 | |
Type of site | Music rights |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) |
|
| URL | blokur |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2017 |
| Current status | Active |
Blokur is a music rights and data platform based in London which provides global music reporting and licensing for digital products and services. The company is an official partner of the MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective). [1] [2] [3]
Blokur was founded in 2017 by Phil Barry, a former recording artist who was inspired to build a platform that would help address the issue of recording artists not being paid effectively. The platform uses data engineering and sub-graph matching technology to link song recordings with their underlying compositions to tackle issues with misrepresentations of song data, difficulties with reporting on music use and identifying music licensing coverage. [4]
Blokur released a 2020 Songwriters' Review, a report which calculates the best-performing global songwriter based on their shares in the top streamed songs. Tones and I topped the chart due to being the sole writer on her hit song Dance Monkey. [5] [6] [7] The second instalment of the report, the 2021 Songwriters' Review, was sponsored by The Ivor's Academy. That year, Olivia Rodrigo was announced as the top songwriter following the commercial success of her album Sour. [8] [9] [10]
Blokur has partnerships with audio delivery companies 7digital and Tuned Global. [11] The company's funders include Innovate UK and Ascension. [12] In 2022, the company began working to build the copyright hub for IMPEL Collective Management Limited. [13]
On the 6th December 2023, The MLC announced their Supplemental Matching Network, which initially consists of five companies (including Blokur) that will provide data matching services to complement and enhance The MLC’s existing matching processes and capabilities. [14]
7digital Group PLC is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with brands such as Barry's and Triller. Advertising Age described 7digital in 2008 as a British download store, while the New York Times referred to them as a digital music company. 7digital's Smooth Operations, Unique Production and Above the Title companies are now branded 7digital Creative, and produce content for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3. In 2009 HMV bought 50% of 7digital. In 2019, the company replaced their second CEO, Simon Cole, who had replaced founder/CEO Ben Drury. In February 2023, it was announced 7digital had been acquired by the Santa Monica-headquartered B2B music licensing company, Songtradr.
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 590 million monthly active users, including 226 million paying subscribers, as of September 2023. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.
The Ivors Academy is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests of songwriters, lyricists, and composers. It represents music writers of all genres and has approximately 2000 members.
"Motivation" is a song recorded by American recording artist Kelly Rowland for her third studio album Here I Am (2011). The song was written by Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Daniel Morris and Lil Wayne, with Jonsin producing the song and Lil Wayne having featured vocals. The R&B slow-jam was released as the lead single from Here I Am on March 2, 2011, by Universal Motown Records.
"Down for Whatever" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Rowland featuring production collective The WAV.s, taken from Rowland's third studio album Here I Am (2011). The song was released on October 26, 2011. The Eurodance driven up-tempo song is the album's third international single and sixth overall and final single, released from October 26, 2011, by Universal Motown and Universal Music. "Down for Whatever" was written by Teddy Sky and Bilal Hajji and co-written and produced by RedOne, Jimmy Joker and The WAV.s. The song has been described as a Eurodance and Electro music. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who say that the song is as catchy as Rowland's previous dance hits, "When Love Takes Over" and "Commander". It was also described as a "Radio friendly song".
"Starships" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj from her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012). It was released on February 14, 2012, by Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Republic as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Nicki Minaj, Nadir Khayat, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Bilal Hajji, and Wayne Hector, and it was produced by RedOne, Yacoub, and Falk.
Kobalt Music Group is an independent rights management and music publishing company. Founded in 2000 by CEO Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt acts primarily as an administrative publishing company, not owning any copyrights. Also offering label services and neighboring rights, the company has developed an online portal to provide royalty income and activity to artists and allow them to manage their rights and royalties directly.
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first rose to prominence as a child actress on the Disney television programs Bizaardvark (2016–2019) and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2022).
Audiomack is an on-demand music streaming and audio discovery platform that allows artists and creators to upload limitless music and podcasts for listeners through its mobile apps and website. In February 2021, Billboard announced Audiomack streaming data would begin informing some of its flagship charts, including the Hot 100, the Billboard 200, and the Global 200. In March 2021, Fast Company magazine named Audiomack one of the 10 most innovative companies in music.
Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her breakout single "Dance Monkey", which reached number one in over 30 countries including her native Australia. In 2019-20, "Dance Monkey" completed 24 weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart, beating Bing Crosby's all-time Australian record for his version of "White Christmas", which spent an equivalent of 22 weeks at the top in 1943. "Dance Monkey" was certified 19× platinum by ARIA for shipments of over 1,330,000 units by June 2023.
Songtradr is an American B2B music platform that claims to facilitate brands, content creators, and digital platforms in their use of music for licensing purposes. As of 2019, Songtradr was the largest music licensing platform in the world.
Triller is an American video-sharing social networking service. The service allows users to create and share short-form videos, including videos set to, or automatically synchronized to music using artificial intelligence technology. Triller was released for iOS and Android in 2015, and initially operated as a video editing app before adding social networking features.
Jaxsta is an Australia-based database of official music credits, including performers, artists, engineers, producers and songwriters. Jaxsta's data is content-owner supplied rather than crowd-sourced.
Sault is a British music collective that make a mixture of R&B, urban contemporary gospel, house and disco. The project is helmed by songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Inflo, and consists of his protégés including vocalists Cleo Sol, Kid Sister, and Chronixx, as well as instrumentalists Kadeem Clarke, and Jack Peñate. The group frequently foregrounds Black-centric issues.
"Drivers License" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It was released on January 8, 2021, through Geffen and Interscope Records, as the lead single from her debut studio album Sour. She wrote the song alongside producer Dan Nigro. Containing poignant lyrics detailing heartache, "Drivers License" is a power ballad blending bedroom pop, alt-pop, and power pop styles. It is characterized by a minimalist, piano-led production, incorporating kick drums, harmonies, syncopated hand-claps, and a dreamy bridge. One of 2021's most successful songs, "Drivers License" launched Rodrigo's music career.
Sour is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. Released on May 21, 2021, by Geffen Records, the album was primarily written by Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro, with additional writing credits being given to Taylor Swift, Hayley Williams, Josh Farro, Jack Antonoff, St. Vincent, and Casey Smith. Originally planned as an EP, Sour was expanded into a full-length album following the viral success of Rodrigo's debut single, "Drivers License".
Reservoir Media, also known as Reservoir Media Management, Reservoir, Reservoir Holdings, Inc., is an independent music company based in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, London, and Abu Dhabi.
NexTone Inc. is a Japanese copyright collective that stands between copyright holders and users of music, not only managing music works and contents, but also promoting the use of music through digital content distribution and casting businesses, system development, and services for music publishers. It also promotes the use of music through digital content distribution and casting businesses, system development, and services for music publishers. Its headquarters is located in Hiroo, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Major shareholders include Amuse Inc. and Faith, Inc.
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) is a nonprofit organization established under the Music Modernization Act of 2018. It was created to issue blanket mechanical licences for qualified streaming services in the United States, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal.