As you know, in recent years some of you have reported problems with the payment of your SoundExchange royalties through Artisti: slow distribution, response time and cumulative fees.
Indeed, the presence of an intermediary (Re:Sound) imposed between Artisti and SoundExchange contributed to these problems.
Artisti has been working tirelessly for several years to improve this situation, and with the arrival of a new CEO at Re:Sound, we can now ensure that your SoundExchange royalties will be paid to you under better conditions:
Important changes
Artisti must first stress that the new CEO of Re:Sound, Lou Ragagnin, took very seriously the situation in which Artisti and those of its members who entrusted it with the management of their royalties in the United States found themselves. He was proactive in initiating the changes listed below:
1. Monthly payments of your royalties
Artisti will now receive royalties from SoundExchange every month. This means that, immediately after the fixed distribution on October 15, 2020, SoundExchange royalty distributions will take place each month for those of our members who are registered for direct deposit. If you haven’t done so already: be sure to send your specimen check at info@artisti.ca
Those who are not enrolled in direct deposit will continue to receive their royalties every three months.
2. Direct Artisti/SoundExchange communications
There are two changes to note regarding Artisti’s communications with SoundExchange:
- Artisti will now receive raw payment files as delivered by SoundExchange to Re:Sound, which will allow us to respond more quickly when a member’s payment is missing and verify when it is received;
- Artisti will now be in the loop of all exchanges with SoundExchange, allowing us to interrogate SoundExchange directly regarding any conflicts with our members.
3. A decrease of 0.48% in overall service charges
Considering that part of the work that Re:Sound was doing will migrate to Artisti, it will require us to increase our management costs from 2.99% to 3.5%, to free up the additional resources required by this migration of tasks and the implementation of monthly payments.
That said, a drop in the overall administration costs equivalent to 0.48% will nevertheless be confirmed as of November for our members, as the operating costs that Re:Sound previously deducted from the royalties will decrease in parallel, due to the fact that part of the work that they were performing will now be assumed by Artisti.
See the example below:
It goes without saying that the aim of Artisti and Re:Sound is to ensure that the overall fees for members can decrease even further. So our two societies will make sure to continue to assess the situation in order to find other ways to cut costs.
Artisti is pleased to see that Re:Sound has grasped the very special importance that Artisti places on this crucial source of income for its members, in a spirit of collaboration. Artisti will remain vigilant so that these new measures and the services provided meet the demands of its members.
For any questions related to your SoundExchange royalties, you can contact Julien Gagnon (jgagnon@artisti.ca) or Ali Mafi (amafi@artisti.ca).