You may recall that last year, a controversy erupted involving Tame Impala and their former label, Modular Recordings, which was for a period in the 2000s, the premier independent label in Australia.
The controversy stemmed from the collapse of the label and a convoluted series of agreements and contracts that meant royalties bound for the Perth group never actually made it into their bank accounts.
It’s not clear just how much was missing and for a while there, it wasn’t entirely clear just who was at fault. Modular, parent company Universal, and Tame Impala’s overseas publishing company were all pointing fingers in different directions.
What that saga did more than anything is show the systemic issues that arise when one delves into the royalties machine currently in place for artists. At times it’s so convoluted it’s virtually impossible to keep track of anything.
Take for example SoundExchange. The US-based organisation is responsible for collecting and distributing royalties specifically sourced from satellite and internet broadcasts, like an APRA-AMCOS for the web.
However, as Tech Dirt reports, SoundExchange was embroiled in its own controversy when industry figures realised it was sitting on more than $100 million in unclaimed royalties, since it was allowed to keep money for artists who weren’t registered.
To SoundExchange’s credit, they reportedly do everything they can to track down artists and get them signed up, but some artists still haven’t claimed their royalties and a few years back, SoundExchange offered up an ultimatum.
“SoundExchange is authorized by law to release older unclaimed royalties to offset our costs and distribute proportionally to those we already pay,” they wrote. “We have repeatedly held off on doing this, but we need your help to spread the word and get recording artists and record labels to register.”
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According to Digital Music News, the extensive list of artists who still haven’t claimed royalties from SoundExchange includes several Australians, including Chet Faker, Tame Impala, Nick Cave, Men At Work, Billy Thorpe, and more.
Digital Music News list 125 artists who haven’t received anything from SoundExchange because, for whatever reason, they aren’t registered to do so. Obviously, this isn’t necessarily the fault of SoundExchange.
Instead, the list, which represents millions in unclaimed artist royalties, is another grim reminder of just how fundamentally flawed and utterly confounding the royalties system currently in place can be.
SoundExchange Unclaimed Royalties List
N.W.A
3rd Bass
Chet Faker
Arcade Fire
Andy Gibb
Anthrax
Artifacts
Atoms for Peace
Astor Piazzolla
Bad English
Berlin
Big Audio Dynamite
Fleetwood Mac
Big Tent Revival
Billy Thorpe
Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson
Black Flag
Blackalicious
Body Count
Booker T. & the M.G.’s
Boston
Buffalo Springfield
Buzzcocks
C+C Music Factory
Catherine Wheel
Charli Baltimore
Chet Baker Quartet
Chris Tucker
Cliff Richard & the Drifters
Cocteau Twins
Corrosion of Conformity
Crazy Town
Da Lench Mob
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Das EFX
Dee Dee Ramone
Deep Purple
DJ Clue
Dirty Vegas
Dokken
Don Johnson
Eazy-E
Eddy Grant
Eddie Fisher
Empire Brass Quintet
Faith No More
Falco
Faster Pussycat
Fleet Foxes
Flipmode Squad
Force MD’s
Folk Implosion
Fred Astaire
Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Geto Boys
Girl Talk
God Street Wine
Grand Master Flash
Goodie Mob
Heart
H-Town
iamamiwhoami
Insane Clown Posse
Jerry Garcia
Jets to Brazil
Jethro Tull
Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Kriss Kross
L.A. Guns
LFO
Long Beach Dub Allstars
Lost Boyz
Milky Chance
Milli Vanilli
Motorhead
Mott the Hoople
Main Source
Massive Attack
MC5
Melvins
Men at Work
N.E.R.D.
New Bomb Turks
New Edition
Nick Cave
Nightmares on Wax
Primitive Radio Gods
Ratt
Samiam
Santana
Scream
Sebadoh
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Showbiz & A.G.
Shudder to Think
Simple Minds
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Slum Village
Soul Coughing
Survivor
Tame Impala
The Afghan Whigs
the Beatnuts
The Carter Family
The Clash
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Jerry Garcia Band
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Lox
The Ohio Players
The O’Jays
The Partridge Family
The Pharcyde
The Platters
The Power Station
The Samples
The Spinners
The Temptations
The Three Tenors
The Yardbirds
Thompson Twins
Traffic
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
War
