SoundExchange Teams With SourceAudio to Help Podcasters License Music

Rights management agency SoundExchange is the latest company to enter the rapidly-growing podcast industry, with a plan to help podcasters license music for their shows.

In a new alliance with the music licensing platform SourceAudio, SoundExchange will give digital music marketplace Podcastmusic.com access to its membership of music creators, and help podcasters secure global licenses for label and publisher-owned music with the click of a button.

"This collaboration will provide SoundExchange's music creators -- both labels and publishers -- with an additional way to monetize their work by making their music available on Podcastmusic.com if they choose," said SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe. "Our collaboration with SourceAudio will make the process of licensing music simpler through a one-stop licensing marketplace."

Podcastmusic.com is home to a database of 700,000 production and music bed tracks, and works with such companies as iHeartMedia and Entercom, both of which have expanded their podcasting reach as of late. 

The new licensing service is set to launch in 2020, upon which SoundExchange says publishers, labels and other rights owners will participate "on a voluntary basis." 

"Currently there is no simple way for a podcaster to acquire rights for feature music in their podcasts. We are solving that by working with SoundExchange," added SourceAudio CEO and co-founder Geoffrey Grotz. "By connecting with SoundExchange's community of music creators including labels, artists, publishers and songwriters, and benefitting from their deep expertise, we will be able to deliver a high-quality repertoire of music for podcasters." 

Meanwhile, the podcast industry is forecasted to produce more than $1 billion in advertising revenue by 2021, according to a study published in June by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). 

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