Merlin is a
digital rights
Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particular ...
music licensing partner for
independent record labels
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
, distributors, and other music rights holders around the world. It was founded in 2007 with Charles Caldas as the
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. In January 2020, Jeremy Sirota stepped into the role of Merlin CEO. The company is a member-based organization representing the digital licensing rights for hundreds of independent labels and distributors in nearly every country around the globe. As of 2019, Merlin has paid out over two billion dollars.
History
Merlin was launched in early 2007 at the
Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
. The company was founded by Alison Wenham (WIN), Michel Lambot
IAS IAS may refer to:
Science
* Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States
* Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis.
* Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
Tom Silverman (Tommy Boy) and Martin Mills (Beggars Group); Charles Caldas was the first
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. The organization's first commercial deal was a 2008 license with
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
as one of the then-regional streaming service's original licensing partners.
The company has negotiated settlements for copyright infringement with distributors such as
Grooveshark
Grooveshark was a web-based music streaming service owned and operated by Escape Media Group in the United States. Users could upload digital audio files, which could then be streamed and organized in playlists. The Grooveshark website had a sea ...
,
Limewire
LimeWire was a free software, free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Microsoft Windows, Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris OS, Solaris. Created by Mark Gorton in 2000, it was most prominently a tool used for the download and distribution of O ...
and
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
. Its content has been distributed through TikTok, Facebook/Instagram,
Deezer
Deezer is a French online music streaming service. It allows users to listen to music content from record labels, as well as podcasts on various devices online or offline.
Created in Paris, Deezer currently has 90 million licensed tracks in i ...
,
Pandora Music
Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by Sirius XM Holdings based in Oakland, California, United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the " Music Genome Project" — a means of classifying indi ...
,
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
,
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
,
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
,
YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals programming ...
and other services.
In February 2013, Merlin and
IMPALA
The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...
signed an agreement with
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
after it acquired
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
, to transfer 30% of that label's value to Merlin and IMPALA members. The divestment ended with the transfer of rights to the independent sector.
In 2016, Merlin opened an office in Tokyo, Japan, to expand its global operations.
In March 2018 the company entered into agreements with the three Chinese
streaming services
An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...
–
NetEase
NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...
, Alibaba, and
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
– for digital music distribution in China. In May 2018, the company sold all of its Spotify shares for an estimated $125 million-plus, passing the proceeds on to its members. A landmark global licensing deal in December 2019 saw Merlin partnering with
Boomplay Music
Boomplay or Boomplay Music is a media streaming and download service developed by Transsnet Music Limited. The service was first launched in Nigeria in 2015 by TECNO Mobile, Transsion Holdings. Boomplay has a freemium and subscription based s ...
.
In 2020, Jeremy Sirota joined Merlin as its second CEO. The organization expanded its deals to include Apple, Snap, and Triller.
In January 2021, Merlin held a "Celebrate Music" event. At the event, it unveiled a new brand, a new logo, and an updated website.
In August 2021, Feed Media Group, the B2B music licensing subscription service, signed a music licensing deal with Merlin, for its Adaptr product. Adaptr is a subscription-based platform. The deal provides access to a catalog of licensed music from Merlin member labels, distributors, and their artists.
In September 2021, Merlin and South Asian music and audio streaming service
JioSaavn
JioSaavn is an Indian online music streaming service and a digital distributor of Hindi, English, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri and other regional Indian music around the world. Since it was founded in 2007 as Saavn, th ...
announced that they had extended and enhanced an existing music licensing partnership. The expanded partnership enabled Merlin’s membership to increase their presence in South Asia and expanded JioSaavn’s catalog offering to its worldwide audience.
Merlin added to its list of partners in October 2021 when it announced a deal with TREBEL, the maker of a licensed music app with on-demand and offline play sponsored by brand advertisers. The company ended the year by announcing an expanded licensing agreement with African music streaming service
Boomplay
Boomplay or Boomplay Music is a media streaming and download service developed by Transsnet Music Limited. The service was first launched in Nigeria in 2015 by TECNO Mobile, Transsion Holdings. Boomplay has a freemium and subscription based s ...
.
In January 2022, Merlin partnered with UK-based Lickd to allow creators to legally use Merlin members' music in their YouTube videos.
Next, in early February 2022, Merlin announced a partnership with Twitch, the interactive live streaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more.
April 2022 saw the company announce a deal with FLO, a leading streaming application in Korea.
In October 2022, Pinterest announced a deal to bring Merlin members' musical repertoire to its platform. That month also saw a partnership announced with China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou.
Structure
As of January 2022, Merlin's executive team is:
* Jeremy Sirota, CEO
* Charlie Lexton, COO
* Adam Wright, CFO
* Jim Mahoney, SVP, Member & Partner Success
The current Board was elected in 2022 and is composed of:
* Pascal Bittard, Owner, IDOL
*Marie Clausen, Managing Director North America, Ninja Tune
* Tom Deakin, Head of EMEA, AudioSalad
*Michel Lambot, Co-founder,
IAS IAS may refer to:
Science
* Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States
* Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis.
* Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
*Chris Maund, COO, Mushroom Labels
*Carlos Mills, Founder & CEO, Mills Records
*Martin Mills; Founder & Chairman, Beggars Group
* Sandra Ortega, Director of Global Partnerships, Altafonte
* Louis Posen, President & Executive Director, Hopeless Records
* Jason Taylor, Director of Sales & Label Relations, Redeye
*Michael Ugwu, CEO, Freeme Digital
*Darius Van Arman, Co-CEO of Secretly Group (Appointed as Chairperson of Merlin's Board for 2022)
*Pieter van Rijn, CEO, FUGA
*Horst Weidenmüller, CEO & Owner, !K7
*Justin West, President & CEO, Secret City
* Yushi Yamashita, President, RightsScale
Advisory Board Members:
* Katie Alberts, COO, Reach Records
* Glen Barros, Managing Partner, Exceleration Music
* Rachel Buswell, Head of Digital Partnerships and Analytics, Domino
* Megan Jasper, CEO, Sub Pop Records
References
{{Reflist, 45em, refs=
[ .n.(15 March 2018)]
Merlin Network strikes streaming deals for independent music in China
''BBC News''. Accessed February 2019.
Digital rights
Music industry associations
Music organisations based in the Netherlands