Merlin Network
Merlin Network BV is a digital rights agency for independent labels . It was founded in 2007 with Charles Caldas as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The agency has a membership of more than 20,000 independent record labels and distributors from currently 63 countries. It distributed about $ 500 million in licensing revenue to its members in 2018.
history
Merlin Network was founded in February 2007 at the world's largest music industry fair , the Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale in Cannes . In May 2008, the agency started business operations. From its founding until the resignation announced for the end of 2019, the executive CEO was the Australian music manager Charles Caldas , who had previously led the largest independent label in Australia, Shock Records , as its CEO for many years . Right from the start, the organization had already reached a distribution agreement with the Californian streaming service Snocap , which made the music of its artists / bands available for download on MySpace .
The agency has negotiated contractual agreements against copyright infringement with distributors such as Grooveshark , Limewire and XM Satellite Radio . Their content, the music tracks of the independent labels, provided they have Merlin membership status, are distributed by Deezer , Pandora Music , SoundCloud , Spotify , Vevo , YouTube Premium and other streaming services.
In February 2013, Merlin and IMPALA signed an agreement with Warner Music Group after they acquired Parlophones to transfer 30 percent of the label's value to the members of Merlin and IMPALA. The sale of the stake ended on September 30, 2017. Spotify signed a new multi-year contract with Merlin in 2017. The entire 125 million income from Spotify shares was distributed proportionally to the members.
In March 2018, Merlin Network signed digital music sharing agreements in China with three major Chinese music streaming services - NetEase , Xiami Music, and Tencent . Billboard announced in November 2018 that the Mixcloud audio streaming platform had signed a multi-year direct licensing agreement.
The market power of the independent label sector associated in Merlin has grown over the years so that they have gained bargaining power almost like a fourth major corporation alongside Universal Music Group , Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.
According to their 2019 Membership Report & Survey , there was a 63 percent increase in distributions for member record labels to $ 845 million in the annual reporting period (April 2018 - March 2019). More than 54% percent of Merlin members reported that their digital earnings currently account for more than 75 percent of their total earnings.
Merlin represents (as of July 2019) 850 member companies from 63 countries worldwide, which collectively make up 12 percent of the global digital music market. Merlin Network stated that a total of about $ 2 billion has gone to its members since it was launched.
Structures
There is a representative, the Merlin Chairman, currently the American Dave Hansen, and a General Manager, currently CEO Charles Caldas, an Australian. The supervisory board consists of fifteen people, who are elected by the members every two years in proportion to the distribution of the member companies in each world region.
The head office of the Merlin Network is in Amsterdam. In addition, however, since the revenue had risen sharply in the second half of the 2010s, there are separate professional staff units in Japan, in New York City in the United States and in London in the United Kingdom. Their designated teams can comprise 1–2 dozen staff members.
In order to become a member, an independent label does not have to pay an entry fee. Merlin works on a non-profit organization basis and finances the structures created by charging a minimal administration fee on the license income of the members. Indie labels that are members of participating associations on a country basis are granted somewhat more favorable conditions.
Web links
supporting documents
- ↑ No. 81 of Power 100: Charles Caldas , Billboard February 7, 2019, accessed July 28, 2019
- ↑ a b Charles Caldas to step down as Merlin CEO , Merlin Network June 17, 2019, accessed July 30, 2019
- ^ Charles Caldas - CEO, Merlin , musictank.co.uk, accessed July 28, 2019
- ↑ Indie music labels join together to grab a slice of online revenues , The Guardian, January 22, 2007, accessed July 28, 2019
- ↑ Merlin Announces 20 Percent Price Cut For Members , Billboard February 8, 2016, accessed July 28, 2019
- ^ Warner Music Working With Impala, Merlin to Sell Parlophone Assets to Indies , Billboard February 19, 2013, accessed July 28, 2019
- ↑ Spotify and Merlin Sign Multi-Year Licensing Deal , variety.com, April 20, 2017, accessed August 4, 2019
- ↑ Merlin makes estimated $ 125m from Spotify shares, giving 100% to members , themusicnetwork.com, May 15, 2018, accessed August 4, 2019
- ↑ Merlin Network strikes streaming deals for independent music in China , BBC News, March 15, 2018, accessed July 28, 2019
- ↑ Mixcloud and Merlin Network Agree to Multi-Year Direct Licensing Deal , Billboard November 27, 2018, accessed August 4, 2019
- ↑ Top or flop - how Spotify dominates musicians , Tages-Anzeiger from March 21, 2018, accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Merlin reveals record revenue distributions in new 2019 Membership Report , Merlin Network June 18, 2019, accessed July 29, 2019
- ↑ Photo lists of the teams , accessed July 31, 2019
- ↑ How to Join , accessed July 31, 2019