proud to welcome Ron to the SoundExchange Board of Directors.

His range of experience and record of accomplishments make him a

perfect fit for a dynamic organization like SoundExchange, and I know

Ron will serve as a strong advocate for all music creators,” SoundExchange

President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Huppe said.

In his role at WMG, Wilcox advises WMG’s Digital Business

Development and Digital Legal Affairs Departments

regarding global digital strategy, business development,

and related areas, while overseeing the Digital Legal Affairs

Department.

“This is an exciting time for our industry, with the uptake

of streaming driving encouraging growth. SoundExchange

has a vital role to play in helping to sustain that growth

and to ensure the digital opportunity continues to

expand for artists and rights holders. I’m delighted to join

this distinguished Board as we work with the creative

community to uphold and promote the value of music,”

Wilcox said.

The SoundExchange Board of Directors is comprised of

18 individuals, split evenly between artist representatives

and label representatives, serving virtually all aspects of

the recorded music industry.

See all of our board members here.

This is an exciting time for our industry, with the uptake of

streaming driving encouraging growth. SoundExchange has a vital role to play in helping to sustain that growth and to ensure the digital opportunity

continues to expand for artists and rights holders.

~ Ron WilcoxWarner Music Group

B O A R D N O T E S

Ron Wilcox (courtesy of Warner Music Group)

3 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

SoundExchange President and CEO Listed Among Billboard’s Power 100

Billboard has included SoundExchange President and

Chief Executive Officer Michael Huppe on its Power 100,

the magazine’s annual list of music industry leaders.

“I’m honored to be included, but this is important because

it provides recognition for SoundExchange and the

work we do throughout the entire industry to improve

efficiency and transparency,” Huppe said.

Inclusion on the Power 100 acknowledges

SoundExchange’s growth and influence. SoundExchange

has distributed more than $4.5 billion in royalties to more

than 130,000 recording artists and master rights owners

accounts since 2003.

Billboard released the Power 100 on February 9.

SoundExchange Direct is Evolving: Letter of Direction Summaries Added for Registered Users

SoundExchange Direct is one of the most important tools we provide to our registrants. Once they

have access to SoundExchange Direct, users can:

u Get a detailed look at their most recent payments, including top recordings and top services

u Access past statements in summary and detail form

u Update account information including payment info, tax forms, direct deposit, membership and

mandate, repertoire and submit letters of direction

u Add guests to view account information

To further improve SoundExchange Direct, we recently added an enhanced view of executed Letters of

Direction (LOD).

Image courtesy of Billboard Magazine.

A W A R D N O T E S

M E M B E R S H I P N O T E S

Image courtesy of Billboard Magazine

4 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

The new feature is easy to use. When logged onto SoundExchange Direct, users can select the “Letter

of Direction” tab and then select “View Current LODs” to see summary and detailed information of

royalties paid to and received from third parties. That means a registrant can see who they are paying

and who is paying them via LODs.

This information is equally useful for recording artists who pay LODs and the producers who are paid

by an LOD.

“We are always looking for ways to improve customer service. Adding Letters of Direction to

SoundExchange Direct makes the site more useful and more practical,” SoundExchange President and

Chief Executive Officer Michael Huppe said.

Information available under “View Current” on the “Letter of Direction” tab includes:

u A summary count of active LOD agreements in our system showing the number of LOD

agreements a user’s registrants are either paying to (or are being paid by) third parties

u A detailed view, which expands on one registrant’s LODs to provide the names of the third parties

and a count of the royalty items involved with each LOD

u The ability to see the specific royalty items involved in an LOD by Title, Artist and LOD Percentage

u Functionality to export a CSV file that include all LOD details for a registrant

All data provided on SoundExchange Direct’s “Letter of Direction” pages is current information from

our Rights Management database. If you do not see an LOD you submitted listed there, it is likely still in

process or there may be an issue that needs to be resolved.

If you’d like to speak to a member of our Customer Service team about your account, our team is

standing by. You can reach us by phone at (800) 961-2091 Monday through Friday 9am-6pm ET, or by

email at accounts@soundexchange.com.

5 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

Sound Off with SoundExchange ft. Vassy

Australian multi-platinum artist Vassy recently stopped by SoundExchange to sit down for our newest

video series, Sound Off with SoundExchange. We spoke with her about her mega-hit collaboration

“Bad,” with David Guetta and Showtek, her first foray into releasing a solo record (the recent “Nothing to

Lose”) and her musical inspiration.

Check out the video by clicking the image below!

Sorting Out Royalties: Two Rights Management Case Studies

Music creators deserve to get paid for the use of their music, whenever and wherever it gets played.

Sometimes conflicting claims, disagreements over ownership of repertoire or even paperwork errors

slow down those payments. But our Rights Management Department works hard to ensure the correct

recording artists and rights owners receive accurate payment for their work.

In 2016 alone we identified more than 120,000 overlapping claims and resolved 66,498 of those claims,

worth more than $27 million in performance royalties. There’s a story behind each one of those claims.

Recently, representatives for the indie band The Infamous Stringdusters came to us for help sorting out

issues with claim submissions.

