NEW YORK, May 4, 2023 – SoundCloud and Merlin today announced a global licensing deal enabling Merlin members and their artists to participate in SoundCloud’s Fan-Powered Royalties (FPR) model. Through FPR, SoundCloud’s first-to-market, user-centric payout model, a share of each listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is allocated to the tracks they listen to, rather than their plays being pooled and …

How would you describe Wizard for someone who has never used it before?  MZ: Wizard is the tool that our Members use to manage their reporting, invoices, partner deal participation and company details. Members have access to Wizard 24/7/365 which means they are always up to date with the latest deals and reporting. We’re rolling out a new version of …

Merlin, the independents’ digital music licensing partner, is thrilled to announce 2023 as “15 Years of Merlin” to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Since its founding, Merlin has grown to represent 15% of the global recorded music market share. Merlin members are independent record labels, distributors, label services companies, and other rightsholders. Merlin’s growing membership spans the rights of tens of …

Merlin’s Executive Interview Series is a monthly series featuring executives from across Merlin’s dynamic and diverse worldwide membership, discussing some of the most pressing topics, developments, and innovations in independent music today. This month’s piece features Bruno Guez, CEO of Revelator Ltd.  MERLIN: You’ve discussed decentralizing the music industry. What would this mean for artists — and particularly independent artists?  …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, today has announced a dynamic new agreement with STYNGR, a B2B technology platform that provides a turnkey music licensing solution for video games and the metaverse. This partnership provides game developers access to the wide-ranging music released by Merlin members, creates a new revenue source for Merlin members, and generates exposure for independent …

Merlin’s Executive Interview Series offers a range of independent voices from Merlin members around the world. This piece features Michael Ugwu, CEO of Freeme Digital and member of the Merlin Board of Directors Can you give us some background on Freeme Digital? Freeme Digital was born as a result of wanting to help African artists get their content on as many commercially-viable …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, and China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou have signed a broad new partnership. This arrangement will make Merlin members’ expansive variety of music available across Kuaishou’s products, including Kwai and SnackVideo. With more than one billion Monthly Active Users worldwide, Kuaishou encourages its global community to share their activities, habits, and more with the …

Today, Pinterest announced new partnerships with Merlin and other major rightsholders to bring today’s top artists and music on the platform. This partnership expands Pinterest’s existing royalty-free music library to include licensed tracks, powered by 7Digital, the leading B2B digital music solutions platform. Additionally, Rumblefish is providing Pinterest with music metadata and license management services.  Being able to add known …

Merlin’s Executive Interview Series offers a range of independent voices from Merlin members around the world. This piece features Damian Thomas, Director, Recorded Music & Digital Accounts at KARTEL. You came to KARTEL after several years at Warner Music Group. What first led to you kicking off a career in the music industry?  Music was my passion from an early age. My …

Presented By Twitch and Merlin  August 17th, Exclusively on Twitch  Twitch and Merlin come together to present a livestreamed charity “relay raid.”  The relay raid will feature back-to-back performances from some of today’s hottest independent hip hop artists. Throughout the event, viewers will be automatically directed to each performance and can donate to MusicCares by clicking the link provided in …

Merlin’s Executive Interview Series offers a range of independent voices from Merlin members around the world. This piece features Marie Clausen, Managing Director North America at Ninja Tune. What led you to be interested in music? It was absolutely the cultural environment that I was immersed in during my teenage years. I was surrounded by inspired people who were making …

Congratulations to all independents who were nominated and won at the 2022 A2IM Libera Awards. The following is a list of Merlin Members who won. You can catch a recap of the 2022 A2IM Libera Awards Presented by Merlin here. Record of the YearJapanese Breakfast – Jubilee (Dead Oceans) Secretly Group Video of the YearWet Leg – “Chaise Longue” ( Domino Recording …

View the Korean version of this article here Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, is expanding global access for independent artists through its broad new partnership with FLO, one of South Korea’s biggest music streaming apps. With over 8.5 million listeners in South Korea on digital music services, Merlin members now have the potential to increase their artists’ fan …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, extends a heartfelt congratulations to its members who are celebrating their artist wins at the 2022 Grammys. 16 categories saw awards go to artists who work with Merlin members. Merlin applauds all of this year’s nominees and would like to highlight its members’ winners: Los Lobos (New West Records/Redeye/PIAS) – Best Americana Album …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, today announced a dynamic new agreement with Twitch, the interactive live streaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more. Through its creator-first culture, Twitch has served as a powerful service for fan engagement and new music discovery. This partnership recognizes the power of independent artists and their impact in the …

Merlin, the independents’ digital music licensing partner, starts the new year announcing its newly-elected Board. The organization’s Board—elected from and by its members—includes representatives from twelve different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania. This diverse expertise will provide strategic guidance to Merlin in better serving its membership — composed of tens of thousands of labels …

LONDON, 12.01.22: Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, has announced a multi-year deal with Lickd, the platform helping YouTube content creators legally use the music they love. The partnership injects music from tens of thousands of labels and hundreds of thousands of artists across the globe into the flow of usable content, granting Merlin members access to the creator …

Merlin is the independent’s digital music licensing partner. We’ve negotiated premium deals with Apple, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and 40 other innovative platforms around the world. Our global membership represents 15% of the recorded music market, from independent record labels to distributors, and from artist management companies to other rightsholders. We are a mission-driven organization that operates like a not-for-profit …

LAGOS, NIGERIA and LONDON, UK – DECEMBER 21, 2021 – Boomplay, Africa’s leading music streaming service and Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, today announced an expansion of their licensing agreement that will extend the availability of Merlin members’ music catalogue to 47 additional countries in Africa. In 2019, Merlin signed a licensing deal covering 11 countries with Boomplay, …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, has announced a deal with TREBEL, the maker of a licensed music app with on-demand and offline play sponsored by brand advertisers. TREBEL is partnering with Merlin to expand its users’ access to a wide-ranging repertoire of independent music, as well as building on its mission to grow the pie for everyone — …

Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner, has extended and enhanced its existing music licensing partnership with JioSaavn, a leading music and audio streaming service for South Asians.  The expansion of Merlin and JioSaavn’s deal deepens what was already a significant music partnership. The deal marks the first renewal between the two parties since regional music streaming service Saavn merged …

es | ja | pt | ko Merlin is the independent’s digital music licensing partner. We’ve negotiated premium deals with Apple, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and 40 other innovative platforms around the world. Our global membership represents 15% of the recorded music market, from independent record labels to distributors, and from artist management companies to other rightsholders. We are a …