Los Angeles-based music tech startup Orfium has achieved another major milestone in Asia.
Its subsidiary, Soundmouse, has been named as the official music reporting partner for broadcasters in South Korea. The development came a little over a year after Orfium acquired Soundmouse, a London-based media technology company.
Soundmouse specializes in music cue sheet reporting and audio recognition services. Its technology accurately identifies music used across various platforms, ensuring that artists and rights holders receive proper compensation for their work.
The three-year partnership with the South Korean Broadcasting Music Identifying System (BROMIS) – a consortium led by major broadcasters and collecting societies – highlights the growing demand for accurate and transparent music reporting in South Korea.
BROMIS oversees music usage reporting for 36 broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, SBS, and four collecting societies (KOMCA, KOSCAP, FKMP, KEPA) across 175 TV channels and radio stations in South Korea.
“To be selected to manage and deliver such a significant project for South Korean broadcasters and music creators is a real validation of Orfium’s technology, the quality of our team, and our track record as a company.”
Rob Wells, Orfium
“To be selected to manage and deliver such a significant project for South Korean broadcasters and music creators is a real validation of Orfium’s technology, the quality of our team, and our track record as a company,” said Orfium CEO Rob Wells. Wells was the former global digital head of Universal Music Group.
“We are excited to be growing our presence in the Asian market to support local creators and rights holders and look forward to working with all of BROMIS’ stakeholders to strengthen the transparency and accuracy of music reporting processes in the multi-billion dollar broadcast industry.”
The development marks a major win for Orfium, solidifying its presence in the world’s seventh-largest music market.
The agreement grants Soundmouse access to the Korean Music Database, a vast library containing over 17.3 million Korean music tracks. This access will allow Soundmouse to match music reported by broadcasters against the database.
“We will bring extensive industry experience from an expert team, the highest standards in cue sheet reporting, and the most advanced technology in audio recognition fingerprinting to strengthen the process of music reporting in such an important market.”
Bonna Choi, Soundmouse by Orfium Korea
South Korean collecting societies will then utilize reports from Soundmouse to decide how to distribute royalties to their members, including songwriters, recording artists, phonogram producers, and rights holders.
“After such a rigorous consultation and trial process, we are excited to have been selected and accredited by BROMIS to work on behalf of creators, rights holders, broadcasters and collecting societies. We will bring extensive industry experience from an expert team, the highest standards in cue sheet reporting, and the most advanced technology in audio recognition fingerprinting to strengthen the process of music reporting in such an important market,” said Bonna Choi, Head of Soundmouse by Orfium Korea.
Steve Choi, Secretary General, Steering Committee of BROMIS, added: “The sharing of clear, transparent, and granular data from a neutral source represents a significant step towards making the music industry a more equitable environment.”
“The quality and accuracy of [Soundmouse by Orfium’s] reporting processes will be game changing for our industry and will have a positive impact on the remuneration of creators and rights holders as well as the development of our wider industry ecosystem.”
Steve Choi, South Korean Broadcasting Music Identifying System
“With the consistent accuracy and reliability of their reporting, Soundmouse by Orfium stood out as the best partner for the project. The quality and accuracy of their reporting processes will be game changing for our industry and will have a positive impact on the remuneration of creators and rights holders as well as the development of our wider industry ecosystem.”
Orfium’s new partnership in Korea follows the company’s deals in 2023 with Japan’s Avex, Bandai Namco and the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), which is estimated to represent 90% of Japanese publishers’ repertoire. In 2022, Orfium acquired Tokyo-based promotional, marketing and content company Breaker INC.
Music Business Worldwide