Technology start-up Melos Publishing Services uses proprietary platform MusicTracker™ to collect $millions in royalties for its blue-chip client base

Performance Rights Organisations (PROs) have reported record levels of revenue and royalty distributions to their members this year, however for one sector, music used in TV commercials, distributing royalties accurately is still proving challenging. Due to the complexity in matching rights and transmissions around the world a significant percentage of the royalties generated is not being recouped by the world’s brands, agencies and composers responsible for commissioning and producing the work.

Independent technology company Melos Publishing Services has developed a unique solution for brands and PROs to help solve this ongoing problem, and in the past three years, has recouped millions of dollars for its strong blue-chip client base and the composers who have worked with them.

Through it’s proprietary tracking and reporting platform, MusicTracker™, Melos administers on behalf of its clients the music used in their TV campaigns globally. Melos ensures that their music rights are registered accurately in each relevant international territory , as part of a global partnership with Sony/ATV, and tracks its usage in real-time with audio recognition technology. This enables Melos to maximise royalty payments through the management and expert application of data and music rights in each individual market. The company has also built a unique database of TV commercials’ that have been broadcast in the US and the UK over the past three years.

As a result of the combined global data and technology solution, Melos is now regularly delivering 20x greater royalty collections then previously received by its clients.

Daniel Kuypers, Executive Director of Music at Energy BBDO, and a Melos partner, says: “Working with Melos has given us the competitive advantage of being able to deliver a new revenue stream for our clients, which only further strengthens our relationships. Perhaps just as importantly, it ensures that artists involved in the creation of sound and music used in our campaigns are appropriately compensated for their work, a responsibility that we take very seriously.”

Richard Cottrell, CEO at Melos Publishing Services, says: “Music has always been an integral part of TV advertising, and brands and their agencies invest significant time and millions of dollars to license famous tracks or commission original works to get the perfect soundtrack for each campaign. But rather worryingly most are unaware that there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of royalties available to them as their campaigns play out across the world. At a time when marketing budgets, and more, have never been so under pressure, our service quickly introduces an opportunity to recoup some of the media costs to any business that invests in TV advertising. Collecting these royalties accurately for the brands also helps to ensure the composers and artists are fully recompensed for their work too.”

Paul Sims, Chief Administration Officer at Melos, continues: “Music licensing and royalty collections can be very complex, especially when it comes to managing music licensed or commissioned by a brand, via an advertising agency. Keeping track of where and when these works are broadcast, when you factor in localised editing by post-production houses along with different media buying companies in different regions, adds yet more complexity. Through our unique platform and data we can accurately track the transmission of adverts to help support PROs by providing them with the most accurate level of music usage reporting. Melos combines data with technology to provide a proven and innovative solution to this industry problem.”

MusicTracker™ developed in-house, is the first of its kind technology solution, to help global brands ensure licensing compliance and maximisation of royalties for music used in their TV commercials around the world. The result is a comprehensive and reliable global solution to managing music in TV Commercials. Music Tracker™ enables a brand to manage its music more effectively and recoup royalties accurately. A dashboard provides all information in easy-to-understand reports, with instant sight of where the brand’s licensed music has been detected and how much royalty revenue is generated.