SoundExchange, a digital performance rights organization responsible for disbursing royalties from the music you listen to every day, gave out a record amount of payments during the third quarter of 2014, which is either good news or news to be wary of, depending on how you look at the issue.
Let's consider the good news first: SoundExchange distributed $267 million in payouts during Q3 according to Music Week. That's a huge jump from Q2, when only $161 million was given out. This quarter's numbers are also reassuring after the value of payouts dropped for two consecutive periods following the end of 2013. Can payouts continue to increase at the same rate by the end of this year? Most assuredly not but if they increase at all, industry executives will feel alright: The $590.6 million in cash disbursed thus far this year already trumps the $590.4 million total awarded by the organization during 2013.
So who could this possibly be bad news? You have to understand that the royalties handled by SoundExchange are almost entirely from streaming, satellite and cable radio play. It's good to know that performers are getting paid when their music lands on services such as Spotify but at the moment those payments don't equal the value of downloads.
Billboard suggests that as soon as 2015, royalty payouts could equal the money generated by downloads, but that's more due to the drop in downloads versus the increase in streaming. The moral is, the value of the music industry isn't necessarily going up just because royalty payouts are.
More good news however: Streaming is a far better option for every musician than music piracy is-$.006 a stream is better for a listen than infinite listens gathered illegally. If you appreciate a performer's work, consider buying it. But if not, the music industry can recoup losses at least partially from you listening to music through a sanctioned platform versus a torrent site.
And remember: All the Pirate Bay founders are in jail right now.
