Sound Exchange

SoundExchange does not make determinations as to whether each of the many services that rely on the statutory licenses under Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act is eligible for statutory licensing, nor does it continuously verify that such services are in full compliance with all applicable requirements. Accordingly, SoundExchange’s acceptance of a service’s payment does not express or imply any acknowledgment that a service is or has been eligible to make use of the statutory licenses or in compliance with the requirements of the statutory licenses.  By accepting payment, SoundExchange is not waiving any claims, including but not limited to claims that the service is ineligible for or non-compliant with the statutory license, that payment is partial or incomplete, or that payment is based on a miscalculation of royalties owed.  The failure to submit compliant payments or statements of account on time may subject a service to late fees.  Moreover, the failure to comply with the terms of the statutory license may expose a service to significant risk of liability for copyright infringement.

*Please note that the statutory license administered by SoundExchange only covers the public performance of the sound recording (i.e., “master” recording) in digital audio transmissions. You must also acquire a license for the public performance of the underlying musical work (i.e. composition and lyrics) as well. The musical work can be licensed through ASCAP, BMI, and/or SESAC. Please contact these performing rights organizations to obtain licenses for the musical work.

For more information on the difference between the sound recording copyright and the musical work copyright, please review our Licensing 101 page.