A Look Into Songtrust’s 2019 - Our Best Year To Date

Video by: Keithcity Group; Music by: BAD

Headlines in the music industry this year have been extremely positive. The IFPI reported that the global recorded music market experienced its fourth consecutive year of growth in 2018 as streaming revenue increased by 34%. In addition, global music publishing royalties have increased at an annual average of 6% since 2012. The future of music is bright, and artists today have more access to educational resources on how to be successful in music than ever before. 

At Songtrust, our mission is to create a more equitable and accessible music ecosystem. A key aspect of that is ensuring that all creators are paid the royalties they’re due. As we invest in our team and solutions to further serve artists, we continue to grow. In 2019, Songtrust celebrated our best year on record and achieved multiple new milestones including:

• Our royalty collections for songwriters increased by nearly 250%

• We grew to represent more than 300,000 songwriters

• Our catalog surpassed 2,000,000 songs

• We now collect royalties from more than 150 countries and territories

• We now have over 50 direct society affiliations including Autodia in Greece, JACAP in Jamaica, COSCAP in Barbados, WAMI in Indonesia, and more. 

Alongside company growth, our leadership was celebrated in 2019 for their forward-thinking approach to the future of music:

• Molly Neuman, who was appointed as President in October, was honored on Billboard’s 2019 Women in Music list, read more here.

• Joe Conyers III, our co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Downtown Music Holdings, was honored for the fourth year in a row on Billboard’s Digital Power Players list.

• We added new key members to our incredibly strong team including Anna Bond, Dewayne Ector, Richard Aurigema, and Lisa Robinson.

Songwriters using the platform for their global royalty collection include Jeremy Zucker, Tessa Violet, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, and writers who have written or co-written songs for Billie Eilish, J. Cole, Anderson.Paak, Meek Mill, and more. In 2019, Songtrust songwriters were recognized with three Platinum records, six Gold records, and nine GRAMMY-nominated songs. You can hear our songwriters’ cuts on our Spotify playlists.

“2019 has been such an incredible year for the team at Songtrust, but our success isn’t possible without the songwriters, publishers, distributors, managers, attorneys, and labels who entrust us with their global music publishing administration,” said Molly Neuman, President of Songtrust. “Every day our team comes into work with a common goal of helping music creators and right holders everywhere get closer to having a sustainable career in music. We’re very excited for our upcoming projects in 2020 that will help us deliver towards those goals.”

Next year within music, we’re looking forward to:

• Increased education for songwriters and their music publishing administration

• Improved payouts across the industry for everyone

• More diversity and representation throughout the industry from companies and their staff, to award nominees and music producers. 

Think you have royalties waiting to be collected? Use our Royal Estimator to see what you could be due. Want a better understanding of music publishing and how it works? Download our free Modern Guide To Music Publishing.