Over 500,000 Songfile Licenses Issued;
New Option Speeds Transactions for Returning Customers
NEW YORK, June 16 -- The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), a
leading U.S. music rights licensing organization, has added a "license
reorder" capability to its popular Songfile online mechanical licensing
service, available at http://www.harryfox.com. This new option comes just as
Songfile has reached the 500,000 issued license milestone.
Songfile's License Reorder option lets previous customers create a new
license request from a prior license that was issued to them. This enables
customers to quickly obtain licenses for additional copies of the same
recording; to obtain licenses for the same recording but for a different
format; or to build a new license request using those songs for a different
recording (such as for a "greatest hits" or a live album).
"We want to make licensing as easy as possible. License reorder makes
it even simpler for returning customers to obtain additional mechanical
licenses through Songfile, as they do not need to re-enter all their
previous information to request additional licenses for the same songs,"
said Maurice Russell, VP of Licensing and Business Development, HFA. "We
have already issued over half a million licenses through Songfile since its
inception in 1999, which goes to show how these small, independent
licensees collectively create an important community for music publishers."
The License Reorder option is available in the "View My Licenses" area
of a user's Songfile account. They can select which license they wish to
reorder by clicking the "reorder" button on the far right. The Songfile
system will then verify HFA's current representation of the song. Once the
status is verified, the Songfile Cart appears. Users can then remove or add
songs to the cart. When the customer is ready to check out, the fields will
be auto-populated with the licensee and artist information from the
original transaction, which can be edited as necessary.
About Songfile
HFA's Songfile is an easy and fast way for musicians who plan to make
and distribute 2,500 copies or less of their recordings to obtain the
necessary licenses for cover versions of songs. Licenses can be obtained
for CDs, cassettes, LPs, or permanent digital downloads (DPDs).
Customers can create an account, search HFA's catalog of songs, and
complete their mechanical licensing transaction in minutes. Royalties are
calculated at the statutory mechanical rate (currently 9.1 cents per copy
for songs 5 minutes or less in length, or 1.75 cents per minute (or
fraction thereof) per copy, for songs over 5 minutes). There is also a
processing fee on each song licensed. If a user just wants to conduct
research, there is a separate Songfile Public Search tool on the website
available free of charge.
Mechanical licenses are required under U.S. Copyright Law if one wants
to duplicate and distribute a recording of a song that is owned by someone
else. Through proper licensing, the publisher, and ultimately, the
songwriter, are compensated for the use of their work. Duplicators and
online music sites require copies of licenses before replicating recordings
or offering them online.
Customers must be conducting business in the U.S., and have a valid
credit card or checking account with a U.S. billing address. Licenses for
songs on physical products and for DPDs must be obtained in separate
transactions. For physical products, users are able license multiple songs
for one physical album at a time, or users can obtain up to 50 separate DPD
licenses in a single transaction.
About HFA
Established in 1927 by the National Music Publishers' Association, HFA
represents over 35,000 music publishers for their licensing needs in the
United States, issuing licenses and collecting and distributing the
associated royalties. In addition to being the premier mechanical licensing
agent in the U.S., which includes CDs, ringtones, digital downloads,
interactive streams, limited downloads and more, HFA is dedicated to
finding new ways for its affiliates publishers to recognize value for their
catalogs, including lyrics and tablature. Further, HFA provides collection
and monitoring services to its publisher clients for music distributed and
sold in over 95 territories around the world. For more information about
HFA, or to become an affiliate publisher or a licensee, see
http://www.harryfox.com.
Songfile(R) is a registered trademark of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. All
rights reserved.
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