Sony/ATV offers further transparency with royalty portal update

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has upgraded its Score royalty portal to offer its songwriters instant, transparent data on their current and past earnings.

Rather than waiting until the end of the statement period, Sony/ATV’s songwriters and their reps can now tap into their royalties, which will roll in “as soon as the company receives them,” according to the music publishing giant.

In the new layout, users have easy access to their historic earnings information which can be searched and organised by song title, income source, time period and territory and the publisher has introduced a so-called “Scorecard” graphic interface which collates royalty info for both current and historic periods.

The revamped platform is available for desktop devices at this stage, though Sony/ATV has pledged to release a Score app in the “near future.”

And why not. In today’s web-driven, instant access world, transparency is key. And the customer -- music makers in this scenario -- is always right. Sony/ATV boasts market-leading credentials, so looking after its clients’ interests is a no-brainer should it hope to stay at No. 1.

Sony/ATV was the U.S. market leader in the first quarter, holding a 25.49 percent share, well ahead of second-placed Warner/Chappell Music, with 19.61 percent, according to Billboard research. It was the 19th straight period Sony/ATV finished in the lead.

“As the world’s No. 1 music publisher, Sony/ATV prides itself on providing our songwriters and their teams an unsurpassed level of transparency and service with highly detailed royalty information,” Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said. “Additionally, within the next few months we will unveil the complementary SCORE app, further providing them with an unrivalled and groundbreaking insight into both their historic and current period royalties.”

Tom Douglas, a Sony/ATV-signed Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe nominated songwriter, says the new changes are “amazing. The ability to see current earnings almost in real time is so helpful.”

Independent music company Kobalt recently unveiled its own royalty analysis mobile app AWAL, which allows its users to track sources of streaming and get a better handle on who is listening to what, and where.