Tech

This website teams up artists and remixers to get them both paid

by Kathryn Kyte

When it comes to dance music the plethora of remixes that spawn from original songs is endless, leading many remixers slapped with infringement clauses that cause their remixes and actual accounts to be removed from Soundcloud and YouTube. Or, there are the remixes that dodge copyright wars and remain up on said platforms, but don’t have a monetization check in place.

Simply put, there is an awful lot of music online that is not being monetized and creative time spent by remixers is being overshadowed by anti-piracy gatekeepers.

Now, Matthew Adell (former CEO of Beatport) and Michael Mukhin (former CTO of Boomrat, which was acquired by Live Nation) have come up with a solution to help bridge business between the rights holder and the remixer.

Enter MetaPop, the first platform to clear and monetize a fan remix.

“Fan remixes are simply any remix that the original label did not produce for the original release,” explains Adell. “We wanted to help people get away from the term ‘Bootleg’.”

Using MetaPop goes like this: artists upload their remix to MetaPop and their remixes go straight to Soundcloud and YouTube to begin the monetization process. The remix can also spread through MetaPop’s channel as well as the remixer’s and even on the original label’s channel, if approved by such label that is. The original rights holders can also get in on the action if they like a particular remix, partner with MetaPop, and spread those remixes through other platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

This streamline allows original artists to pre-clear their remixes. Then remixers can sift through a catalogue of legal songs to freely manipulate, ridding any insecurity of whether or not their going to get smoked for taking someone’s work.

“At Boomrat we saw artists climb to the top of the trending chart by remixing hits, and in turn grew their own popularity dramatically,” states Mukhin. Taking this into account, the two music lovers created MetaPop, “allowing every single song in the world to be remixed and compensate the original creators and rights holders,” Mukhin continues.

MetaPop is the music body that automates all clearing, distribution and monetization to YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. As Mukhin notes, “No limits should hold back creativity.”

Currently over 1,200 remixers and 11,000 labels exist on the platform, and while none of the majors have dove in yet, there should be some peaking interest from labels like Sony and Universal who may test the waters before completely signing on. Boutique labels can also benefit greatly.

The venture solves a longstanding problem and as it tightens its online presence, MetaPop will surely pull in some of the heavyweights looking to capitalize.

As expressed on behalf of MetaPop, “over 8 million remixes on YouTube are currently not monetized for the original artists nor the remixer… and, there are over 100,000 remixes on Beatport that are currently not monetized for the original artist.” This waging battle has been felt by rights owners and labels for years, yet there hasn’t been anything sound in check to combat these defeatist margins.

The way revenue works with MetaPop is: after the tracks are inserted on their respective streaming platforms, 70% of the revenue goes to the original creator of the track, 15% goes to the remixer, and MetaPop pockets the final 15%.

“We are here to create an ecosystem for remixing that works for everyone involved. For rights holders, that means getting them paid and participating,” says Adell. “This will create the opportunity for remixers to no longer worry about takedowns, lawsuits and keeping their great work off of the biggest music listening platforms in the world. MetaPop is committed to earning and maintaining the trust of all our users.”

MetaPop is free to use for both rights holders and remixers and is up and running now with “new features, pre-cleared music and more opportunities to create each and every week.”

So far MetaPop’s roster of remixers includes Tommie Sunshine (“without remixes, there is no dance music”), K Theory, The Hood Internet, and The Reflex. MetaPop has partnered with Symphonic Distribution, which not only helps with licensing music in TV, film and video games, but also handles distribution and royalties for over 1400 artists and labels.

MetaPop’s relationship between rights holders and remixers is integral for its success. By allowing a clean filtered platform of works to be remixed — without the fear of takedowns — there not only is more of an arena to create, there is less fear and stress amongst each creative hand. With festival season already underway, it’s a key time to provide more opportunities for remixes to reach the masses, authentically and with accountability in tune.

While some original creators may detest their work being remixed, many are open to the expanding sonic affair and if they’re pocketing profit from it then the question is: why not?

To learn more about MetaPop, head here.