How Emerging Technology Is Changing The Way Music Is Accessed

What's your background? How did you get into doing what you do?

"Ignoring the failed musician part, which is what got me into the music industry via earning money by packing boxes of records at an indie distributor in Melbourne, I was at Shock for 16 years before leaving to pursue an interest in how the digital landscape was changing music. In 2006 I started consulting for a group of international labels looking at how they could start an organisation that helped independent labels navigate those changes and protect the value of their rights, which ultimately became Merlin and took me and my family to London."

Can you please explain what digital rights are to someone who's been living under a rock?  

"In short, it's the rights an online platform needs to legally use music on their platform, and the work Merlin does is to negotiate and define how the labels we represent are paid for that usage. It can range from simple models like digital downloads, through on-demand streaming to the online use of video or music in text messaging or social media."

What's the reality of, or process for, chasing royalty payouts for the indie labels you work with?

"Most of the work is in establishing and negotiating the deals in the first place, which is the most difficult part. Beyond that it's a matter of processing huge amounts of data that capture the usage on each platform, and passing the money through to our label as quickly and efficiently as possible, which in our case is every month."

Can you please give an example of one of the high-value copyright infringement settlements Merlin has reached on behalf of its members?

"The highest profile infringement case we settled was with LimeWire, which was the leading peer-to-peer platform through the early 2000s. One of the motivations for the establishment of Merlin was the Kazaa case, where IFFPI/RIAA/ARIA etc settled with Kazaa for a huge amount of money, none of which was passed to the independents. With the LimeWire case, we took matters into our own hands and managed to achieve a multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of our members, which was the first time indies had benefitted from a large-scale digital infringement case."

What's the fastest growing region for Merlin members at the moment? What would you put this down to?

"Latin America has grown incredibly over the past four years or so for us. It's amazing to think that Brazil is our sixth highest earning market and that Mexico, Argentina and Chile are all in our Top 20 markets. The independent industry never looked like that in the past. The Asian market is the next region where we are seeing real value emerge. This growth is mainly down to the availability of attractive, convenient and legal platforms that are monetising usage that consumers in those markets are paying for in ever-increasing numbers. The availability of our music in those markets is leading to the creation of a whole new audience that was previously unavailable to us, and we find that hugely exciting."

What are a couple of the main ways the market has changed since you've been at Merlin and what are some of the processes you've put in place to adapt to these changes?

"The breaking down of the barriers of discovery has fundamentally changed the market. Before the emergence of the global digital services, consumers in most markets were limited to radio, TV and retail as discovery channels. These were invariably controlled by the largest labels, who had the most money to spend in dominating those channels. The fact that music is globally discoverable via a myriad of sources - including social media, streaming services, online video platforms etc - has created a much more democratic, merit-driven marketplace, which is creating a market where independents are thriving. I think the success of so many Australian artists around the world over the past few years is a good illustration of that. For Merlin, this has meant not only needing to put systems and technology in place to deal with that expansion, but also with establishing offices on the ground in the key markets. We are now present in the US, UK, Europe and Japan, and are currently looking to set up a presence across Latin America."  

How do you see digital recorded music market evolving in the next few years? Are there any trends that your company anticipates?

"Outside of the continuing globalisation of the market into areas like China, India and Russia, the big changes ahead are going to come from how emerging technology is changing the way music is accessed. AI, personalised creation, voice-activated devices, music and connected/smart cars are all going to broaden the way music is consumed, which we hope creates a new set of revenue streams for the labels we represent."

What are some of the topics you plan to cover during your keynote speech at Indie-Con in Adelaide?

"At Indie-Con I'm going to provide an insight into how the market is growing and how music is travelling around the world, with a specific focus on some of our Australian members. I'm also looking forward to getting back on the ground in Australia to see how the market is developing and how that is affecting Australian independents."

Indie-Con Australia happens from 26 Jul in Adelaide.