SoundExchange see another year of growth paying artists and rightsholders.

Earlier this year, SoundExchange revealed that in the last two decades they have paid out $10 billion in royalties. That’s $3 billion in the last 3 years. Their latest report shows things aren’t slowing down for the rights and royalty collection organisation.

Revealing their second quarter payouts for 2023, SoundExchange showed a 17% increase in royalties distributed compared to Q2 2022, a total of $269 million. This adds up to an impressive first half for 2023, with a total of $497.8 million in royalties paid out to their customers.

SoundExchange collects royalties for the use of audio recordings on platforms like Pandora and SiriusXM, where the music that is streamed isn’t chosen directly by the listener. They act as a digital equivalent to PROs paying out royalties for music played in public, such as radio plays and live covers.

SoundExchange have distributed $10 billion in royalties to rightsholders around the world and have supported artists large and small. They’ve earned the support of Train frontman Pat Monahan, who says they “stick up for artists and make at least one part of this industry easier to navigate”.

However, it’s not all plain sailing in the world of digital royalty collection. SoundExchange sued SiriusXM last month, claiming that they owe “more than $150 million in royalties to artists and copyright owners”. They claim this is partly down to the artificial inflation of revenue attributed to webcasting.

SiriusXM disputes the suit, stating they had “always respected the rights of creators and artists”. Adding: “Furthermore, SiriusXM has been transparent with SoundExchange from the start on its methodology.”

With SoundExchange’s recent milestones, hopefully this issue doesn’t sour relationships with one of their largest partners.