Ditto launches new publishing division

Comprising distribution and management solutions, the new business unit will complement Ditto’s ongoing projects such as the recently launched decentralised financial platform Opulous. It wants to fully empower independent artists and their creative vision without the need for a traditional label deal.

Ditto Music Publishing will allow users the reach of a major publisher by “pitching the user’s music for sync opportunities and feed their best tracks to major broadcasters to use under broadcaster blanket licensing agreements with collection societies,” Ditto said. Users will be able to receive detailed analytics and collect publishing royalties directly in more than 150 territories.

It combines Ditto’s “artist-first approach and cutting-edge technology” and “puts artists and songwriters in control,” the company added. The service is open to Ditto Music’s subscribers globally and available for a fixed annual rate of $49 in addition to a 10% commission on royalties collected and 20% commission on sync placements. Co-writers will also get to sign up to the service for free.

In addition, Ditto Plus Music Publishing will offer administration and sync services to Ditto Music’s label services clients as well as music companies and artists who are interested in collaborating. Initial signings to Ditto Plus Music Publishing include Kenya’s Chris Kaiga and British acts Rokurokubi and PMF, among others.

Tom Weller, who joined the company last year as the managing director of Ditto Music Publishing, will helm the new division. Before joining Ditto, Weller spent 15 years working at the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and the Performing Right Society for Music in a number of roles encompassing sync, digital licensing, business development and strategy.

“The launch of Ditto Music Publishing is a huge step for the company and means we’re close to being able to offer a comprehensive suite of services to our clients,” he said. “At Ditto, we’re proud of the accessibility and simplicity of our platform, and our publishing offering is a continuation of that; it will help demystify a complicated area of the music business and make it easy and cost-effective for artists and songwriters to collect all of the royalties they’re due.”

Ditto Music CEO Lee Parsons added: “The launch of Ditto Music Publishing means artists and songwriters will have the global reach of a major publisher while retaining complete control of their rights and their creative vision. Tom and the team will help them capitalise on the power of independence so that they can reach new audiences, create life-long fans and, most importantly, make sure they get paid.”