Exclusive: $50M Withdrawn Using Sony Music’s Artists Forward Initiative
Sony Music recently released a recap of its Artists Forward program, which was launched in June 2021. The global initiative prioritizes “transparency with creators in all aspects of their development” and delivers “more benefits and services to on-roster and legacy talent around the world.”
According to the recap, there has been significant growth in support for SME artists. Sony Music announced that through their Legacy Unrecouped Balance Program, they will be expanding the pool of talent that “can qualify to receive go-forward earnings, regardless of recoupment status.” The label stated that “Creating more financial opportunity for our heritage artists globally is core to our mission with Artists Forward.”
In addition to the Legacy Unrecouped Balance Program, the initiative includes the marquee policy and healthcare services for artists. “Putting our artists and their wellbeing first in all steps of the creative journey is the driving priority of everything we do with Artists Forward,” explains Sony Music.
“As part of our Artist Assistance Program focused on wellness and information for SME talent, we’ve introduced free, confidential Artist Healthcare Advocacy support for on-roster and legacy artists in the U.S. through our partnership with the non-profit organization, Music Health Alliance (MHA). Qualifying artists can connect with an MHA healthcare advocate for help with navigating the process of obtaining and utilizing healthcare coverage, locating a doctor, managing healthcare bills, and more.”
Moreover, approximately more than 100 Artists around the world have benefited from Sony’s confidential counseling services, which are available for free in over 70 languages. In the recap, the label revealed that “To date, dozens of artists from across more than 12 different countries have now used these services to either establish recurring sessions with a licensed therapist or receive in-the-moment support in dealing with acute issues—and use of the program is completely confidential.”
Through the Real Time Artists Tools suite that includes Sony Music Artist Portal and the Real-Time Insights application, the label “offers music creators and their team’s best-in-class payment capabilities, as well as up-to-the-moment updates on the consumption of their content and audience engagement data.”
From tracking and analyzing earnings to initiating withdrawals and advances of available funds, Sony Music “helps artists and their teams make decisions informed by advanced analytics” that can be provided instantly from the billions of global transactions processed every day.
With these advanced tools, Sony allows artists and participants to track earnings, cash out payable monthly account balances, and receive advances on qualifying projected earnings. Plus, creators and their teams can access marketing and creative data, “for detailed analysis of the platforms, playlists, and audiences driving track breakthroughs around the globe”.
Using new features like Real Time Advances and Cash Out, artists can request “a withdrawal of all or part of their payable balance each month as soon as it becomes available.” Based on the numbers shared by Sony in its recap report for 2022, “artists and participants have now withdrawn nearly $50 million combined.”
Sony’s Artist Forward program is truly a groundbreaking initiative that focuses on “delivering fast, convenient, easy-to-use solutions” and supports the careers of many up-and-coming and established musicians in a dynamic marketplace.
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