Arlington, VA– June 14, 2009 – An agreement concluded recently between a U.S. royalty service provider and a major Australian collection agency is aimed at improving the mechanism for payment of digital royalties owed to Australian and New Zealand songwriters for transactions in the United States.

RightsFlow, a New York-based provider of bulk mechanical licensing and royalty services, announced its agreement with the Australian collection agency APRA/AMCOS in a June 8 press statement. The agreement allows RightsFlow’s mechanical licensing FLOW system—which is designed to license, account, and pay publisher royalties for interactive streams, and limited downloads—to access the collection agency’s database and identify Australian and New Zealand works based upon their clients’ master record content.

RightsFlow believes that identifying the Australian songwriters and publishers will enhance its ability to identify the appropriate representatives in the United States to acquire mechanical licenses, and that this in turn will ensure that digital royalties are accounted for and paid through to the Australian rights holders.

“This agreement shows that APRA/AMCOS is taking positive steps toward simplifying the process of international licensing, which will greatly improve royalty accounting and payment for Australian songwriters,” RightsFlow’s director of licensing and royalties, Matt Irvin, said.
Representatives from APRA/AMCOS also welcomed the agreement.

APRA was established in 1926 to administer the performing and communication rights of composers, songwriters and music publishers. Today, APRA represents more than 55,000 members in Australia and New Zealand.

AMCOS collects and distributes mechanical royalties for the reproduction of members’ musical works for many different purposes. Since 1997, APRA has managed the day-to-day operations of the AMCOS business.
Link: http://news.bna.com