A R T I S T N O T E S

R O Y A L T Y N O T E S

6 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

“There were a variety of scenarios on the Stringdusters’

account that I needed help with since the ‘dusters have

released multiple albums with each album having a unique

arrangement for featured artist and rights owner royalties,”

said Connie K. Garrett, royalty administrator for The

Infamous Stringdusters.

Our Rights Management Department worked through

all the issues with Garrett and adjusted the lineups by

album accordingly, such that now royalties are flowing to

individual artists on all the different albums.

“Because of the variety of scenarios, it took some time

and dedication to resolve, but the Rights Management

Department persistently worked with me to see each claim

to full resolution so that The Stringdusters were able to

maximize the royalty revenue available to them through

SoundExchange,” Garrett said.

The Infamous Stringdusters aren’t the only ones who asked

for and received help. Jazz pianist and composer Mary

Louise Knutson called SoundExchange because her royalties

weren’t showing up on her statements. It turns out that another

rights owner was claiming royalties for tracks, including the song

“That’s All.”

SoundExchange identified the overlapping claim and notified the

recipient of the rights owner royalties. After some discussions, the

overlap was resolved in Knutson’s favor and she recovered all the

retroactive payments.

“As the featured artist and rights owner of all my music, I noticed

month after month that my featured artist statement showed

royalties were being collected for a particular tune, yet my rights

owner statement showed no royalties for that tune,” she said.

“I made a claim with SoundExchange, and, over a period

of time, they were able to resolve the issue. My next rights

owner statement showed royalties collected all the way

back to the release of that particular tune. I am so pleased

with SoundExchange’s resolution of my claim and happy to have

the extra cash in my pocket!” Knutson said.

I made a claim with SoundExchange, and, over a period of time, they were

able to resolve the issue. My next rights owner statement

showed royalties collected all the way back to the release

of that particular tune. I am so pleased with

SoundExchange’s resolution of my claim and happy to have

the extra cash in my pocket!

7 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

Rights Management may be complex, but it’s also among the most important issues we address at

SoundExchange because it directly affects your royalties and results in making sure the proper rights

owners and artists are paid. To learn more, read the information on our website here.

Artists and rights owners with questions can call (202) 696-1841 or email us at

repertoire@soundexchange.com.

Check out our story in the December 2016 issue of SoundByte, “How the SoundExchange Rights

Management Department Works for You (and How You Can Help),” about our Rights Management

Department.

New Exhibit Looks at Intersection of Music and Politics

A powerful new exhibit opened at the

Newseum in Washington, D.C. in January, that

explores the intersection of music and politics.

“Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics”

delves into “the power of rock to change

attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and

freedom.”

SoundExchange is honored to support this

important initiative that relies on video,

multimedia, photographs, periodicals and

artifacts to examine the significance of the

connection between music and politics.

This is the second stop for the popular music exhibit.

“Louder Than Words” premiered at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. It moved to the Newseum

on January 13.

Among many other artifacts, the exhibit includes Public Enemy’s handwritten “Fight the Power” lyrics,

President Clinton’s saxophone and the Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock.

“Louder Than Words” will remain on display at the Newseum through the end of July 2017. Read more

about it here.

M U S I C N O T E S

8 www.soundexchange.com | February 28, 2017

It’s Time to Act: Tell Congress to Reject the Local Radio Freedom Act

Here we go again.

The radio industry’s super-rich lobbying group, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), is once

again pushing the inappropriately named Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA).

Don’t be fooled by the name. LRFA is not about local radio or freedom. It’s about big profits and

preserving a government subsidy for the biggest members of the NAB.

Every year, the NAB floods the halls of Congress looking for support for this misnamed resolution. We

need to call LRFA what it really is — a brazen attempt by Big Radio to avoid paying music creators the

performance royalties they deserve. We call it the Big Radio Subsidy Act.

It is up to us — music creators and music fans alike — to stand together against this anti-artist resolution

by reaching out to Congress and voicing our opposition to this resolution.

The NAB and their allies in Congress falsely claim that “many thousands of local radio stations” will

“suffer severe economic hardship” if they have to pay for the music that represents the foundation of

their business. The truth is that small, non-profit, religious, college and public radio stations have always

been protected with the inclusion of major exemptions every time a terrestrial performance rights bill

has been introduced in Congress.

All music platforms — internet, satellite and cable radio — pay royalties to music creators except

terrestrial (AM/FM) radio. On average, terrestrial radio brings in more than $14.5 billion in advertising

dollars each year while maintaining an average operating margin over 30 percent. Yet they refuse to pay

anything to music creators for the music they play.

Instead, they choose to spend part of what should have been royalty payments to artists — $17.4 million

in 2015 alone — lobbying against a performance right for sound recordings that would ensure music

creators get paid fairly for their work.

While we will never be able to match what the NAB spends on lobbying, we can use the power of our

voices to fight back.

Take action today. Urge Congress to support music creators by establishing an actual “mutually

beneficial relationship” between creators and terrestrial radio.

Click here to ask your representative to reject H.Con.Res.13 and your senator to reject S.Con.Res.6 —

the Local Radio Freedom Act.

C A P I T O L H I L L N O T E S