Photo Credit: Cosynd
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) has partnered with Cosynd to continue the fight for independent copy protection.
Under the terms of the partnership, Cosynd will provide A2IM’s community of over 700 record labels and publishers the ability to automate copyright agreements and easily register those copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. These protections will benefit all of A2IM’s members’ content assets, such as sound recordings, compositions, lyrics, videos, imagery, literature, and more, at discounted rates.
Cosynd is also offering annual memberships to A2IM members so they can build tailored copyright agreements to establish ownership and outline important details for selling, licensing, and monetizing their assets. A2IM members who use Cosynd can customize, negotiate, and execute an unlimited amount of agreements on behalf of their artists for a discounted rate, generating significant savings for members on legal spending and attorney fees.
“A2IM is dedicated to serving our members,” says President & CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE. “We are thrilled to partner with our good friends at Cosynd and enable our members to effortlessly register their copyrights and to create vital legal agreements so that they can focus on their core business of developing great artists. By working together, Cosynd and A2IM are delivering equitable, affordable access to copyright protection at a time when our community needs it most.”
A2IM members will be able to file copyright registrations in minutes for 80% less than the cost of similar services. In order for a copyright owner to stand up against the misuse of intellectual property, registration is now a mandatory prerequisite to filing a lawsuit. Mailing a copy of work, minting an asset as an NFT on the blockchain, affidavit services, or other registration databases are not substitutes for registering with the U.S. Copyright Office.
“We are so proud to partner with A2IM and to be trusted at such a high level by the leading trade association for independent labels,” adds Jessica Sobhraj, Co-Founder & CEO of Cosynd. “Like us, A2IM understands that in order to protect our industry, we must first protect our creators. For far too long, the ability to seek adequate compensation for the abuse and misuse of music has notoriously been only available to a small percentage of copyright owners because of various financial, legal, and educational barriers. Our partnership doesn’t just alleviate those burdens, it finally levels the playing field for the independent community.”
A2IM was formed in 2005, and since then, the independent sector of the music industry has grown from less than 25% to representing more than 37.32% of the industry as a whole. This significant increase illustrates the independent sector’s leadership role over the last decade. However, with infringements running rampant, alongside inflation and changing regulations for IP owners, the need to safeguard the livelihood of this growing community is essential to the vitality of the recorded music industry.