Law and standards

The statutes and industry standards the royalty system runs on.

• DDEX

  DDEX (Digital Data Exchange) is a not-for-profit standards organization, formed in 2006, that defines the message formats music companies use to exchange data in the digital supply chain. Its best-known standard is the Electronic Release Notification (ERN), the XML format in which labels and distributors deliver releases and their metadata to streaming services and stores.

• Music Modernization Act

  The Music Modernization Act (MMA) is a United States copyright law signed on October 11, 2018 as Public Law 115-264. It created a blanket mechanical license for digital music services administered by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, extended federal protection for digital uses to sound recordings made before 1972, and gave producers and engineers a statutory path to SoundExchange royalties.