Tag Archive | black box
September 27, 2022  

The MLC Unveils New Portal For Independent Music Distributors

I am extremely proud 😁 to announce the launch of a game-changing program that I’ve been championing and developing at The Mechanical Licensing Collective for over 2 years:

The MLC’s Distributor Unmatched Recordings Portal (DURP) is a first-of-its-kind portal that enables independent music distributors to, for the first time, view the recordings they’ve distributed to digital music services (e.g. Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, Pandora, Tidal) that may be accruing unclaimed digital audio mechanical royalties for artists and songwriters.

After 12+ years of representing and advising music creators, advocating for music creators, and empowering music creators with education and resources to protect their copyrights and unlock royalties, I am thrilled to offer independent music distributors a tool to help music creators claim millions of dollars in unclaimed royalties from over 2 million unmatched recordings at The MLC.

I would like to thank DURP beta users Believe, TuneCore, CD Baby, Symphonic Distribution, EMPIRE, Vydia, and Repost by SoundCloud for their support and early feedback.

Music distributors can learn more, register for our upcoming info webinar, and request access to DURP at http://www.durp.themlc.com.

May 15, 2018  

Black Box Royalties Myths, Common Misconceptions Debunked at Music Biz 2018

“‘When those on the panel talk about black box we are talking about the aggregate of unclaimed royalties that occur because of any number of factors,’ and not just limited to one service or one collection society, explained moderator Dae Bogan, CEO of TuneRegistry.” via Billboard.

Read the full piece here: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8456271/black-box-royalties-myths-panel-music-biz-2018

October 23, 2017  

Music Business Association To Host Webinar On Black Box Royalties Presented By Dae Bogan

music business association

Music Business Association will host Dae Bogan’s webinar on black box royalties on Thursday, October 26th at 11am PDT / 2pm EST. Open to all.

Description: The global music licensing ecosystem is ripe with inefficiencies, complexities and legal mumbo-jumbo that affects the livelihood of music creators and copyright owners when royalties become trapped. The idea of not being paid when your music earns royalties is frustrating. Some would even call it highway robbery! But there are some practical solutions that every interested party in music royalties can put to use immediately to ensure that your music industry administration operations get you paid. This webinar will demystify so-called “Black Box” royalties and demonstrate how rights-holders can leverage technology to combat this global issue.

Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5742451649783265539

October 23, 2017  

Dae Bogan Joins Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Panel Event On Unpaid Royalties

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 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 
In an era of ever-changing revenue streams, how can musicians make sure they receive the royalties they are entitled to?  One of the most commonly litigated issues in lawsuits filed on behalf of musicians concerns artists not being compensated for their work.  Join us for a lively discussion featuring advice for musicians (and those representing them) from top legal minds Bill Colitre and Eric Bjorgum, and cautionary tales from songwriter/recording artist Tommy Victor, of the rock bands Prong and Danzig.

Speakers:
A. Eric Bjorgum, Karish & Bjorgum, PC
William B. Colitre, Esq., Music Reports
Tommy Victor, Prong and Danzig
Dae Bogan, TuneRegistry and Royalty Claim

Moderator:
Meghan Moroney, Meghan M. Moroney, Esq.

Location:
Lawry’s Restaurant
100 N. LaCienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90211

Time:
Registration: 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Program: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

CLE Credit: 
1 Hour of General CLE Credit

Parking:
Parking is complimentary.

Prices:

 CLE+ Cardholders with Meal  Free
 ELIP Section Members  $55.00
 LACBA Members  $70.00
 All Others  $105.00
 Law Students  $35.00

*CLE+ Members can purchase the meal below for an additional $45.00.

 REGISTRATION CODE – 102417ELI 
August 21, 2017  

Do So-called Music Advocacy Groups Avoid Deeper Discussions On Black Box Royalties To Appease Their Major Members?

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Over the last few weeks I’ve come to consider the notion that some of the biggest so-called “advocacy” groups for music creators censor their discussions on black box royalties due to the top-heavy makeup of their membership.

I’m Working On A Side Project Addressing ‘Black Box’ Royalties

I feel that some directors avoid, or lighten, their criticism of major labels and publishers, at the expense of their independent and DIY members, because representatives of the majors sit on the boards of these organizations. They have deep pockets for annual gifts and dues, and a non-profit can’t afford to see those dwindle.
In my presentation on the state of unclaimed royalties and music licenses at the Music Industry Research Association’s first inaugural MIRA Conference earlier this month, I presented several arguments of how black box royalties manifest. This included cash advances paid to music companies by digital service providers that go unattributed to their artists at the end of the contract term. What I didn’t include are the distribution of unattributed royalties to major publishers, by market share, from music rights organizations.

