Sony Taps RoyaltyShare

According to a report by Billboard’s Ed Christman, Sony Music Entertainment has retained San Diego-based Royalty Share to process mechanical and artist royalties. Involved in the agreement is the hiring by RoyaltyShare of 70 Sony employees who will continue to be based in Sony’s Lyndhurst, N.J. offices. The agreement also includes a gradual transition and shift form Sony’s processing techniques to using RoyaltyShare’s specialized software.
According to the RoyaltyShare web site, the company is able to manage sales data from all music services in one location, “From the newest online marketplace to established industry distribution channels, we support the companies you do business with. Digital sales management on our Digital Advantage platform allows you to match transactions contained in these files to individual tracks within your catalog. The result is a consolidated, aggregated sales output file that makes it easier to integrate digital data with any existing internal systems and legacy royalties software.”

The company also has a royalty management division to “deal with complex digital transacitons as well as support all forms of physical distribution…” The RS software offers U.S.  and Canadian support and is compatible with Harry Fox Agency and CMRRA reporting standards.
“Just as record labels outsource their payroll accounting to experts who monitor the latest tax laws and spread the costs over thousands of clients,” says RoyaltyShare Chairman/CEO Bob Kohn, “so too will record labels outsource their royalty accounting. The cost of building and maintaining a modern royalty accounting system from the ground up would require an investment that is not feasible for one record label, even a major. No. Now more than ever, record labels need to focus on their core competencies: marketing and A& R, not building information systems.”