MBW Views is a series of op-eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say. The following MBW op/ed comes from Mark Douglas, Chief Information Officer, PPL, who argues that the establishment of RDx represents ‘a fundamental shift in how the music industry handles data’…
In an industry where millions hinge on accurate metadata, music licensing companies (MLCs) that collectively manage recording rights have long struggled with fragmented systems, conflicting rights claims, and slow payments. But a quiet revolution is underway, and the Repertoire Data Exchange (RDx) is at the heart of it.
Launched five years ago, RDx is streamlining how data flows across the music industry, helping to make sure that the right people get paid on time. It was created through a collaboration between the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN). It was built and is operated by PPL.
“A quiet revolution is underway, and the Repertoire Data Exchange is at the heart of it.”
Mark Douglas, PPL
Since 2020, RDx has evolved from a promising concept into a fully operational global hub helping reshape the way record companies and MLCs, such as PPL, interact.
As we reflect on its progress, it’s clear that RDx has come a long way and its future looks even brighter.
The Problem: Too Many Feeds, Too Little Clarity
Historically, record companies had to send bespoke data feeds to every MLC around the world. Each feed had to be tailored to local rules, formats, and systems. This created a labyrinth of processes and technology implementations that were inefficient, error-prone and costly. A single recording could be registered incorrectly, inconsistently, or not at all, leading to missed payments and disputes.
For example, a label operating in multiple territories may have to maintain separate data pipelines for each MLC, each with its own validation rules and metadata requirements. This not only increased operational overheads but also introduced inconsistencies that could delay royalty payments for months.
The lack of a unified system meant that even the most diligent record companies struggled to maintain data integrity across borders. For MLCs, it invariably meant a lot of cost and effort being expended aligning and correcting the data to allow money to flow to the correct parties.
The RDx Solution: One Feed To Manage All
RDx was built to centralise and standardise this process. It acts as a central global hub where metadata about recordings, rights and performer line-ups can be submitted by record companies (or their appointed third parties).
This submission is done using industry standard data structures, namely DDEX Repertoire Data and Rights (RDR) messages. These data standards are developed and agreed by DDEX member organisations that span tech companies, DSPs, recording rights-holders and MLCs, including PPL. RDx validates the data instantly, flags conflicts, and provides full visibility into whether a recording has been accepted, rejected, or disputed.
Whilst RDx holds the latest metadata for any recordings submitted, it does not seek to be a database. Rather, RDx is a messaging hub that allows this data to be delivered and then passed onto to MLCs that need it. MLCs do this by subscribing to the data they need, whether it’s specific country rights, geographical regions or global coverage, and ingest recordings directly from RDx.
The result is faster, cleaner, and a truly scalable data exchange. Furthermore, building RDx as a messaging hub rather than a database has been key to its adoption. This approach allows MLCs to maintain their local databases and systems and to treat RDx in a similar way to established feeds of repertoire data, thereby minimising the cost and complexity of implementation.
The benefits of this approach are manifold. RDx’s validation engine ensures that only high-quality data enters the system, reducing the risk of errors downstream. Its conflict detection logic identifies overlapping claims early, allowing stakeholders to resolve disputes before they impact payments. And because RDx operates as a centralised hub, it provides a single source of truth for all parties involved.
The Real-World Impact: Efficiency And Expansion
Over the past year, RDx has seen a surge in adoption. Thirteen data sources including the three majors and independent labels such as Beggars Group, BMG and Domino are now using the platform. The metadata for six million unique recordings have been delivered to RDx for these record companies. This typically increases by around 80,000 recordings every month.
MLCs covering 21 territories have onboarded to RDx, and it now covers Western Europe and countries including Brazil, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The recipient MLCs have collectively downloaded metadata for a recording 33 million times. This typically increases by 700,000 downloads every month.
This growth is not just quantitative, it’s qualitative. MLCs report that instead of juggling multiple feeds and formats, they can rely on RDx to deliver consistent, validated information.
MLCs have also played another crucial role in RDx’s expansion. By acting on behalf of independent labels, they’ve helped democratise access to the platform, ensuring that smaller recording rights-holders can benefit from its efficiencies. To date, AGEDI (Spain), GVL (Germany) and SCF (Italy) have onboarded in this capacity for a sample of their local members. PPL plans to provide this service to indie members in due course.
These developments will allow a far broader set of repertoire data to move through RDx and will enable the platform to fulfil one of its core principles of surfacing and rectifying competing claims of sound recording ownership much earlier in the process than has historically happened. It also ensures that MLCs around the world have access to a broader range of authoritative recording metadata, making their distributions faster and more accurate.
Looking Ahead: A Global Vision
The long-term goal for RDx is ambitious, but achievable: to deliver a single, authoritative, global picture of the repertoire and rights data for the industry.
RDx is in advanced discussions with several MLCs around the world with regards to onboarding in 2026. Soundsys is just one of those and is a platform shared by 11 MLCs, and accordingly, the onboarding of all these parties would double the number of territories receiving repertoire data from RDx, expanding its reach into Asia and Latin America.
RDx isn’t just a tech upgrade, it’s a fundamental shift in how the industry handles data. By simplifying processes, resolving conflicts early, and enabling global collaboration, RDx is helping ensure that recording rights-holders and performers get paid accurately and promptly.
One issue that impacts the speed with which data sources can onboard is the absence of an agreed way of referring to rights owning entities. Whilst performers have an International Performer Number (IPN), no such identifier has been established for rights owners.
The MLC community is currently progressing an initiative to address this by establishing a platform to assign identifiers to recording rights owners and their related parties (subsidiaries, label names etc).
This initiative is primarily focused on improving the operational interactions between MLCs, but once established will benefit users of RDx as it will enable the platform to understand rights ownership structures and suppress what may appear to be ownership conflicts. This, combined with enhancements to the RDx platform, will pave the way for even greater interoperability across the music and data value chain.
Conclusion: Collaboration Is The Key
The success of RDx shows what’s possible when the industry works together. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s improving rapidly and it’s already making a measurable difference. As we continue to refine the system and onboard more partners. RDx has the potential to become the backbone of a fairer, faster, and more transparent music rights ecosystem.
RDx’s five-year milestone is more than a celebration, it’s a call to action. The progress we’ve made is impressive, but the journey is far from over. By continuing to take time to invest in data quality, standardisation, and collaboration, we can build a future where every recording is accounted for, every rights-holder is recognised, and every payment is made on time.
The music industry has long been defined by its creativity and passion. With RDx, we’re adding precision and accountability to that mix, and the results already speak for themselves.
Music Business Worldwide
