SoundExchange Pays Out Record $884 Million Amid Uncertain Future

SoundExchange announced that its royalty distributions in 2016 were $884 million, an increase of more than $80 million over the previous year and an all time high. The record comes amid uncertainty over how SoundExchange revenue will be affected by an increasing number of direct deals between digital broadcaster and rightsholders."We distributed record-setting royalties to artists and labels in 2016 and broadened our charter beyond our original role of administering statutory licenses. In 2016, besides processing digital radio payments, we also launched new data validation services, managed the distribution of royalties for over a dozen direct licenses and administered some critical industry settlements. These are significant milestones," SoundExchange President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Huppe said. "Looking ahead, we will continue to increase services to our artists, labels, digital service providers and the entire music industry in 2017."SoundExchange manages royalties for more than 130,000 recording artists and rights owners. More than 2,800 non-interactive Internet radio, satellite radio and cable television services including Pandora and SiriusXM pay digital performance royalties to music creators through the company.