April 21, 2017
Vol 4 | Issue 2
In This Issue
CAPITOL HILL NOTES
Fair Play Fair Pay Act Reintroduced – Take Action to Protect the Rights of Music Creators 1
ARTIST NOTES
Influencers Series Highlights Kenny Loggins and The Empty Pockets 3
FESTIVAL NOTES
SoundExchange Connects with Music Creators at 2017 SXSW 4
INDUSTRY NOTES
Pandora Royalties: Understanding Changes in Your Statement 6
CAPITOL HILL NOTES
Fair Play Fair Pay Act Reintroduced –
Take Action to Protect the Rights of
Music Creators
SoundExchange has joined the chorus of music creators and our fervent supporters in
Congress, renewing the call to protect the value of music and pass the Fair Play Fair Pay Act.
Now we need you to TAKE ACTION by asking your representatives to join the bipartisan effort
to pass the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, H.R. 1836.
Lawmakers demonstrated a rare show of bipartisan support for our effort by introducing the
Fair Play Fair Pay Act on March 30. We are grateful to U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (DNY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Conyers (D-MI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL) and
Thomas Rooney (R-FL) for becoming the lead sponsors of this important bill to protect the
rights of music creators.
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CAPITOL HILL NOTES
The Fair Play Fair Pay Act would:
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Give recording artists and copyright owners a performance right for FM radio airplay
Require ALL radio platforms, including FM radio, to pay fair market value for the music
that is the basis of their business
Provide federal copyright protection for artists who recorded before 1972
Read more about the bill here.
“This bill will fix the longest-standing inequity in U.S. copyright law,” SoundExchange President and Chief
Executive Officer Michael Huppe said. “The continued lack of a performance right for artists played
on FM radio is a glaring absurdity that leaves the U.S. standing alone among democratic nations. It is
effectively a government subsidy for FM broadcasters paid for with the sweat equity of music creators.”
The co-sponsors said their bill represents a long-overdue repair of music licensing.
“Our current music licensing laws are antiquated and unfair, which is why we need a system that
ensures all radio services play by the same rules and all artists are fairly compensated,” Representatives
Nadler, Blackburn, Conyers, Issa, Deutch and Rooney said in a joint statement. “Our laws should reward
innovation, spur economic diversity and uphold the constitutional rights of creators. That is what the
Fair Play Fair Pay Act sets out to accomplish: fixing a system that for too long has disadvantaged music
creators and pitted technologies against each other by allowing certain services to get away with paying
little or nothing to artists.”
Click here to tell your senators and representative to stand with
you and all music creators by supporting the Fair Play Fair Pay Act.
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ARTIST NOTES
SoundExchange Influencers Series
Highlights Kenny Loggins and The
Empty Pockets
SoundExchange hosted its sixth Influencers Series in
Chicago on March 13 at the Virgin Hotels, bringing
legendary recording artist Kenny Loggins together
with indie band The Empty Pockets to discuss music
and changes in the industry brought about by the
growth of streaming.
In an intimate setting, the musicians discussed
why they decided to become recording artists
and remembered some of the hurdles they had to
overcome early in their careers.
Loggins told a story about his first recording,
“House at Pooh Corner,” inspired by A.A. Milne’s
1928 book, “The House at Pooh Corner.” He was
17 when he wrote the song and played it at a party
that members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band attended.
After hearing Loggins play the song, the band asked
for permission to include it on the album they were
making.
Josh Solomon and Erika Brett of The Empty Pockets (L)
with Kenny Loggins (R)
Loggins said yes, but Disney had a copyright on Winnie the Pooh, and the company prevented the Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band from including the song on its album. Loggins expressed his frustration over Disney’s
decision to a woman he went on a date with after he got the news from the Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band.
But she had a solution to his problem.
“Disney lawyers?” she said. “Let me talk to daddy about that.”
“I did not know I was dating the daughter of the CEO of the Disney Corporation,” he said. “She took me
home to meet her dad. I played “House at Pooh Corner” for him, he called the lawyers, and there it is.”
