SoundExchange Second Quarter Numbers Indicate Increase in Digital Rights Payments Distributed from 2013

The second quarter numbers are in from SoundExchange and things are looking good...or at least better. SoundExchange is a performance rights organization charged with collecting and distributing digital performance rights (it's a nonprofit, so they aren't taking a cut). So when you listen to Otis Rush's Mourning in The Morning on Spotify, SoundExchange makes sure that Mr. Rush gets his money (as well as any labels that still own part of the record). This year's second quarter numbers are looking up from the same time period during 2013.

According to HypeBot.com, during the second quarter of 2014 more than $161 million was distributed to performers...and probably more to labels. Regardless, that's an 8 percent increase from last year. This could mean one or two things: A) People are listening to more music online? Maybe, but probably not a significant number. If anything, more people are using streaming services for music listening versus YouTube. Although most agree that streaming sites don't pay nearly enough to performers, YouTube struggles to block unlicensed content from its site. Therefore if you "watch" a song on YouTube that's not sponsored by Vevo or similar, odds are the performer isn't getting anything from it. So odds are the 8 percent increase indicates B) more people are using regulated streaming sites such as Spotify and thereby ensuring at least some fraction of a cent gets back to the performer.

There was also a 34 percent increase in payees, or those receiving payments from SoundExchange during quarter two this year compared to last—suggesting that perhaps users are listening to a far wider range of music, as more payees means a larger pool of performers.

Don't get the wrong idea. Streaming hasn't saved the music industry yet. But any improvement is good news. Hopefully this is all part of the streaming revolution that Tom Silverman foresaw during our previous interview.