SO/CLEAR

Project description

Project approach

Driven by digitization, the exploitation of musical works, e.g. through broadcasting or performance, is increasingly global, resulting in great economic potential. This applies not only to performing artists, but also to authors and the music publishers representing them, who collect royalties for the performance, broadcasting and reproduction of compositions.

DGlobal exploitation of musical copyrights by CISAC member societies amounts to €9.58 billion (2017) annually, of which more than 56% is generated in Europe. Around 70% of royalties worldwide originate from so-called "performing and broadcasting rights," i.e. live performances as well as TV and radio broadcasts. A growing share originates from digital distribution. German music publishers generate international revenues primarily through two channels:

1. Via the royalties collected by foreign collecting societies and forwarded to GEMA.
2. Via royalties collected from foreign sub-publishing partners and forwarded directly.

In both cases, there are delays of between one and four years, scatter and revenue losses due to deficient and incomplete data sets, frictional losses of an administrative nature, and direct costs for intermediary functions.

Project goal

The SO/CLEAR project aims to provide German authors and independent music publishers with direct and seamless access to international collecting societies and licensees, thereby increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the exploitation of musical works and making an important contribution to the economic viability of the numerous authors and music publishers who promote cultural diversity. In order to achieve this technically, new IT infrastructures are necessary.

These offer users uniform access to the collecting societies and thus encapsulate national legal peculiarities, society-specific data and formats, or take over the processing of billed data. The heterogeneity of the collecting societies is to be considered in the project from the perspective of data, interfaces and processes.

Implementation

The URZ supports this project with technical expertise, particularly with regard to the processing of heterogeneous data formats, the connection of a wide variety of interfaces, and the management and automation of processes, and takes on prototype implementations in these areas.

Consortium

SO/CLEAR is a joint project of ALVDIGITAL Systems and Leipzig University.