SoundExchange is a nonprofit organization that deals with performance rights and is designated by the U.S. Copyright Office. SoundExchange's job is to collect royalties for performance artists and copyright holders for when their music is performed on a digital radio or satellite service. Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio are two examples of companies that need to pay fees to SoundExchange. The group represents over 3,000 record labels and 20,000 artists, ranging from major labels to independent labels and from famous signed artists to unsigned performers.
SoundExchange enforces the rights provided to copyright holders it represents under the Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. The U.S. copyright office appointed SoundExchange as the administrative entity for subscription services' statutory license fees. In 2004, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) was established by Congress to set fair market rates to be paid to recording artists and record labels under the statutory license. The CRB reaffirmed SoundExchange’s sole collective status in 2007.
Among SoundExchange's members are the big four record companies including Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI Group and Warner Music Group.
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