20 April 2020 – DDEX, the international standards-setting organization dedicated to improving the exchange of data and information across the music industry, announced today that Jeff King, Chief Operating and Corporate Development Officer of SOCAN, has been named Chair of its Board. He succeeds Paul Dilorito, the former Director of Innovation and Partnerships at PRS for Music.

“I’m honoured to have been elected to the role of Chair at such a pivotal time in the music industry, when the mandate to standardize metadata has become even more critical to identify and deliver global digital royalties back to music creators,” said King. “On behalf of myself and the DDEX Board, many thanks to Paul Dilorito for his work with us over the years and his leadership in so many areas of the organization.”

Named COO of SOCAN in 2011, King is responsible for strategy, licensing, distribution, international, information technology and corporate planning. As Canada’s largest rights management organization, SOCAN connects more than four million creators worldwide and more than a quarter-million businesses and individuals. Additionally, King led acquisitions expanding SOCAN’s capabilities with subsidiaries in Seattle and New York that provide back office and content fulfilment services to the music ecosystem. Since first joining SOCAN in 2001 as Director of Distribution, Jeff rose through the organization, leading initiatives that significantly heightened member and licensee satisfaction. As Vice President of Licensing, Jeff developed a robust strategic plan to expand SOCAN’s customer base and increase efficiency. As Vice President of Membership, Jeff led the development of a number of industry-leading e-commerce tools and the creation of SOCAN’s Information Centre. Jeff holds an BA Honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and has been keynote speaker at several internationl conferences on innovation and free-trade.

The DDEX Board is made up of executives from the 19 charter members of the organization, which in addition to King include:

• Amazon – Jill Chapman
• Apple Inc. – Nick Williamson (Chair Emeritus)
• ASCAP – Dena Fletcher
• Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) – Ed Oshanani
• GEMA – Till Evert
• Google – Greg Quillard (Executive Board)
• Kobalt Music – Bob Bruderman
• Pandora Media Inc. – Noel Morrison
• PPL – Matt Phipps-Taylor
• PRS for Music – Keith Hill
• SCPP – Laurent Fradin
• SACEM – Paul Cohen Scali (Executive Board)
• Sony Music Entertainment – Kirit Joshi (Executive Board)
• SoundExchange Inc. – Luis Bonilla
• Spotify AB – Sung Kyu Choi
• Tencent Music Entertainment Group – Roberta Fong
• Universal Music Group – Kim Beauchamp (Executive Board)
• Warner Music Group – Brigette Boyle

Membership of DDEX is open to any organization with a business interest in digital media content; there are currently over 100 members from around the world. While a company does not need to become a member to implement any of the DDEX standards, being a member of DDEX provides the opportunity to participate in and influence the development of international standards in the digital value chain. DDEX now has eight families of standards that support the entire arc of digital music operations from initial recording through distribution and reporting as well as other types of business transactions in particular sectors of the industry. The standards are being used by all the major players in the digital music industry as well as most smaller organizations and startups. DDEX members participate in regular working group meetings to refine current standards and develop new ones.

 

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About DDEX
Formed in 2006, DDEX is an international standards-setting organization made up of leading media companies, music licensing organizations, digital service providers, and technical intermediaries that is dedicated to improving the exchange of data and information across the music industry. To support the automated exchange of information along the digital value chain, DDEX has standardized the format in which information is represented in messages and the method by which the messages are exchanged between business partners. These standards help rights holders, retailers, and technical intermediaries to more effectively communicate information along the digital value chain. This leads to efficient business transactions, reduced costs, and increased revenues for all sectors involved. DDEX standards are developed and made available for industry-wide implementation. For more information, visit www.ddex.net.

 

The DDEX Standards

There are eight families of DDEX standards: Release Delivery, Media Enrichment and Description, Sales and Usage Reporting, Claim Detail Message Suite, Works Notification and Licensing, Recording Data and Rights, Collection of Studio Metadata and Linking Works and Recordings. The use of standard message formatting speeds up the exchange of information and increases the accuracy of data, improving efficiency along the digital value chain and streamlining content availability through digital service providers to consumers. All the major digital players — including digital retailers, digital distributors and aggregators, record companies, music licensing companies, music publishers, musical work rights societies, and various technical service providers — use DDEX standards with over 5,000 implementation licenses issued and growing daily. While anyone can implement a standard, only DDEX members can be part of the standard development process – more information on membership online here.

 

 

DDEX Media Contacts @ Jaybird Communications
Laurie Jakobsen, 646-484-6746, laurie@jaybirdcom.com

Tracy Zamot, 917-579-6704, tracy@jaybirdcom.com