[Preview] The State of Unclaimed Royalties and Music Licenses in the United States (7)
Major labels and publishers cannibalize most distributions of black box royalties in an unfair and imbalanced manner. It is my belief (and feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that the majors have the resources and manpower to do a better job of registering their works and claiming their earnings. It is my opinion, based on my work through TuneRegistry — a music and rights metadata management platform for the independent music community — that the independent sector have the most difficult time in this respect; especially the DIY segment, which is all but blacklisted from being represented in these secret imbalanced conversations and distributions.

But who should be the outspoken opponents of these types of distributions? The advocacy groups? When “watch dogs” should be shining the light in every dark corner of the royalty vault, some of these groups tend to prefer dim conversations regarding black box royalties and how those funds are cannibalized by their major members.

This is why I believe A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) and AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers), despite my concern for how the music industry categorizes independents, is a great thing overall for DIY musicians.

DIY musicians need to do a better job of joining and navigating the worlds of trade associations. After all, they are their own record label and music publisher.

Lead Photo by Jonny Clow on Unsplash

June 20, 2017  

Royalty Claim Initiative Unveils RoyaltyClaim.com

Royalty Claim website

I’m so proud to be able to unveil the info website for Royalty Claim today. I’ve had endless sleepless nights developing and designing the info site, and the actual database platform that’s launching soon.

Check it out, get your questions answered (see FAQ page), and pre-register for the beta. 

The first public demo will be this Thursday at SCMIP x AMC LA Music Industry Meetup | DTLA Arts District.

May 27, 2017  

I’m Working On A Side Project Addressing ‘Black Box’ Royalties

music_and_money_by_bobvogler

As of this writing, there are currently 116,133 verifiable* payments owed to music creators and rights-holders that are sitting in unclaimed/undistributed royalties escrow accounts (referred to as “Black Box” funds**) in the United States.

The actual number of individual payments owed is likely closer to or exceeds 1 Million, however the actual number is unknown because the administrator(s) of some of the biggest Black Box funds have not made public their list of payees to whom they owe royalties.

Unfortunately, due to the statute of limitations on these funds many of these payments expire. Every month payees unknowingly forfeit their rights to these payments and the interest in the royalties revert back to the administrator. This happens because the payee does not contact the administrator of the fund to claim their royalties. Granted, most payees are unaware that these payments are waiting for them because the administrator is unable to reach the payee for various reasons.

It has been estimated that the global “Black Box” royalties could be in the billions of dollars owed to music creators and rights-holders.

Imagine working somewhere and then you do not receive a paycheck because the HR department does not have your new address. Not a perfect analogy, but not receiving monies that you’ve earned as a result of your hard work seems unfair.

THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM

So, I am happy to announce that I am working on a side project called Royalty Claim. Royalty Claim will attempt to work with as many of these administrators to aggregate their databases of millions of records of unclaimed/undistributed royalties and make that information available to the public. There are other services and insight that we will offer through Royalty Claim to help educate music creators and rights-holders on Black Box funds and how to limit/prevent their earnings from falling victim to the broken global music licensing ecosystem (such as taking control of your music catalog with TuneRegistry).

Want to get updates on the Royalty Claim project and be the first to know when we have something to reveal? Sign-up for our email list at www.RoyaltyClaim.com.

Also, follow @RoyaltyClaim on Twitter.

* These 116,133 payments are specifically verifiable because the list of payee names can be gathered from several databases.
** I am currently aware of over 30 funds and sub funds being managed in the United States. However, there are definitely many more that are “private”.

February 7, 2017  

ETLA, The Research Institute Of The Finnish Economy, Publishes Report On State Of Digital Music Infrastructure – Calls For Transparency And Addresses “Black Box” Issues

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I had the honor of being interviewed by researcher and author, Derek Sellin, for his industry report “Digital Music Industry – Background Synthesis” for ETLA Working Papers No. 48, published by Elinkeinoelaman Tutkimuslaitos – The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.

Black boxes materialize for many reasons, including but not limited to: the inability to identify rights holders despite payments made for the use of their compositions; the lengthy time required for filing domestic and ultimately international copyrights, often begun only when a recording is actually released; multiple claims for the same rights exceeding 100% of ownership, resulting in indefinite disputes; international collaborations with less than all creators asserting their rights; international legal inconsistencies regarding what type of performances result in payments (most visible in the fact that radio play does not generate royalties for recording artists in the United States); and the slow and often manual processes to report usage and clear payments under international reciprocal agreements. – Dae Bogan

You can download the report at https://www.etla.fi/en/publications/digital-music-industry-background-synthesis/.

About ETLA
The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (Etla) is engaged in applied economic research with emphasis on topics that are important from the Finnish point of view. The main focus is on issues that relate to productivity and drivers of its growth, to the functioning of the labour market, as well as to challenges in maintaining a balanced macro economy including sound public finances. Etla monitors economic development, compiles forecasts as well as assesses economic policy and comments on it.

Etla is a private non-profit organisation. Its operations are backed by the supporting association, the members of which comprise the Confederation of Finnish Industries and the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT) Fund. The funding from the background organisations covers more than a third of the institute’s budget and forms a solid base for its operations. Read more.

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