SoundExchange surprises musicians with royalty checks

Grammy-winning R&B singer Sam Moore and his manager and wife, Joyce, say a lot of legacy artists haven'’t heard of SoundExchange. "They think the money isn't real," Joyce Moore says. (Brian Blanco / The Times)

Musicians are now getting their royalty checks for satellite and internet radio through SoundExchange although many can’t believe it. Some even ignore the the emails thinking it’s a hoax or scam.

“When John Boydston got an e-mail from SoundExchange saying he had several thousand dollars in unclaimed royalties, he did what most sensible people would do. He ignored it.

To the rock musician from Atlanta, “money for nothing” meant a song by Dire Straits, not a stranger contacting him out of the blue promising to cut him big checks.

But then he got the message again six months later. Curious, he called SoundExchange.

“Sure enough, they had a sizable amount of money for me,” said Boydston, 51, whose band Daddy a Go Go includes his two teenage sons. “It was several thousand dollars. That’s not a ton of money. But for a guy who makes CDs in his basement, it was enough to finance my next album.”‘ LA Times

SoundExchange has been collecting royalties for musicians since 2001. They have distributed more than $350 million in royalties to 45,000 performers. When recorded music is played on AM/FM radio, the artist gets nothing. When the same music is played in satellite radio (Sirius), Pandora, or other internet streaming services they pay royalties to SoundExchange. The non-profit was setup by the RIAA after an Act of Congress granted musicians royalties on their new broadcast media performances.

Sam Moore from the legendary Sam and Dave got a cheque from SoundExchange

The problem is SoundExchange has to hunt down the artists, many of them from the 1950s and 1960s. It takes detective work to find who the artists are and where they are living today.  The average check was $5,500 for the artist. There is still $60 million to distribute.

Sometimes the problem is that people don’t reply to emails or letters, assuming the letter is not legitimate.  SoundExchange is suggesting artists who have recorded work in play should register with them to make it easier to collect their money.

“Joyce Moore, the wife and manager of Sam Moore (of the great Sam and Dave), a Grammy Award-winning soul singer, said she routinely encounters skeptical artists, even after she tells the story of how her husband’s first check was enough to cover six months’ worth of property taxes on their Scottsdale, Ariz., home, with some left over for “a couple of nice dinners.”

“A lot of legacy artists don’t understand what it is, and they think the money isn’t real,” Moore said. “I tell them it isn’t charity. It isn’t funky. It isn’t a scam. It’s the real deal.” (LA Times)

SoundExchange does not pay mechanical royalties for composers and songwriters. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SOCAN cover royalties for their members. Nor does it pay royalties on iTunes. SoundExchange covers royalties even if you are not a member.

For more details, check out What is SoundExchange and why you should care. Additional story from Tennessean.com