AIM (the Association of Independent Music) today announced a far reaching partnership to enable independent music companies to use the latest SonicKey digital watermark technology, with realtime monitoring, live broadcast and data collection across 500 broadcasters for all new music.

The programme will deliver 100 percent accurate tracking and reporting of all plays across broadcast radio for any AIM member without charge as part of both organisation’s commitment to ‘pay for every play’ for all rights holders and artists.

Independent music companies will benefit from six months of international tracking and reporting of all music plays.

The initiative will be available to all AIM’s rights holder members in the first instance. Those companies joining the programme will each be allocated Sonic Dashboard licences, allowing realtime access to live data of all radio plays, encoding of all new music with SonicKeys, MetaData set up and integration.

AIM COO Gee Davy said: “One of AIM’s roles is to find real value and tangible commercial opportunities for the vibrant independent music scene. With SonicKey SonicData has created a platform which makes it incredibly easy for rights holders to monitor real-time broadcast use of the music they release.

“Accurate broadcast use data available through the dashboard will help AIM members to make time-critical content, marketing and touring decisions. All of it without cost to our members. This is real transparency and empowerment for music rights holders.”

A digital system based on tracking a SonicKey directly through the Sonic StreamReader changes the model, enabling efficiencies and a transition to automated collection. SonicData’s platform enables every piece of music to be uniquely tracked, reported and monetised on any platform against a single version of the truth (SVOT) metadata record, ending the music industry’s decades-long black box problem of the unfair allocation of unidentified royalties.

AIM members will be able to encode and track any music released during the programme. It will also ensure that all AIM members music will be future proofed, ensuring music can be monitored and reported with complete accuracy for use in-venue, across social media and video sharing sites.

SonicData Chairman Kelly Sumner said: “SonicKey is a step change for music, for every artist and rights holder. The SonicData platform allows collection of up to the minute invaluable data that can enable better planning and better more timely decisions across all areas of a rights holder’s business. Making time critical decisions about an artist for promotion, touring and marketing can be the difference.

“This partnership will enable all AIM members to enjoy the latest SonicKey technology with digital stream reading and a live data dashboard.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to deliver this kind of value to the independent music industry.”

The AIM SonicKey Programme becomes available in October 2021. AIM members can encode as much music as required. Live data of plays across 500 European radio stations will commence in the last quarter and run for six months. AIM rights holder members can register for the Programme now through the AIM Opportunities Platform or through https: //sonicdata.com/try-sonic-key/AIM