SoundExchange will audit iHeartMedia, CBS Radio, Live365 and certain other digital music services.
Copyright Royalty Board Chief Judge Suzanne Barnett filed a notice about the audits in the Federal Register, stating that iHeart and CBS would be audited concerning their digital streams for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford says that how SoundExchange decides who to audit is a mystery to those other than them.
Under the rules set by the Copyright Royalty Board, SoundExchange can review three years of records.
According to Oxenford, the results are not public and there is no way to compare the outcomes.
An independent CPA conducts the audit which is provided to the music service for comment when complete. He characterizes the process as “never a pleasant one, as it by necessity distracts at least some people at the company being audited from their normal day-to-day business.”
If the audit turns up discrepancies, then SoundExchange and that service work that out.
