coscap

The Caribbean Sea as seen from Barbados, where the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) operates. Photo Credit: Tom Jur

Barbados’ lone collective management organization, the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP), has officially partnered with SoundExchange’s Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) and SX Works Global Publisher Services.

SoundExchange just recently unveiled the “significant international music rights management milestone,” which is said to underscore “the growing influence of Caribbean music.”

As described by Beatdapp-partnered SoundExchange, CMRRA is set to oversee COSCAP members’ mechanical rights throughout Canada, population 39 million, moving forward.

SX Works, for its part, is expected to “help manage the end-to-end administration on behalf of COSCAP members” in the States with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), SoundExchange relayed, heralding the partnership as “a tremendous stride toward fostering fairness and prosperity for COSCAP members” in North America.

Expanding upon the point, longtime COSCAP head Erica K. Smith in a statement touted her organization’s “transformative journey” under the deal as well as the implications thereof for the mentioned Caribbean music.

“This partnership not only secures the rights and proper payment for our talented members but also strengthens the global reach of Caribbean music,” Smith communicated in part.

And in comments of his own, Paul Shaver, who serves as president of both CMRRA and SX Works, touted the agreements’ importance for publishers and songwriters in Barbados, which is home to about 280,000 people.

“As Caribbean music continues to captivate audiences worldwide,” the Universal Music Group (UMG) and Nielsen vet Shaver proceeded, “this collaboration will undoubtedly amplify the voices and contributions of these exceptional writers, artists, and publishers. CMRRA and SX Works Global Publisher Services take immense pride in embarking on this transformative journey alongside COSCAP.”

The aforesaid MLC is now facing its first audit – while preparing to audit digital service providers including Spotify and Apple Music. Separately, reports in Q4 2023 indicated that UMG was quietly pushing SoundExchange aside in the royalty-payout process behind non-interactive digital listening.

Notably, SoundExchange announced today that it had distributed just over $1 billion in royalties ($229 million for Q1, $269 million for Q2, $257 million for Q3, and $250 million for Q4) during 2023 – a 4.3 percent improvement from the $959 million in payouts attached to 2022 by the more than two-decade-old entity.

Lastly, in terms of the growth attributable to the Caribbean and Latin America, CISAC in late October of 2023 disclosed that the regions’ joint royalty pools had expanded by 66.1 percent year over year during 2022.