Warner/Chappell has signed a deal which mandates France’s SACEM to handle the pan-European administration of its online licenses with YouTube, Deezer and Qobuz.
The agreement, which covers mechanical royalties, comes just over two months after Warner/Chappell signed a similar deal with private rights group SESAC to handle iTunes royalties outside North America.
Warner/Chappell’s online royalties across YouTube, Deezer and Qobuz were previously administered in Europe by ICE – the international org formed by PRS For Music (UK) in conjunction with GEMA (Germany) and STIM (Sweden).
MBW asked Eric Mackay, VP Digital EMEA and Asia-Pacific for Warner/Chappell, why the publisher was taking a piecemeal approach to processing its online rights outside the US – having picked two different societies to handle four different platforms so far.
“Simply put, these moves are all about providing our songwriters with the best possible service,” he said. “We’re using processing partners to help us identify and invoice our songwriters’ works on digital services.
“This strategy will improve processing bandwidth and means we benefit from each partners’ specific expertise, putting us in pole position to deliver revenues accurately and speedily to our songwriters.”
“We’re using processing partners to help us identify and invoice our songwriters’ works on digital services.”
Eric Mackay, Warner/Chappell (pictured)
“We’re continuing to explore additional options for dedicated processing partners in order to ensure that we’re always at the cutting edge when it comes to providing the services and support our songwriters rightly expect.”
Jean-Noël Tronc, CEO of SACEM: “We are very proud to announce that Warner/Chappell Music is the latest major publisher to entrust us with their repertoire in a multi-territory online licensing deal for several streaming platforms that represent a strategically important and growing market.
“We are a partner of choice for publishers in international online licensing deals because of our deep experience and our innovative industry leading technology. We have been appointed thanks to our strong knowledge and expertise in streaming and because we have invested in providing a highly efficient and completely transparent service.
“This new partnership with Warner/Chappell Music is a vindication of our strategic investment in a future-proof global online copyright management system. We are passionate about using digital innovation to turn the challenge of digital fragmentation of rights into an opportunity to unlock more value for creators and rights-holders.”
SACEM also handles the repertoire of UMPI, Wixen Music and the Canadian society SOCAN, in similar partnerships.
Warner Music Group signed a new music publishing deal with YouTube last month.Music Business Worldwide
