In June 2021, Sony Music launched a world initiative referred to as Artists Ahead which it says is concentrated on “prioritizing transparency with creators in all points of their growth”.
The initiative contains varied instruments and insurance policies, together with the marquee coverage, The Legacy Unrecouped Steadiness Program, which has seen Sony Music disregard unrecouped balances for a swathe of heritage recording artists on its books.
That coverage was prolonged to songwriters in July 2021, with Sony Music Publishing (SMP) revealing that it too will disregard unrecouped balances going ahead for qualifying songwriters.
In Could this yr, Sony expanded this system on a rolling foundation, to eligible unrecouped artists and songwriters globally who’ve been with Sony Music for over 20 years, and haven’t acquired an advance in over twenty years.
In accordance with a 2022 recap of the Artists Ahead initiative, revealed on Sony Music’s web site this week, the Legacy Unrecouped Steadiness Program “has already paid by means of tens of millions of {dollars} to 1000’s of our long-standing creators”, and that “over time, 1000’s of artists globally are poised to profit from Legacy Unrecouped Steadiness assist as they develop into eligible for this system”.
Additionally included as a part of Sony’s Artists Ahead initiative is a set of ‘Actual Time Artist Instruments’, which incorporates the Sony Music Artist Portal and the Actual-Time Insights app.
The Sony Music Artist Portal is a cell app and web site that lets artists and ‘members’ monitor earnings, money out payable month-to-month account balances, and obtain advances on qualifying projected earnings.
The opposite half of Sony’s ‘Actual Time Artist Instruments’ suite is Actual-Time Insights, a separate cell app, which based on Sony, offers artists and their groups entry to advertising and artistic knowledge, “for detailed evaluation of the platforms, playlists and audiences driving monitor breakthroughs across the globe”.
A characteristic referred to as Actual Time Advances, accessible by means of the Sony Music Artist Portal, permits qualifying artists (each heritage and non-heritage) to obtain advances on projected earnings.
Qualifying artists and “members” can use the Sony Music Artist Portal to request a withdrawal of all or a part of their payable steadiness every month as quickly because it turns into accessible utilizing SME’s Money Out characteristic, which was launched in 2020.
Sony has now revealed an replace on these options, noting in its Artists Ahead 2022 recap that “artists and members have now withdrawn practically $50 million mixed utilizing the Money Out and Actual-Time Advances options accessible by means of our Artist Portal”.
“With all of our artist instruments we’re targeted on delivering quick, handy, easy-to-use options in assist of your profession in a dynamic market,” says Sony in its Artists Ahead 2022 recap.
Moreover, in September 2021, SME introduced a significant enlargement of Artists Ahead within the type of a wellness-focused program referred to as Artist Help.
In a letter despatched to 1000’s of SME artists on the time, and obtained by MBW, SME described this system as a “broad world effort geared toward selling wellness for our signed expertise and offering them with related data and key assets for his or her careers”.
In an replace revealed in its Artists Ahead recap, Sony says that it has “helped artists within the US understand near $500,000 in healthcare price financial savings in only a matter of weeks since launching free artist healthcare advocacy providers from Music Well being Alliance”.
Sony additionally affords skilled counseling providers for Sony Music expertise for gratis. In accordance with the replace revealed this week, Sony has supplied over 100 artists around the globe with data and assist associated to this system since launching final yr.
“Placing our artists and their wellbeing first in all steps of the inventive journey is the driving precedence of every part we do with Artists Ahead,” states Sony in its 2022 recap.Music Enterprise Worldwide
