March 2, 2020

Ever increasing music streaming data volumes are being reported across the globe. This is positive for the industry but increased volume is putting a strain on CMOs’ legacy systems. The Matching Engine can support CMOs to adapt.

In their Global Collections 2019 report, CISAC shared that there was a 29% growth globally in royalties from digital sources over the previous year. Increased music streaming is responsible for the globalization of music and rising global music listening. Geographic limitations no longer exist as digitized music means artists’ songs can be accessed anywhere. Streaming removes even more barriers to entry as paid subscriptions give access to a database of millions of songs. These factors have resulted in a rapidly growing volume of music streaming data to be processed, changing the role of the Collective Management Organisation.

Volume places a strain on legacy systems

The pressures increasing data volumes place on organisations’ systems can be difficult to cope with. Legacy systems cannot manage the rapidly dynamic scale and speed at which music royalty data must be processed. The music rights industry must find ways to manage these changes or face increasing problems in the future. They need to adapt their processes and technologies to meet the demand of modern music matching. The Matching Engine application works with existing systems to support music matching at scale. The application is built on modern cloud technologies, which helps CMOs to overcome many of the challenges posed by the increased volume of data.

Volume is unpredictable

Streaming has resulted in spikes in data volumes. For example, recently BVMA, a German organisation, stated that they experienced significant volume increases in 2019 during Christmas. Built using cloud technology, The Matching Engine can autoscale to meet rapid changes in data volume. This process is at speed, with one customer’s Matching Engine environment scaling to match 30,000 songs per minute. With music streaming volumes set to increase, autoscaling can future proof your system. Tests conducted show that The Matching Engine can match many multiples of its current usage. Also, as the application is powered by cloud technology it leverages the full flexibility and power of the cloud incurring costs only as resources are needed.

Data volumes have increased, so too has complexity and errors

While the scale has increased, at the same time so too has the complexity of the data. Processing complex data files at increasing volumes has proved difficult in the past for CMOs, however, The Matching Engine provides a cloud based solution to the issue. The ingestion pipeline can scale up and down to meet demand. Regardless of volume, preset parameters are automatically invoked once the data type is detected. These parameters can handle and match data in different languages and from different data providers. As metadata issues result in missed revenues for artists, identifying issues and matching at scale, reduces this lost revenue. With each royalty payment worth a fraction of a cent, accuracy is paramount.

Increasing volumes mean increased costs

Cost is a priority. For CMOs, increased streaming data would have meant increasing resources and overheads such as costly servers, putting a strain on budgets. However The Matching Engine also adapts costs to manage volume changes, CMOs pay for what they use each month. Also taking advantage of the elasticity of the cloud, CMOs can reduce overheads by reassigning team resources to other roles. Through automation, reporting and cloud technologies, there is no longer a need for constant human monitoring.

Facing your own challenges as a result of volume changes? The Matching Engine is built to manage volume, not just for today but for the future of your organisation. Talk to our team today about the application.