NPR/DS-SoundExchange Reporting Basics
Terms of CPB-SoundExchange Agreement
- CPB pays all performance royalties, which go to featured artists and labels, for music webcasts by covered stations (that is, stations that explicitly choose to be covered by the CBS-SX agreement) through 2015
- All stations choosing to be covered by this agreement must submit quarterly reporting data to NPR Digital Services (NPR/DS), which in turn will generate compliant reports for submission to SoundExchange on behalf of all covered stations.
- All but a handful of stations (to be notified by PI) report on music streaming and audience for two 7-day-consecutive periods (of their choosing) within each calendarquarter to SoundExchange through Public Interactive. Calendar quarters (of course) are as follows:
- Q1: January 1 – March 31
- Q2: April 1 – June 30
- Q3: July 1 – September 30
- Q4: October 1 – December 31
- To be covered, stations must:
- Register with the CPB
- Use the URL and login credentials provided by the CPB after they receive your registration to explicitly accept the terms of the CPB-SX agreement
- Register with NPR Digital Services for SoundExchange reporting
Required Data and File Formatting
Data to be provided quarterly to NPR/DS:
1. Playlist Logs
For every song streamed on your locally produced shows during your chosen 14-day reporting period each quarter, record the following required information*:
- Song Title
- Featured Artist/Group/Orchestra
- Album Title
- Marketing Label
- Start Date and Time of Song Play
- End Date and Time OR Duration of Song Play.
*All stations that are not NPR/DS Composer Pro clients must supply these data in a data file that matches NPR/DS’s required playlist file formatting; existing NPR/DS Composer Pro clients do not need to supply a playlist log file, since NPR/DS can access your playlist data directly.
2. Streaming Access Logs
For every request for your content streams during your chosen 14-day reporting period each quarter, stations must provide streaming access logs that record the following required information**:
- IP Address of Requestor
- Stream URL Requested
- Request Status
- Start Date and Time of Session
- End date and Time OR Duration of Session
**All stations that are not NPR/DS streaming clients must supply streaming access logs; existing NPR/DS streaming clients don’t need to provide streaming access logs, since NPR/DS can access your streaming logs directly.
3. Schedule (Guide) Information:
For your chosen reporting period, you must provide NPR/DS with your schedules (what shows aired and when) via Composer Pro or Composer Basic, so that NPR/DS can integrate syndicate show playlists into your individual station’s report.
Details on which syndicated shows currently provide Public Interactive with playlists and how to fill out your schedule in Composer Basic/Pro are provided here.
Data Submission Method and Due Dates
- Data files and schedule data are submitted quarterly to NPR/DS via Composer Pro or Composer Basic.
- If you have not registered with NPR/DS for SoundExchange reporting, then you must do so before we can begin accepting your data. To register with us, please fill out this form.
- If you have registered with us for SoundExchange reporting but did not yet receive a login to Composer Basic then contact us and we will provide your login and instructions for getting started with the tool.
- Data for each calendar quarter are due to NPR/DS about one week after the end of each calendar quarter (exact due dates to be announced quarterly), so by the end of the first weeks of January, April, July and October.
