SoundExchange, the premier music tech organization powering the future of music, today announced that registered creators can elect to receive their royalty payments with Zelle® as part of a new, industry-leading effort allowing creators to easily and immediately receive royalty payments via mobile payment apps.
The new partnership strengthens SoundExchange’s accessible technology offerings for creators. Earlier this year, SoundExchange launched a new mobile app (now available in the app store for Google/Android and Apple/IOS) and digital tools to support its growing community of more than 570,000 creators.
“SoundExchange recognizes that more and more creators prefer to receive digital payments for performance royalties and is pursuing partnerships to make that a reality,” said Michael Huppe, President, and CEO of SoundExchange. “Expanding our mobile payment options to include Zelle® is the latest progression in our journey to build a fairer, simpler, and more efficient music industry. We are excited to be working closely with Zelle® to ensure creators can receive payments in the manner that works best for them.”
“In today’s gig economy, people expect to be paid fast right into their bank account,” said Kash Baghaei, chief product officer at Early Warning Services, LLC, the network operator of Zelle®. “We welcome SoundExchange creators to now use Zelle® to receive payments for their performance royalties – with money landing directly in their bank accounts.”
Creators can enroll with Zelle® through their financial institution and, for some, right from their smartphone through the convenience of mobile banking apps. SoundExchange will be able to send money directly to a creator’s bank account, typically within minutes if they are enrolled with Zelle®.
Zelle® is a fast and easy way to send and receive money from one bank account in the U.S. to another, using only a recipient’s email address or U.S. mobile number. It is offered by more than 1,700 banks and credit unions of all sizes across the U.S. Creators will still be able to receive royalty payments from SoundExchange via monthly domestic direct deposit in the U.S. and international direct deposit in select local currencies or quarterly paper checks.
SoundExchange is a critical source of revenue for music creators, collecting and distributing digital performance royalties on behalf of 570,000 music creators using proprietary technology solutions. To date, SoundExchange has distributed more than $9 billion in digital royalties directly to music creators, including $238.9 million during the third quarter of 2022.
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