DDEX Marks First Anniversary With New Standards and New Members
Growing Organization Announces Significant Progress With Data Exchange Standards Leading to More Efficient and Effective Digital Music Business Operations
| Source: DDEX
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - June 6, 2007) - The Digital Data Exchange (DDEX, pronounced
"dee-dex"), a membership organization comprised of record labels, authors'
and publishers' societies and digital service providers, celebrated its
first anniversary at an annual member meeting in Paris on May 15. At that
meeting, the world's leading companies and organizations involved in
digital music agreed upon new standards to support the digital distribution
of digital content.
The new standards are the versions 2.0 of ERN and DSR(*). Both standards
have been updated to significantly improve the exchange of business data.
Together with these standards, DDEX is issuing reference guidelines and use
cases designed specifically to aid companies wishing to start
implementations of these standards.
"DDEX has made significant progress in its first year," said Chris Amenita,
ASCAP, the chair of DDEX. "And the rapidly growing list of members clearly
shows the value being provided. Our progress is great news for all
participants across the whole value chain -- from artists and writers
through to the consumer."
In addition, DDEX gained three new Charter Members, completing the DDEX
Board. The new Charter members are SACEM (the authors' and publishers'
society in France), V2 Music Limited (a global, UK-based independent label)
and Orange (the French-owned mobile telephone network). This gives DDEX
unprecedented worldwide coverage and influence across all aspects of
digital content creation and digital distribution, including mobile.
"We invite any organization or company involved in digital music to join
us," Amenita said. "Together we can help fully empower and unlock the
future of digital music."
The legal distribution of digital content has been continuously evolving
and growing, but it's been hampered by the ability of parties to
communicate using uniform protocols and standardized terms. In this
environment, DDEX's members believe that the introduction and adoption of
DDEX's international standards will remove this barrier, and help to
accelerate the growth of the digital music market by facilitating accurate,
fast and effective data exchange improving the efficiency of data sharing
and the processing of transactions between participants in the music supply
chain.
The DDEX Standards will allow the music industry and its partners to
continue to deliver value to artists and writers, increase quality and
choice for the consumer and help ensure success in a complex and growing
digital music business.
The charter members of the organization are record companies: EMI Music,
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group. V2
Music Limited; authors' and publishers' societies from the US, UK, France
and Spain: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
(ASCAP), The Harry Fox Agency Inc. (HFA), The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited,
SACEM, Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE); and digital service
providers: AOL, Apple Computer Inc., Microsoft Corp., RealNetworks
Inc.®, and Orange.
Other members include: BMI, Broad Street Digital, Buma-Stemra, Canadian
Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd., Consolidated Independent, IODA,
Korean Association of Phonogram Producers, MACH S.a.r.l., Media Metro LLC,
Muzak LLC, Nielsen Music, Nordisk Copyright Bureau (NCB), Phonographic
Performance Ltd, QPass, RoyaltyShare Inc., SIAE, SCPP, SOCAN, SODRAC, Sony
Connect, SUISA, All Media Guide, LLC, APRA. Edel Music Group, Geneva Media,
LLC, Music Reports, Inc., PassAlong Networks, Tradescape, Inc. and SESAC,
Inc.
Membership is open to any organization with an interest in the legal
distribution of music, such as record labels, music rights collecting
societies, digital and mobile service providers, digital music aggregators
or broadcasters.
To register an interest in membership of DDEX, go to www.ddex.net.
* ERN (Electronic Release Notification) is a set of messages to
communicate record company metadata about releases, associated deals &
commercial terms to digital service providers. DSR (Digital Sales Report)
is a set of messages to communicate sales transactions by digital service
providers to their business partners, licensors or their agents.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners.