Well, that’s a good question and you may not like some of the answers
Updated 5 March, 2025; 9:30pm CT USA for clarity & added information
It’s a little more complicated than that. Sure you made an account, but they know nothing about your music. After passing the Music Modernization Act of 2018 in the US Congress, the United States Copyright Board designated Soundexchange to be the official collectors of performance royalties for every transmission originating in the US. This includes, SiriusXM, iHeartMedia, Cumulus, Bandwagon & any one else who broadcasts on the internet including podcasters. It also includes LIVE365, the grandfather of all other streaming services. So now that I set up the laws in the US, I can answer the question the best I can.
Why Does BWNR Ask For All That Information
When you submit to our station, we ask for specific pieces of information other people do not ask for if they are podcasters. We have to follow the laws of the United States which says we have to provide reports each month for every song that shows this information:
- SONG TITLE
- FEATURED ARTIST
- ALBUM
- LABEL
- SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
- ISRC
- PERCENTAGE “SPLIT” FOR EACH SONG: WHO CONTRIBUTED WHAT & HOW MUCH
I have to provide a minimum of four pieces to them – the first four. But with so many singles out there, most Indie Artists don’t have a label or maybe even an album title. To complete the four pieces rule when one of them is missing, only the ISRC can replace the label & album name. That’s why I place the singles name in the album slot for you at BWNR. The main reason for the ISRC is for the SONG itself. Everything else is for Soundexchange for payouts. Even if you place that same song on a “Best of” album, the ISRC follows the song.
Now the Reasons Why SX Tells You No
- You have to fill out forms provided by Soundexchange and upload the spreadsheet they provide you that tells them everything about your music. You also have to fill out tax documents as well. Note: they have international forms also.
- Most podcasters do not pay royalties even though they are supposed to be licensed if originating in the United States. So if a majority of those types are who you give your creations to for airplay, you will have no royalties coming. Soundexchange actually provides a PDF of broadcasters licensed to broadcast in the USA. You will see iHeartMedia listed by their stations’ call letters, Pandora, SiriusXM, and of course, you will see Bandwagon Network Radio listed. Over the air does not have to pay royalties and it’s been that way for, well, always. Only the streaming side of their businesses are required to pay performance royalties.
- When your music goes to Community Radio, Educational Radio, Religious Radio, and similar types of broadcasters they are, by law, exempt and pay no royalties.
Note: In 2015, SiriusXM lawyers actually tried to say they did not have to pay any royalties at all because they are satellite They had gone before the judges of the Copyright Royalties Board which is under the DOJ. Soundexchange lawyers argued that they were a subscription service. I think that I already mentioned how that went.
Final “KLIF Note”
Since The BandWagon Radio Network was born and became a US licensed internet broadcaster, I have had to work hard on social media to make the point clear that we are considered a commercial broadcaster just like every body else mentioned above. I get it, nobody is used to something like this in the digital age, so it’s understandable.
We don’t have playlists; we have daily logs just like the little clipboards those WKRP guys grabbed all the time & wrote on. Except now, it is computerized and noted as soon as it starts playing & all the station has to do is make sure it is correct. In our case, I just upload it to SX and certify it after that. Also, like over the air radio, listeners can’t choose what they want to hear.
Station Logs are radio station terminology before computers. This was so that when DJs were converting to automation software like the one I use, they would feel more comfortable with what they were used to saying and doing; etc. BWNR uses the same software as every iHeartMedia station in the country since the beginning.
Those reports are used to create our charts every week as well. I download them every Sunday morning, do what I do with my magical math formula and on Monday, there you are. But while they’re playing, somebody is always listening and tallying your songs for charts. It’s the ISRC that helps them truly count it worldwide. For clarity, I don’t mean people. I mean computers. in other words, UPC counts sales, the ISRC counts spins.
Most indie charts quite bluntly are usually just lists from DJs about what they play each week. I can’t get you on those charts & it’s only because we have 2500 spins in one week. So those charts won’t accept our spin counts. I’m not trying to disrespect anybody who them because they do support Indie. It just happens to be different than BandWagon. Our station is designed by choice to mimic what you are used to before streaming
I think I’ve done okay…
Thank you Cliff. The information you supply to us independent artists is so important. Hopefully, one day, the industry and government will correct this ripoff and musicians will finally be paid fairly. It’s hard enough self promoting but what makes it worse is not getting paid fairly while streaming services are making billions of dollars a year. I’d like to make enough for it to at least pay for it’s self. I know you are in the same boat. Please know that your efforts are greatly appreciated even if some folks don’t take the time to thank you.
Tim