News

U.S. Music Industry Votes for SoundExchange Spin-Off

Washington, DC (October 21, 2003)--In an historic move, artists and record companies have incorporated a nonprofit performance rights organization, equally controlled by a board of record company and recording artist representatives. SoundExchange has an 18-member board of directors, with nine seats controlled by artists and artist representatives, and nine seats controlled by record labels.

Before the spin-off as an independent organization, SoundExchange was originally created 3 1/2 years ago as an unincorporated division of the RIAA, following the passage of both the Digital Performance Rights Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. To date, SoundExchange has distributed nearly $10 million in royalties.

"We are dedicated to the fair, accurate and efficient distribution of royalties," said president/executive director, John L. Simson. "SoundExchange is committed to ensuring that every artist and copyright owner of a sound recording is paid for each and every performance." SoundExchange has built a state-of-the-art system to process the tens of millions of performances on which their distributions are based.

AFM president and SoundExchange board member Tom Lee added, "Copyright owners and performers cooperate in the creation of great recorded music. In SoundExchange, performers and owners will continue to cooperate to establish fair license rates and distribute the maximum possible proceeds under rules that benefit us all. The AFM and its 110,000 members applaud the incorporation of SoundExchange as a new, free-standing entity, and look forward to our ongoing joint efforts with label and artist representatives to develop a responsible and efficient collective for our industry."

SoundExchange
www.soundexchange.com