It was another example of the fascinating stories artists have shared since we began The
SoundExchange Influencers Series three years ago.
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ARTIST NOTES
The SoundExchange Influencers Series brings
together music legends and rising stars,
demonstrating the impact of legacy artists on
today’s music. It provides a unique forum to address
issues currently facing recording artists, including
fair pay and recognition for all sound recordings
across all platforms.
The artists discussed streaming at length – how
it has changed the industry and how it provides
incredible exposure for music creators.
Kenny Loggins, left, performs with Erika Brett and Josh Solomon of
The Empty Pockets during The SoundExchange Influencers Series
March 13 in Chicago.
“The positive side is that we have all this amazing
direct fan-to-artist interaction that we’re trying to
capitalize on,” The Empty Pockets’ Erika Brett said.
But it’s important to protect artists, they said, and that means updating laws so terrestrial radio pays
performance royalties.
“I don’t understand why music and musicians are so devalued,” Loggins said.
Loggins played recognizable hits including “Footloose,” “Conviction of the Heart” and “Danny’s Song”
with accompaniment from The Empty Pockets’ Josh Solomon and Erika Brett.
Stay tuned to our blog for a video recap coming soon!
FESTIVAL NOTES
SoundExchange Connects with
Music Creators at 2017 SXSW
Once again, South by Southwest (SXSW) was a phenomenal success.
SXSW provides us a great opportunity to connect with music creators and make sure you are receiving
all the royalties you are due, and in our fourth year at SXSW we welcomed many new members to the
SoundExchange family.
Prior to SXSW, we discovered that more than 140 of the artists scheduled to play at SXSW had
unclaimed royalties of $10 or more. We caught up with as many of them as possible at the Artist Gifting
Lounge — including singer Lyric Michelle.
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FESTIVAL NOTES
“I had a vague sense that I might [have royalties], but I had
no idea how to go about finding out. Not until I met with
SoundExchange this year,” she told us. “It felt great! One
step closer to living off the craft comfortably.”
It pays to register — especially in light of streaming’s growth.
“SoundExchange is on a course to being even more vital to
artists, especially independent artists,” Lyric Michelle said.
“Registering isn’t even an option. It’s going to be seen as
another necessity, if it is not already by most.”
And registration is easier than ever. You can do all the work
online.
It’s also important to become a member. So how do you
become a member? At the end of your registration you will
see our membership section. All you have to do is check a
box and sign the form to become a member.
Or you can contact us at 1-800-961-2091 or
[email protected] and tell us you want
to become a member.
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INDUSTRY NOTES
Pandora Royalties: Understanding
Changes in Your Statement
Pandora Media Inc. announced its decision in September 2016 to enter into direct deals with the
recording industry’s major labels and some independent labels in order to license their new service
offerings.
Registered members may notice a change in their royalty payments stemming from the changes
Pandora made in its relationship with labels.
Pandora entered into direct licenses covering all three tiers of its offerings, and SoundExchange is
working with rights owners and Pandora to continue to administer and pay artists’ royalties for the adsupported tier of the Pandora service — also known as tier one. For the other new tiers of service, such
as Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium, artists will be paid any royalties due by their labels.
With Pandora’s full support, the labels selected SoundExchange to administer artist royalties for
Pandora’s ad-supported tier. Recording artists will notice a line item in statements from us detailing
royalties generated from Pandora. Payments to rights owners will be made directly or through label
distributors.
“Artists should be aware we are continuing to pay the artist share for Pandora’s tier one service and
there will be no interruption on our side,” SoundExchange President and Chief Executive Officer Michael
Huppe said.
To help you understand all the changes and impact of those changes, we put together a FAQ that
addresses questions you may have. Read our new FAQ here.
We’re proud to work with Pandora and our rights holder and artist partners as we enter this new phase.
“Having SoundExchange administer artist royalties amplifies our role in the industry as a trusted resource
capable of providing services that improve transparency and efficiency,” Huppe said.
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