Our specialized approach to licensing delivers more valuable deals to help you earn more revenue, access more opportunities, and drive more engagement.
Members get transparency into deal terms before opting in and have discretion into which deals they participate. Your future is in your hands.
Our premium deal terms may include:
Advances
Revenue guarantees
Contractual marketing opportunities
Protections against deductions and other royalty reducing mechanisms
Equity in digital services
Access to marketing and daily trends data not always made available to independents
Breakage paid to our members in a transparent and pro rata manner
Ensure that your high quality music is fairly valued alongside the world’s largest music rightsholders.
Receive specialized commercial and operational information to better understand, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities from digital platforms.
Maximize editorial opportunities via direct relationships and by accessing Merlin’s pitching forms, best practices, webinars, one-sheets, and more.
Be the first in line for beta programs and new opportunities from digital partners.
Access bespoke marketing opportunities created specifically for Merlin members by our digital partners.
Join other cutting-edge rightholders as Merlin strikes early, pioneering deals with innovative digital partners and providing new ways for our members’ high quality music to reach their fans.
Our experienced team ensures members are paid and reported accurately, efficiently, and consistently. We diligently track payments and reports from digital partners, review them for discrepancies, and facilitate smooth currency exchanges.
We built a cutting edge interface to help members manage and control their digital rights — known as the Wizard.
The financial and usage trends data generated under Merlin deals comprises a unique set of recorded music data – one of the largest in the world. Merlin provides members with exclusive data and insights to help them make better decisions for their businesses.
Our international team is focused on enabling and supporting the independence of our members in the ever-evolving music industry. We provide our members with the most competitive deals with digital partners, while providing various resources to help them take full advantage of their membership.
Merlin operates like a not for profit. We charge an admin fee of 1.5%* from the revenues you generate in the deals you participate in, and return any remainder back to our members. No other fees to participate.
Before applying for Merlin membership, please read below to make sure you qualify by satisfying the following requirements:
You must control digital rights free from obligation to third parties like distributors or other licensors.
You must ensure that the catalogue you represent complies with Merlin’s Content Policy which applies to all repertoire delivered under Merlin deals and will be a factor in determining your eligibility for Merlin licensing membership
Merlin is not a distributor, meaning Merlin does not deliver your music, metadata, and assets to digital partners. You must deliver your own content and meet the professional specifications of each digital music service, either via a third party delivery service or through an in-house delivery solution. Once you are working with a professional supply chain provider, you must be an active client and have your content loaded into your delivery provider’s platform prior to submitting an application. Merlin will not approve membership for companies that still need to secure their delivery solution.
Prospective Merlin members need to have the internal resources to:
While not a requirement to become a Merlin member, we strongly recommend you join a Trade Association, if available in your country, before applying for membership. Merlin members who are members of Trade Associations receive a 1.5% admin fee, discounted from 3% for those who are not Trade Association members (also 1.5% if there is no TA active in your territory).
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