The growth of digital music royalty distributor SoundExchange over the ten years of its existence parallels the tremendous growth in the digital music universe. Suffice it to say that its Q3 2013 distribution total dwarfs the amount it sent to music creators for the entire year of 2003.
The service says it has paid out $1.5B and then some to artists since its birth. Its total payout during Q3 2013 was $153.7M, compared to a grand total of about $3M for 2003.
“Music is more accessible now than ever before; today, a single sound recording can be streamed millions of times by listeners across the globe,” said SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe. “SoundExchange takes great pride in having helped enable the growth of the digital music industry, and we strive to ensure that all recording artists and labels are rewarded for their art. Over the last decade, we’ve grown as an organization, fought for what we believe in and persevered to become the company we are today. And we look forward to an even brighter future for the entire music industry.”
The service celebrated the event by releasing a pair of top ten lists that track the history of the music business during SoundExchange’s own lifetime:
Top Tracks by Year from 2003-2013
2003: “Get Busy” – Sean Paul
2004: “The Reason” – Hoobastank
2005: “Lonely No More” – Rob Thomas
2006: “You’re Beautiful” – James Blunt
2007: “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood
2008: “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis
2009: “Love Story” – Taylor Swift
2010: “Hey, Soul Sister” – Train
2011: “Rolling in The Deep” – Adele
2012: “Set Fire to The Rain” – Adele
2013: “When I Was Your Man” – Bruno Mars
Top 10 Artists from 2003-2013
1 Elvis Presley
2 Bruce Springsteen
3 Pearl Jam
4 Rihanna
5 Drake
6 Usher
7 Lil Wayne
8 The Beatles
9 Taylor Swift
10 Grateful Dead
