Merlin and Dubset strike a deal to help indie artists monetize DJ mixes
Musicians on labels like Sub Pop and Mad Decent will get paid for samples in DJ mixes.
Last August, Sony Music made a deal with Dubset, a company that helps rights holders identify samples in songs to ensure they get paid. Apple and Spotify also connected with the licensing company for the streaming services' unofficial mixes, too. Now, indie label Merlin has struck a new deal with Dubset that will hopefully help independent musicians monetize their own samples.
Dubset's MixBANK platform helps identify sampled music within DJ remixes, which can have hundreds of samples per set. It also helps DJs clear the rights to samples without having to contact every artist. The company claims that it already connects 14,000 labels and publishers to help manage rights. According to Billboard, the deal with Merlin grows the number of tracks managed by MixBANK to more than 38 million across almost 40,000 indie and major record labels. Merlin represents more than 20,000 indie labels, including Sub Pop, Mad Decent and Warp, making this new deal a positive step in helping artists working for these groups.
