[UPDATED] SoundExchange subsidiary SXWorks has launched a free database that allows music publishers and songwriters to search more than 60 million address unknown Notice of Intention to Use (NOI) song filings that have been made to the U.S. Copyright Office.
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NOI LOOKUP, a new free service launched today by SXWorks, a subsidiary of SoundExchange, enables publishers and songwriters to search the more than 60 million address unknown Notice of Intention to Use (NOI) filings made with the U.S. Copyright Office.
It is the first tool that allows songwriters and music publishers to quickly and easily search address unknown filings by Spotify and other music services for for use of their works.
“Music publishers and songwriters finally have a way to gain visibility into address unknown filings made by some service providers using their songs,” said Michael Huppe, Chairman of the Board of SXWorks. “Publishers and songwriters can search the NOI submissions via a simple web-based interface. The service makes a complex process much more transparent, supporting our goal of trying to improve how the music industry operates.”
NOIs: Music’s Get Out Of Jail Free Card
If a music service like Spotify can’t locate the copyright owner in the registration or other public records of the U.S. Copyright Office, it can file an address unknown NOI with the Copyright Office. If the service files an NOI, they can use without any obligation to pay a royalty to the copyright owner of the song until after that copyright owner becomes identifiable.
Music services filed as many as 4.5 million address unknown NOIs with the Copyright Office in a single month in 2017 and filed an average of 2.5 million NOIs each month last year. The SXWorks NOI LOOKUP tool indexes all the NOI address unknown filings and provides the information to publishers and songwriters in a comprehensive, searchable database.
NOI LOOKUP is available free of charge, and SXWorks will offer additional premium capabilities to the service in 2018.