The majority of the critical issues cited by music industry experts stem from a few sources, but a key problem area falls within transparency and clarity of ownership data, or metadata to be precise.
Metadata in this case is the basic info that is needed to identify who wrote, performed, and owns the music that you listen to every day.
This data and its accuracy are a vital means to ensure that creators and owners get paid for their work when their music is used.Whether it is streamed online, broadcast in a coffee shop, licensed for a TV show, or played on an iPad, this data is the underpinning key or map, if you will, that leads back (in theory) to those who created and/or are invested in that musical work. It sounds like a simple thing to deal with in 2015. Just track all plays, and then pay who is owed for their work. But it’s not that simple.
Source: Medium