Synchtank report: Publishers losing billions due to poor data management

This is according to the Synchtank’s new music industry report titled Drowning in Data: Royalty Accounting and Systems in the Digital Age published this week. Founded by Joel Thomas Jordan in 2008, Synchtank is a UK digital entertainment management platform, which offers a range of cloud-based solutions for managing digital entertainment assets, intellectual property, metadata and royalty accounting.

The report addresses the challenges that music publishers face with regard to rights, royalties and payments in the digital age, and the vital role that technology plays. It focuses on how royalty and finance departments and systems can be primed to handle the challenges over the next decade and beyond.

Synchtank says music publishers and their systems are facing an uphill battle as data volumes continue to grow at an exponential rate and as rights and payments become increasingly complex. The study pinpoints barriers to payments on the lack of standardisation of statement layouts, as well as data issues such as inconsistencies in both the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and the International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC).

The report examines how high-data volumes have risen for music publishers and collective management organisations (CMOs) and how rapidly they will continue to rise in the near future. It also assesses the increased division of music rights and collection sources across the digital landscape and how that is exacerbated by dealing with payments on an increasingly global scale. 

“We want to wake people up to these challenges,” Synchtank CEO Rory Bernard said. “Publishers need to evaluate whether or not their systems are future-proof or risk being left behind. Companies operating today need robust, scalable technology in place to stay competitive and capitalise on new opportunities

Synchtank says artists and songwriters now expect transparent access to their earnings, while rights holders want to leverage data to drive operational decision making and maximise intellectual property.

Meanwhile, Synchtank recently made a commercial version of its royalty accounting platform IRIS available to music publishers. The software is designed specifically for use in the music publishing sector, with an ability to track data and identify royalties due across a broad range of platforms and territories. The company will also host a number of free virtual panel discussions from 12 May, which was originally slated for 6 May. Interested participants can register for the event here.

Music In Africa reached out to Bernard to get some brief tips for music publishers:

MUSIC IN AFRICA: Based on your findings, what important advice can you give that independent music publishers can start applying to hedge their businesses against big data challenges?

RORY BERNARD: The number one issue that we always see with any company is the quality of data. You can have all the fancy systems in the world but if your core data is not clean, accurate and comprehensive you will not get anywhere. Ensure that your works have the full splits on them, the writers‘ IPI numbers, the publisher’s full details, the admin and ISWC number, and that they are properly registered at a CMO. For any masters, make sure you attach the right publishing details to them, track all the ISRCs (there can be more than one) and maintain a full list of all the participating artists. All of this will maximise your revenue and make you a standout with any licensees you work with. 

What type of technology tools should publishers equip themselves with to deal with the ‘big data phenomenon’?

Make sure your systems are scalable and can handle your data requirements into the future. Ideally, any potential supplier should be able to provide a proof of concept to you at a small implementation cost so that you can use your data in their product before making a final decision.

Download the free report here.