On August 15, 2012 music industry organization Sound Exchange released its updated database of over 50,000 recording artist and record label names that are owed millions of dollars in unclaimed digital performance royalty payments. Those artists and labels included on the list are currently owed better than $30 million in accumulated unclaimed royalties, and funds that have been held for three years or more that aren't claimed by October 15, 2012 will be forfeited. We wrote about this issue back in 2009, and thanks to the efforts of About.com Blues readers, we managed to get a number of artists registered with Sound Exchange.
"The digital music industry is continuing to grow, providing recording artists and record labels with an increasingly beneficial revenue stream. We are doing everything possible to make sure artists and labels know that and capitalize on it," Sound Exchange President Michael Huppe stated in a press release accompanying the updated database. "SoundExchange is releasing this list in hopes of getting artists and copyright holders to claim their digital performance royalties. We want to get the money out of our bank account and into theirs - plain and simple."
What Is Sound Exchange?
Sound Exchange was formed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the music industry's lobbying arm, as a non-profit service organization. Sound Exchange has been authorized by the Library of Congress to collect royalties for the digital transmission of sound recordings and then pay these monies back out to artists and record labels. For example, Sound Exchange collects royalties from XM Sirius satellite radio; from cable and satellite television (Muzak or MusicChoice channels); and from Internet radio stations like Pandora.
The Reverend spent the better part of a weekend digging through the 50,000+ names that Sound Exchange shows as "unregistered" artists for which they're holding unclaimed digital performance royalties. From the extensive Sound Exchange database, I've compiled a list of blues and blues-rock artists that the organization hasn't been able to find. The list is shown below exactly as I cut-n-pasted from the Sound Exchange website, with misspelled names kept intact.
Sound Exchange Unregistered Blues Artists
Keep in mind that incorrectly-listed names (such as "Anna Popovic" or "Curtis Salagado") may not be Sound Exchange's fault, as they compile their list from reports provided by digital music providers, who may be jotting down notes on what they're playing on the back of tattered racing forms for all we know. Of course, the list includes a number of blues legends like Charley Patton (listed twice with different spellings), Blind Boy Fuller, and Kokomo Arnold who have passed away years ago. If any readers have information on contacting the estates of late blues artists, please feel free to contact the Reverend by email. Probably the funniest inclusion on the list is "Blind Boy Grunt," the alter-ego of rock legend Bob Dylan, and the name used on a number of Dylan bootleg albums.
There are also a number of artists listed below who are currently making a living playing the blues, both relative newcomers like Mud Morganfield, J.P. Soars, and Marquise Knox as well as seasoned veterans like Jim Byrnes and Lou Ann Barton. And the list doesn't just include American blues artists – if you're a member of Canada's MonkeyJunk or Downchild Blues Band, or a British blues guitarist like Todd Sharpville – your music is being played by digital media under the Sound Exchange umbrella and you should register with the organization. An asterisk beside a band name means that some, but not all of the band members have registered.
ANNA POPOVIC
BEKKA BRAMLETT
BERNIE PEARL
BIG BILL BROONZY
BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS
BLIND ARVELLA GRAY
BLIND BLAKE
BLIND BOY FULLER
BLIND BOY GRUNT
BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON
BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON
BLIND WILLIE MCTELL
CASH BOX KINGS
CHAMPION JACK DUPREE
CHARLEY PATTON
CHARLIE PATTON
CURTIS SALAGADO
DANA FUCHS
DANI WILDE
DOWNCHILD BLUES BAND
FRANK FROST
FUNKY METERS
GALES BROTHERS
GARY CLARK JR.
HANS THEESSINK
HENRY TOWNSEND
HOMESICK JAMES
HOUSTON STACKHOUSE
ISHMAN BRACEY
J.B. HUTTO
J.P. SOARS
JIM BYRNES
JIMMY 'DUCK' HOLMES
JOE BEARD
JOHN HOOKER LEE
KOKOMO ARNOLD
LEGENDARY RHYTHM & BLUES REVUE
LEVEE TOWN
LIGHTNIN' MALCOLM
LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS*
LITTLE JIMMY KING
LITTLE JOE MCLERRAN
LONG JOHN BALDRY
LOU ANN BARTON
LOWELL FULSOM
MAC REBENNACK (a/k/a Dr. John)
MARC FORD
MARION JAMES
MARQUISE KNOX
MATT 'GUITAR' MURPHY
MEMPHIS JUG BAND
MICHAEL LEE FIRKINS
MIKE GRIFFIN & THE UNKNOWN BLUES BAND
MISSISSIPPI SHEIKS
MONKEY JUNK
MUD MORGANFIELD
NIGHTHAWKS
PAUL REDDICK + THE SIDEMEN
PEG LEG SAM
PHIL GUY
PRECIOUS BRYANT
REV. PEYTONS BIG DAMN BAND
RISING SONS
ROB TOGNONI
ROBERT BELFOUR
ROBERT NIGHTHAWK
ROBERT PETWAY
ROD PIAZZA & THE MIGHTY FLYERS BLUES QUARTET
ROSCOE SHELTON
RUBE LACEY
RUBE LACY
SAM LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS
SCRAPPER BLACKWELL
SHANE DWIGHT
SHUGGIE OTIS
SKIP JAMES
SLEEPLY JOHN ESTES
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES
SNOOKS EAGLIN
SON HOUSE
SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE MCGHEE *
SPIDER JOHN KOERNER
STEVE THE HARP BLUES BAND
STUDEBAKER JOHNS MAXWELL STREET KINGS
SUNNYLAND BLUESBAND
SWISSISSIPPI CHRIS HARPER
TAMPA RED
TANGIERS BLUES BAND
TARHEEL SLIM
TEENY TUCKER
TEMPLE OF SOUL
THE ALEXIS P. SUTER BAND
THE BLUES DISCIPLES
THE BLUES ROCKERS
THE CHRIS O'LEARY BAND
THE HITMAN BLUES BAND
THE HOMEMADE JAMZ BLUES BAND
THE JIMMY BOWSKILL BAND
THE MANNISH BOYS *
TODD SHARPVILLE
TODD WOLFE
TOM HAMBRIDGE
TOMCAT COURTNEY
WASHBOARD SAM
WILLIE BIG EYES SMITH
WILLIE COBBS
WILLIE MAE BIG MAMMA THORTON
A number of blues-oriented record labels are also included on the Sound Exchange list, and we've listed these below.
BLUES BABE RECORDS
BROKE & HUNGRY RECORDS
CROSSROADS BLUES AGENCY
NORTHERNBLUES MUSIC (listed as one word)
NUGENE
ONLY BLUES MUSIC
PROVOGUE RECORDS
RIPTIDE RECORDS
SWISSISSIPPI RECORDS
If your name is on this list of blues artists that Sound Exchange is looking for, get over to the organization's website to register and claim whatever money they may be holding, as well as any future royalties that may come your way. Your music is being played on the Internet and via satellite, and while this cash may not add up to much, it's your money and you deserve it! Even if your name isn't listed above, if you haven't registered, you should do so and ensure that you get paid in the future.
