Boutique game soundtrack record label. We create, manage, and protect some of the most popular video game soundtracks, piano collections & vgm covers albums.
Seattle, WA
Joined July 2015
- Tweets 16,631
- Following 14,170
- Followers 13,053
- Likes 26,062
And yet, whether or not it's distributors submitting metadata to societies (or via MLC's fantastic new DURP process), metadata *exists* and competent rightsholders ensure they are collecting what is theirs. Even ignoring bad actors, the amount of bad metadata is astronomical.
1
Crushed...? Our team is literally responsible for the advent of legal vgm monetization and DIY cover song licensing.
YouTube is <7% of sound recording revenue. And the idea that 100% of revenue of an unlicensed cover song sound go exclusively to the recording artist is absurd.
1
3. Platforms don't sign deals with independent/DIY artists. Partners are ESSENTIAL in music. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
4. Good copyright management is key to success in entertainment. Don't know sync, publishing, rights admin? Have someone do it for you.
Four things:
1. We have dealt with over 100 bad actors doing this for content we own/administrate.
2. Yes, this is how you license your content to platforms.
1
Any artist is welcome to manage, register, and collect their *sound recording* copyrights on YouTube and other platforms.
We do this for the hundreds of releases we own and manage -- and we highly recommend that other artists work with their MCN/distributor to do the same.
1
The technicalities and nuances and legacy laws are unfortunately what power the music industry. It can be complex and confusing.
Materia is licensing and collecting the music publishing share of this cover, as we do on hundreds of other platforms, and have done for years.
1
Surprisingly, YouTube is the most transparent platforms about how revenue and royalties break down between parties. Copyright and rights management is essential -- even for cover artists.
Here's a good thread that does a deep dive into details.
Materia has worked with YouTube and dozens of other platforms since 2015 to *proactively* facilitate community creativity, cover songs, and clearance.
That means helping YouTube license and match sound recording and music publishing right for literally 100m+ videos.
1
1
And, Materia has paid out over $13m to artists to date, and via music publishing efforts facilitated over $10m in royalties to cover artists releasing their own music. If you haven't gotten a payout yet, we likely don't have your info on file. Email and we can solve it together.
Yeah, 2021 was difficult for many, our team included. And we learned, and grew, and improved; and it's our hope that gameaudio remains an environment that embraces failure so that we can grow together. We know it isn't for some, and we accept that.
1
Hi Katy, if you believe you are owed money, please email artists@materiamusic.com and our team will investigate. All artists for whom we have contact and payment instructions have been paid everything they are owed.
1
We wish we know more about how YouTube prioritizes and aggregates melody matches. Likely an Amalgam of spectral analysis, AI, and mapreducing big data
1
1
You're right - it's absolutely an imperfect system, with not enough parties to advocate for gamemusic rights.
Most other companies in the rights admin/fingerprinting space stay far away from publishing administrator... understandably.
We're still hopeful for competition.
1
It's for ... both; an entangled mess more jumbled than the source code for VVVVVV. (with love @/terrycavanagh)
Due to the Indie Game Composer Exception, YouTube doesn't know first uses, so YouTube uses popular covers to find melodies in uploads, and matches those.
1
1
Ahh that is precisely what is happening here! An indie composer who creates their own soundtrack wears the hats of:
- Producer
- Recording artist
- Composer/Songwriter
- Publisher/Administrator
- Record label
There are distinct royalties, and responsibilities, for each.
1
1
To put 7 years of numbers into perspective, from the label/sound recording side: YouTube is less than 7% of our revenue. Spotify continues to lead the streaming wars.
1
2
2. (con'td) Between Art Tracks, sound recording claims, and monetized uploads (for unlicensed/non-claimed/unmanaged copyrights), recording artists have variety of ways to collect sound recording shares via distributors and MCNs.
1
1
2. Materia Music Publishing only collects music publishing (sync/perf/mech/lyric) on YouTube. These are royalties exclusively allocated to composition rights holders. (cont'd)
1
1