IFPI and the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), working together on behalf of the global recording industry, have announced that their global repertoire data exchange service (RDx), built and run for Repertoire Data Exchange Limited by PPL, is now fully operational.

RDx provides a supply chain for performance rights data among record companies and music licensing companies (MLCs) to help improve the accuracy of revenue distribution to rights holders when their music is used. IFPI explains that when music is enjoyed in public places such as shops, pubs, clubs and offices, or in broadcasts, the background work of properly licensing these uses is carried out by MLCs. The licence fees for the use of recordings are distributed back to rights holders by MLCs, by reference to databases of recordings and rights information. RDx is bringing simplicity, standards and efficiency to the exchange of data between rights holders and MLCs globally.

Record companies have historically used a variety of data delivery processes to supply data to individual MLCs around the world, and now the industry is standardising these information flows to boost efficiency. RDx simplifies the data-handling process by offering recording rights holders of all sizes and from any country a single registration point to supply their repertoire data in a standardised format (DDEX RDR) that can be quickly and easily accessed by participating MLCs. This is helping to improve the timeliness, accuracy and efficiency of MLCs’ revenue distributions to rights holders worldwide and provides mechanisms for increasing data quality and automatically alerting rights holders when potential rights conflicts are detected.

Following a request for proposals in 2018 and a robust competitive tendering process, PPL UK was selected to develop and operate the technology systems underpinning RDx. On completion of a 12-month project to implement and test the systems, RDx was launched on time and on budget and is now live and exchanging production data between the participating parties.

Many leading record companies, including Beggars Group, Sony Music, state51 Music Group, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group have already joined RDx to upload their repertoire data, and over 1.4 million registrations of their repertoire data have already been processed by RDx.

The music licensing companies receiving production data from RDx are GRAMEX Finland, PPL UK, Re:Sound (Canada) and SENA (The Netherlands). Additional record companies and MLCs will join RDx in the coming months, with GVL (Germany) and others working to get onboard throughout 2020 and beyond. To read IFPI’s press release in full, click here.