FAQ Identification of Live Music Usage
1. Why is the identification of live music usage important?
Live music represents a substantial part of overall music usage. Performances in venues, clubs and at festivals contribute significantly to the cultural and economic value of music. In order to collect and distribute royalties for the use of musical works, it is essential that this type of music usage is identified as completely and reliably as possible. The more accurately actual usage is recognised, the fairer and more precise the distribution of royalties to rights holders can be.
2. Why do setlists often fall short in practice?
Although setlists have traditionally been the primary source for registering live music usage, their quality varies considerably in practice. Setlists rely on manual submission and frequently contain inaccuracies or omissions. This is particularly the case for covers, medleys, improvisations or adapted performances, where complete and reliable registration is often lacking. As a result, music may be performed live but not, or only partially, included in the royalty distribution.
3. What makes live music usage technically complex to identify?
Live music almost always differs from the original studio recording. Tempos may change and arrangements are frequently adapted. In addition, performances take place in acoustically challenging environments with audience noise and background sound. Instruments and vocals often overlap, and songs may be performed only in part. These factors impose specific requirements on recognition technology in order to identify live music usage in a scalable and consistent manner.
4. How can live music usage be identified reliably?
The core of the solution lies in combining multiple recognition techniques, supported by advanced technology and additional validation. By using audio fingerprinting, melody recognition and lyrics matching via speech-to-text in combination, a layered approach is created that covers a wide range of live music scenarios. Where one method is less effective, another provides additional reliability.
5. What role does audio fingerprinting play in this process?
Audio fingerprinting converts a live audio signal into a unique digital representation and compares it with an extensive reference database. This technology is robust enough to produce reliable matches even in the presence of distortion, noise or incomplete fragments. As a result, music usage can be identified in realistic live environments.
6. Why is melody recognition an important addition?
Melody recognition does not focus on the exact recording, but on the musical core of a work, comparable to a score, notation or MIDI representation. By analysing the melodic contour, music can be identified regardless of instrumentation or arrangement. This is particularly relevant for live performances of covers and alternative versions, which represent the same musical work but may differ significantly from the original recording in sound.
7. How does lyrics matching contribute to identification?
In performances where vocals play a prominent role, lyrics matching via speech-to-text provides an additional layer of identification. Live vocals are converted into text and compared with known lyric references. This is an effective complement to music and melody recognition, especially in situations where instrumental recognition is more challenging.
8. What does the combination of these techniques deliver?
By combining these methods, a robust identification framework is created that is suitable for a wide range of applications. In practice, very high recognition rates can be achieved, in the order of up to approximately 99 percent. This means that live music usage that previously remained unrecorded can now be systematically included.
9. What does this mean for the quality of royalty statements?
For Buma/Stemra, this approach results in complete and reliable music usage data. Dependence on manual setlists is reduced, and the identification of live music usage more closely reflects reality. This strengthens the basis on which royalties are distributed and increases transparency for rights holders.
10. What is the impact for rights holders?
Rights holders benefit directly from a more accurate picture of how their works are actually used in live performances. Performances that were previously not, or only partially, registered are now included. This contributes to a fairer distribution of revenues that better reflects real-world music usage.
11. How is this data ultimately used?
After identification, music usage is validated and recorded in reports that align with existing administrative and financial processes. This data then forms a reliable basis for royalty payments, without requiring major changes to the current infrastructure.
12. For which types of live music usage is this approach relevant?
The method is applicable to a broad range of situations, including concerts, festivals, clubs and other live venues. It is suitable for both acoustic and electronic performances, including covers, medleys and improvisations.
13. What happens to the audio recordings of live performances?
Monitoring of live performances is carried out solely to determine which music is actually performed, so that it can be correctly included in the copyright royalty distribution process. During performances, SoundAware records audio for the purpose of automatic music recognition. This audio is processed locally only, is not stored in the cloud and is not shared via the internet.
Once the music has been identified and the corresponding setlist generated, the audio is deleted. The recordings are therefore not retained or used for any other purposes. After an event, the equipment used is also wiped in accordance with a fixed protocol. This ensures that audio processing is secure, temporary and strictly purpose-limited.
14. Is it possible not to use automatic music recognition and submit a setlist manually?
Automatic monitoring is the most reliable way to register live music usage fully and objectively, precisely because it does not depend on manual submission. At the same time, it is possible to opt-out of automated recognition.
In that case, no recording or setlist is created, and responsibility for providing an accurate setlist rests with the artist or their manager. This setlist subsequently forms the basis for further processing within Buma/Stemra.
This opt-out option offers freedom of choice, while automatic recognition remains available as a tool to ensure that rights administration is organised as accurately and fairly as possible.
15. Further information
For further information or clarification, please contact Jeroen Kerkvliet (jeroen.kerkvliet@soundaware.nl) or Mick Jaspers (mick.jaspers@soundaware.nl).