Denver’s Señor Bear, one among a whole lot of venues tracked by Audoo’s latest song-tracking pilot.
Theoretically, performing rights organizations (PROs) monitor and tally each track performed in public and streaming platforms – then dole out the royalties accordingly. Now, London-based Audoo has laborious proof displaying that billions of track performs could be counted with near-100% accuracy.
Whereas mega-PROs like ASCAP and BMI do a laudable job of monitoring, matching, and distributing royalties on billions of tracks performed in the USA, a nagging query is whether or not these huge programs could be improved. That is extra than simply an educational musing: the reply to this surprisingly complicated query has the potential to reshape the general public efficiency sphere for many years to return.
Enter Audoo CEO Ryan Edwards, who’s pushed by a mission to rely each track performed worldwide in public locations for years — and is marching in direction of that aim with backers like Bjorn Ulvaeus and Sir Elton John. Theoretically, the tech exists to rely every part with whole accuracy, although the small print are devilish. Accordingly, Edwards and his group have spent thousands and thousands creating the ‘Audio Meter’ and deployed it into 1000’s of venues and public locations worldwide to seize the music in motion.
That effort is now hitting the USA. Only recently, Audoo concluded a far-reaching first entry to the US in Denver involving a whole lot of public locations – with almost 100% of songs performed in these institutions tracked. That included eating places, gyms, bars, and retail institutions throughout town.
“The suggestions from the license holders was very supportive,” Edwards instructed DMN. “A lot of them have puzzled for years how their charges are distributed and have been very enthusiastic about the way in which music units the tone of their companies.”
The outcomes of the Audoo pilot, shared with Digital Music Information and a part of an ongoing partnership, started in late June of 2024 and concluded in February of this 12 months.
Among the many most refreshing takeaways is that nearly each track could be efficiently detected, logged, and tallied with all key metadata info (together with ISRC & ISWC) utilizing the put in Audio Meters, which is smart. Think about an industrial-scale, personal model of Shazam in each venue, and also you’ve captured Audoo’s enterprise strategy.
“Music has at all times been consumed in so many alternative methods, from enterprise house owners making a ‘mixtape’ CD or playlist, taking part in the radio, and empowering staff to regulate the music based mostly on the tone they want,” Edwards mentioned. “To us, it’s about what’s been performed after which reporting that precisely. Simply get the music taking part in, and we’ll work with the PRO/CMO to do the remaining.”
However what’s really getting performed? Right here’s the place issues begin to get actually fascinating. The present pondering is that music performed in public areas roughly mirrors common playlists on media like terrestrial radio and streaming platforms. However Audoo’s information reveals a surprisingly slim overlap with huge DSPs (i.e., Digital Service Suppliers or streaming platforms) and social media platforms.
Right here’s only a fast take a look at the overlap – or full lack thereof.
The next breakdown was pulled from a pattern week in February (2025) utilizing the highest 40 songs tracked all through town. It was then in comparison with the highest 40 songs performed on different platforms for a similar interval.
What’s the overlap proportion? Have a look.
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- Audoo x Apple Music – 0% crossover
- Audoo x Billboard – 2.5% crossover
- Audoo x Shazam – 5% crossover
- Audoo x Spotify – 5 % crossover
- Audoo x TikTok – 0% crossover
“The outcomes mirror what we’ve got seen and experiences in different markets world wide,” Edwards shared. “The extra US cities we launch into, the extra numerous [data] we anticipate to see. This may make a distinction in 1000’s of creators making a dwelling, or sadly, not.”
Additionally stunning: many of the music performed in Denver hails from the USA (greater than 50%) and the UK (almost 15%). Different nations have been marginal single-digit contributors, together with Australia, France, Germany, and Sweden. These percentages are seemingly totally different in different cities, although Audoo additionally highlighted some fascinating exceptions.
Denver bar and restaurant Señor Bear, for instance, performs a mix of Latin-inspired music from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Spain. The curated playlist additionally consists of 24% American music sourced from native artists.
That’s a far cry from the highest 10 checklist of most-played artists all through town, which incorporates Tame Impala, Jungle, Hozier, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Unhealthy Bunny, Zach Bryan, and Neil Frances. Appears like tried-and-true stuff, although most of the most–performed songs aren’t topping the charts on radio or Spotify.
The information additionally gives a spread of different insights, together with detailed breakdowns by venue kind (restaurant or gymnasium, for instance) and probably the most often performed songs. Audoo even tracks the extent of commonality between totally different venue sorts, whereas figuring out distinctive institutions (for instance, a bodily remedy clinic that can also be a neighborhood music champion).
“Enterprise house owners know first hand the worth of taking part in music, and of these we’ve got began working with within the US, the suggestions has been very constructive,” Edwards shared. “No person challenges paying for a music license, regardless of the complexities of a number of PROs within the US. However figuring out the hard-earned cash is being paid to the artists they play is essential.”
“Our know-how is there to assist PROs: no extra guide surveys, proxy information units, or outdated analogies. The previous can’t be modified, however now’s the time for correct reporting for truthful and clear distributions.”
However what does this need to do with Congressional inquiries into PROs at present occurring in Washington?
Only recently, the US Copyright Workplace launched a major inquiry into PROs in response to Congressional considerations. Among the many many questions being examined is how PROs collect efficiency info and the way this impacts rights house owners.
For Edwards, it’s a fancy query with a surprisingly easy reply: simply rely every part!
