Emphasis on Music Publishing
RightsFlow offers Mechanical Licensing and Royalty Services for labels, distributors, and online music services. We specialize in obtaining bulk mechanical, physical, DPD, and ringtone licenses including streaming, and limited downloads rights. Our proprietary “FLOW” system allows us to license, account, and pay royalties directly to the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) and the thousands of publishers not represented by HFA.
Why do we offer this service to labels, distributors, and online music services?
When selling or distributing music in the United States – whether digitally or physically – the distributing party must obtain license with the publishers of the compositions on a individual song-by-song basis. This is done through the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) when possible and directly with the thousands of publishers who are not represented by HFA. Unlike much of the rest of the world, the United States Copyright Act has no provision for blanket licensing of reproductions of compositions.
When creating a physical album, the record label is most often responsible for obtaining publishing licenses for physical reproduction of the compositions embodied on the album. When selling or distributing music digitally, either the record label, the digital distributor, or the online music service may be responsible for obtaining publishing licenses for digital reproductions of the compositions, depending on the agreements in place between the label, distributor, and online music service.
In order to manage these licensing requirements, companies must create entire licensing departments, invest in licensing and royalty software, navigate complicated copyright regulations, and maintain constant communication with thousands of individual publishers as well as HFA. It is even more complex for labels without US offices, as a company must be US-based in order to affiliate with HFA.
