Loudr Launches Digital U.S. Copyright Office Music Licensing Tools
Technology integration provides access to high-volume electronic matching against the Library of Congress database of registered musical works
Loudr is announcing the launch of its data integration with the U.S. Copyright Office, making it possible for Section 115 licensees to conduct an automated search of the most historically significant digital database of music copyright records in the United States.
Significantly, the development makes statutory licensing a more cost-effective compliance option for companies seeking to clear publishing rights for digital music streams or downloads. Licensees may secure a Section 115 license by filing a notice of intent (NOI) with the Copyright Office for a filing fee of $75, plus a fee of $20 for each batch of 10 additional songs or, under the new reduced-cost electronic filing process announced in 2016, a fee of $10 for each batch of 100 songs. However, in order to take advantage of the digital filing, a licensee must establish eligibility by matching sound recordings against USCO-registered musical works, and submitting NOIs for works not listed.
For companies vying to offer their subscribers on-demand access to millions of tracks, Section 115 licenses often offer the only practical means of securing a license for so-called "long tail" catalogs. To address the issue of licensing music for which rights holders cannot be identified or located, Loudr identifies compositions in sound recording metadata, matches compositions to Library of Congress digital registration records, and systematically generates, batches, and files compliant NOIs with the Copyright Office on behalf of its clients.
Loudr has ingested and indexed the full digital archive of registration records from the Copyright Office, and will continue to ingest data as the Library of Congress archive grows. Supplemented by Loudr's own database of music publishing and copyright data, the digital registration records will be leveraged to support Loudr licensing operations, which offer clients the ability to rely on direct licenses, statutory licenses, or a combination thereof.
"We aim to help our clients make the most of any change in the licensing landscape," said Loudr CEO Chris Crawford. "We are excited to support the Copyright Office's recent shift to accommodate the speed and scale of digital music."
Loudr (http://loudr.fm) builds products and technologies that help music users pay songwriters and publishers. To date, the company has distributed over $1 million in royalties to music publishers worldwide. Loudr is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
