Music Recognition Technology (MRT) FAQs

MRT FAQs

WHAT IS MRT AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

MRT stands for “Music Recognition Technology”. It is continually evolving as the music industry does. This kind of technology analyses small pieces of music (or “audio fingerprints”). Every piece of music has a unique digital identifier that not only helps consumers find songs that they like, but it also helps rights holders to identify when and where their music is being used: whether that be for Neighbouring Rights, Performance Royalties, Microsync Royalties or unidentified and unauthorised usages.

WHERE IS MRT USED?

Not all MRT companies are made equal, and while one service may specialise in YouTube Scanning, another might have more expertise with identifying music in nightclubs. Further still, some specialise only in TV and Radio Broadcast Scanning.

The truth is, they’re all equally important, and an essential element to include in any music strategy. If you don’t MRT as a consideration in your musical career, you could be missing out on vital analytics that guide your release strategies / tour strategies, as well as your revenue collection”, says Morgan Kaye at Paradise Worldwide.

HOW CAN MRT MAKE ME MORE MONEY?

More and more collecting societies are relying on Music Recognition Technology to identify usages. Publishing & Neighbouring Rights income has increased by roughly 20% with the support of MRT over the last year. Paradise’s MRT service aims to help the whole industry, and supports fair remuneration for all.

The streamlining of sound recording and publishing copyright data with the support of MRT has a major benefit for publishing administration & neighbouring rights collection. More and more global collecting societies are using MRT services. Accordingly, it is necessary to have all of your music and metadata available in all MRT databases.

It is common for repertoire owners to substantiate claims for royalties using supporting MRT evidence as an auditing tool against which Collecting Societies cannot dispute.

WHAT IS AN AUDIO FINGERPRINT?

In its simplest explanation for a very technological concept, and Audio Fingerprint is a unique, digital identifier of audio content. It is a condensed digital summary generated from an audio signal, that can be used to identify an audio sample or quickly locate similar items in an audio database. Used correctly and with the right technology small samples (as short as 5 seconds) can be identified: even in noisy environments (such as night clubs) and even if mixed into other tracks (as is often the case in DJ Mixes). New AI in Audio Fingerprint technology is now also being used to try to identify cover versions.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY SONG IS BEING PLAYED ON RADIO OR TV?

Certain MRT services specialise in identifying songs used in broadcasts. A piece of audio may be identified using audio fingerprinting and the MRT will scan across television and radio to match results.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF A DJ IS PLAYING MY SONGS IN MUSIC VENUES?

Certain MRT services specialise in identifying songs played in a live scenario. MRT devices are placed at live events, night clubs and bars and scan the audio. Audio fingerprints are quite robust and MRT can identify songs, even in noisy environments. As technology has improved, it is also possible to identify when a cover artist performs a version of an original song.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF SOMEONE ELSE IS USING MY SONG ON THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL?

Similar to Youtube’s Content ID (Google’s digital fingerprinting system), MRT Services can additionally scan across the YouTube platform to identify when one’s content is being used.

WHAT MAKES PARADISE’S MRT SERVICE DIFFERENT TO OTHER MRT OPTIONS??

Historically repertoire owners have had to deliver their sound recordings to multiple MRT companies. This is a costly and often labour-intensive exercise.  “To date, creators have needed to allocate additional budget to use several different services for several different purposes. We wanted to change this. Creators shouldn’t have to spend unnecessary money just to prove that they’re owed money from the very people who are meant to be collecting their royalties in the first place.”, says Morgan. Paradise emphasises the importance of delivering music to a service that scans your music EVERYWHERE!

ONE-TIME INGESTION! “We saw a gap in the MRT business. Our clients require an all-in-one solution to scan across multiple music situations to identify their sound recordings. We wanted to find a solution where rights-holders only ingest their music ONCE, instead of spending unnecessary costs and duplicating efforts in supplying several MRT companies three or four times over”, says Managing Director, Ralph Boege.

This service is yet another add-on value-add to the company’s growing list of services which also includes Publishing Administration, Neighbouring Rights Registration & Collection, Business Affairs Consultation and Strategic Marketing and PR options for its clients.

For more information and pricing, please email: mrt@paradise-worldwide.com

Check out: www.paradise-worldwide.com