SoundExchange Royalties Rose 17% In Q2 With $269 Million in Distributions

Rights management organization SoundExchange says it distributed $269 million in royalties during Q2 of 2023, notching a big fat 17% YoY growth metric.

Who are they: SoundExchange is the only org Congress allows to collect and distribute non-interactive digital performance royalties, doing so under the Section 114 sound recording license. It does this on behalf of some 650,000 music creators, and says it has paid more than $10 billion in distributions to date.

Why it matters: While 2022 saw a slight decline in distributions overall, money is rolling through the system in 2023. The new numbers mean SoundExchange has paid out almost half a billion dollars so far this year ($497.8 million), which is a 7.1% YoY boost.

For what it’s worth, most of that money comes from SiriusXM, which has said it provides about 80% of what SoundExchange gives out. The two companies are currently battling in court, after SoundExchange filed a lawsuit claiming SiriusXM owes $150 million in unpaid royalties. SiriusXM denies the charge.