Rollingstone: Stores are Misusing Background Music and It’s Costing the Record Industry Billions

Artists finally have a chance at properly benefitting from their songs being played in shops and cafés around the world — thanks, in large part, to Swedish company Soundtrack Your Brand.

It’s unfortunately commonplace that many people — artists, small business owners and average music fans alike — don’t know that musicians should be making money every time their work is played in a restaurant, bar, or retail store. In fact, it’s illegal for businesses to play music through personal streaming accounts, a situation that happens with alarming frequency.

That’s one reason why Swedish background music company Soundtrack Your Brand teamed up with Spotify to create a platform that allows business owners to easily stream music and curate brand-friendly playlists for 30 to 40 dollars a month, with the company inking unique licensing deals with Sony and Warner, alongside indie music association Merlin, to make sure that songs’ rights-holders get paid for influencing these shopping and dining experiences. On Tuesday, Soundtrack Your Brand announced a new deal with Universal Music Group that will lock in deals with all three major labels.

“Ask any artist if they’ve ever, on their royalty statements, seen anything from any of the major providers of background music,” Ola Sars, CEO of Soundtrack Your Brand, tells Rolling Stone. “If you find anyone, I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”

Source: To read full article Rollingstone