Sony Music made a big splash with its announcement that some legacy acts would be able to earn from streaming for the first time.
The major made the decision to no longer apply existing unrecouped balances for legacy recording artists and participants around the world.
Now Sony Music Publishing is introducing the Legacy Unrecouped Balance Programme to qualifying Sony Music Publishing songwriters.
The move, which opens up streaming income to many acts, will likely be applauded across the industry. It comes at a time when there is scrutiny on the economics of streaming following the DCMS Committee inquiry.
“We have been working for some time to develop this plan, which complements Sony Music’s recently announced Artists Forward,” wrote Sony Music Publishing CEO & chairman Jon Platt in a memo seen by Music Week.
The market-leading publisher will no longer apply existing unrecouped balances to earnings for eligible songwriters signed prior to the year 2000 who have not received advances since. The move applies retroactively to January 1, 2021. Qualifying songwriters will be notified separately in the coming weeks.
“These efforts are a continuation of our songwriter-first approach and accompany our ongoing investment in administration modernisation, including new SCORE data and analytics upgrades, Cash Out payment options, and real-time foreign royalty processing,” wrote Platt.
“With historic policy changes across our business, we are taking important steps toward creating a more equitable, transparent music industry for songwriters and all creators. On behalf of our teams around the world, it is our privilege to represent you as we begin this next chapter with Songwriters Forward.”
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