SoundExchange Reporting Blog

I am pleased as punch to announce that Public Interactive has once again completed a not-so-minor miracle by delivering another round of quarterly reports to SoundExchange, this time for Q4 2010.

Thanks to the hard work of many people at stations, syndicated shows, service providers and, of course, right here at Public Interactive, we were able to produce reports for 302 stations covering 482 content channels and 11,447,867 Music Aggregate Tuning Hours (a measure of the total hours of music transmitted to listeners) for the recently competed quarter. It’s truly a ridiculous task that somehow manages to get pulled off each quarter. It’s also an important task, helping to keep stations in compliance with the terms of the CPB-SoundExchange agreement and, hence, the copyright laws.

Now that the Q4 reports are done, that means we’re ready to accept your Q1 2011 reporting data (covering January 1 – March 31). Per usual, I can’t encourage everyone strongly enough to submit your reporting data as soon as possible after your chosen reporting weeks are over. Don’t don’t don’t wait until the last minute, please, I beg you.

For those who still refuse to heed this advice, the deadline for submitting your Q1 data to Public Interactive is Friday, April 8, 2011.

Again, a big thanks to all who submitted Q4 data; keep up the good work!

Finally, if you haven’t already, be sure to opt in for coverage under the latest CPB-SoundExchange agreement!

The folks at SoundExchange will be holding a webinar for service providers (i.e., you folks who stream music) this Thursday, January 27, 2011 from 2:00 – 3:00 EST.

The webinar isn’t solely devoted to you folks covered by the CPB-SoundExchange agreement, but it should be full of information relevant to all webcasters. Plus, you’ll have a chance to ask questions (they encourage you to submit them in advance). I’ll be listening in, but not particpating.

So I encourage all to register now, submit your questions and plan on attending.

A most excellent question was recently posed to us that may have occurred to some of you, amidst all the talk of public broadcasting being defunded by the new Congress. I’ve just added it – and the CPB‘s response – to our FAQ page:

Q: With the possibility of CPB being defunded by 2013, what will happen to the SoundExchange agreement that is supposed to last until 2015?

A: The CPB has already paid the bill for the full term of the agreement, so it will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2015. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.

Of course, let us all hope it doesn’t come to that (fingers crossed)…

Thanks to all who have submitted Q4 2010 SoundExchange reporting data! We’re plowing through the mountain of data (and still tracking down a few of you stragglers) and will be generating and submitting the final reports to SoundExchange later this month. Per usual, I’ll blog about the report totals when the reports are done and submitted.

In the meantime, I must call your attention to another important matter: the new agreement between the CPB and SoundExchange which took effect as of January 1. I’ve written previously about the old and new agreements and that, while the new agreement keeps the same reporting requirements for stations, everyone – yes, everyone – must again opt-in for coverage under the new agreement.

This week the CPB launched a new Internet Music Rights web site, through which eligible stations can affirm their intent to comply with the terms of the new agreement, which is in effect from 2011 through the end of 2015.

So, if you haven’t already, go to the site, log in if you’ve previously registered and have credentials, or register with the CPB and complete the opt-in process. After that, if you haven’t already, register with Public Interactive so that we can begin accepting your quarterly data and submitting reports on your behalf. Stations that have previously registered with Public Interactive do NOT need to register with us again.

Remember, if you don’t opt-in for coverage under the new deal, you are on your own for paying royalties and reporting to SoundExchange – even if you were covered under the old agreement.

Got it?  OK, as always, contact me with questions and don’t wait – get covered now!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s holiday. I’m sure you’re all just as excited as I am to be back in the office after a nice long break. Right?

Anyway, before you get too wrapped up in 2011, let’s not forget that many of you still have some important 2010-related business to take care of: namely, Q4 SoundExchange reporting.

This Friday (January 7) is the deadline to get us your reporting data for the recently completed quarter. A number of you have already submitted your data, but lots of you still haven’t. So, for the latter group of you, this is the week to get it done! You can’t put it off any longer, sadly.

As always, the reporting basics are here and, if you haven’t already, as soon as you submit your data, contact me to let me know you have and to make sure your data is all in order.

Got it? OK, then let’s go…