SoundExchange distributed $235 million during 2022’s first quarter – for a total of over $9 billion paid out since its 2003 debut as a standalone organization – according to higher-ups.
SoundExchange, which said last summer that it had paid out $947 million to creators during the 2020 fiscal year, just recently unveiled this latest performance-royalty milestone. Worth noting here is that the non-profit communicated that it had distributed “nearly $8 billion” as of late June of 2021. Factoring based upon the figure, the roughly nine or so months since then have brought an average of about $111.11 million in SoundExchange payments apiece.
Back to the Washington, D.C.-based entity’s Q1 2022 financial specifics, though, execs said that the three-month stretch brought SoundExchange’s 150th royalty distribution – besides the initially mentioned $235 million payout.
Addressing the developments in a statement, SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe (who announced his company’s withdrawal from Russia about two weeks ago) touted live music’s ongoing comeback and technology’s role in the space.
“SoundExchange is powering the future of music by distributing billions of dollars to creators who are the heart and soul of our industry,” relayed Huppe, a 15-year SoundExchange veteran who previously spent seven years working for the RIAA itself.
“We’ve seen the return of our vibrant music community over the last several months, and we are proud to play a role in building a fairer, simpler, and more efficient industry,” continued the 54-year-old, who evidently inked a new SoundExchange deal after previously extending his contract with the organization through 2021’s end. “These remarkable milestones represent our ever-expanding commitment to combine technology, data, and advocacy to improve the creative return at all levels.”
Regarding the timing of SoundExchange’s other publicly revealed distribution totals, the 19-year-old company said that it had paid out $1 billion as of June of 2012, $3 billion as of August of 2015, $5 billion as of March of 2018, and $7 billion as of April of 2020. For further reference, collective distributions in 2013 came out to $590 million, and the figure reached $884 million in 2016.
11 days back, about one month after adding Universal Music Group attorney Alasdair McMullan and Warner Music Group lawyer Jon Glass to its board, SoundExchange named Tommy Korpinen chief business development officer.
The former WMG director of global strategic partnerships Korpinen joined SoundExchange from Sony Music Entertainment, where he had worked for a little over two years in global business development and digital strategy.