May 11, 2011

MusicSUBMIT has joined forces with royalty group SoundExchange® to notify artists who have unclaimed royalties from recordings.  MusicSUBMIT has friends at SoundExchange and is in the unique position to have contact information for so many deserving recording artists.  We've chosen to pass along this news to you, so you can get paid when your recordings are played. 
MusicSUBMIT sent SoundExchange a list of our labels and artists and there is over $900,000 in unclaimed royalties waiting to be paid out to our artists alone.  You have been identified as one of those artists owed such royalties.

If you haven’t heard of SoundExchange, here’s why you should take note. It is the only organization in the United States authorized to collect royalties for the performance of a sound recording on behalf of the performers and rights owners of the recording itself -- similar to how ASCAP, BMI and SESAC collect royalties for songwriters and publishers for the underlying musical composition.  Unlike these organizations, however, SoundExchange collects performance royalties on the artists and labels behalf whether or not they are registered with them, as directed under U.S. Copyright law.  But if the artist or label wants to get paid, they must register with SoundExchange directly! (It’s 100% free.)

When the music you or your artist recorded is commercially released and played on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio, Internet radio such as Pandora, Yahoo, Live 365.com and AOL, and on digital cable and satellite TV services like Comcast’s “Music Choice” and DirecTV, SoundExchange collects a royalty on your behalf. Since 2001, SoundExchange has collected and processed billions of spins and paid out more than $600 million in digital royalties.  But thousands of music professionals are not yet registered – and millions of dollars in royalties are currently unclaimed.

How can you find out if you are owed money?  All you have to do is sign up once with SoundExchange. It’s FREE and once you’ve registered, you will continue to receive royalty payments quarterly, every time you’re owed.  Online registration is fast, secure and free.  Just go to SoundExchange's Online registration site. Or, if you prefer, you can get hard copy forms by going to www.soundexchange.com and clicking “I’m a recording artist or artist representative”. Choose to download Artist Group Registration Bundle 1 (or 2 if you are outside the US). Print and complete the forms, then mail, fax or scan/email them to SoundExchange. It’s that easy to get paid!

If you have any questions, feel free to call SoundExchange at 202-524-7839 or email them at info@soundexchange.com.

Congratulations on your success. MusicSUBMIT and SoundExchange are pleased to help you collect your performance royalties!