The adoption of data analytics – the process of examining data to draw conclusions about the information they contain – is pervasive across almost every industry, and the music industry is no exception.

Music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon have contributed to a massive growth in the consumption of music globally. All of these platforms are also huge generators of data for music labels, distributors, managers, writers, and publishers, while also creating a challenge with regards to the aggregation and management of that data. Tied to this is the fact that there’s been a shift from measuring the sale of music to measuring the consumption of music, enabling artists to better understand how to retain and increase the size of their audiences.

SOCAN has recognized the importance of strategically leveraging the power of data, and our opportunity to aggregate, validate, and ultimately visualize data. This is why SOCAN recently appointed Michael King to head up a data analytics initiative across SOCAN and its associated companies.

King is establishing the Data Governance Office, responsible for effectively advancing our data-analytics capabilities, including the management, delivery, governance, stewardship, and quality control of data.

We’ll create data-governance steering and working groups to make strategic and tactical decisions, and the Data Governance Office will work closely with our legal and IT teams, as well as other critical SOCAN departments like Membership, Licensing and Distribution. The office will initially consist of a limited team of dedicated data engineers committed to advancing business intelligence and data-analytics capabilities across SOCAN.

According to Michael King, “The future of SOCAN lies in our ability to adapt and collaborate in leveraging the power of data through the Data Governance Office. We have to continually review the way in which we work, and identify more innovative ways to provide services to members and clients globally. It’s no longer good enough to accept that we can provide services the way we’ve always provided services; we have to evolve dynamically by embracing the power of data.”

Stay tuned for future developments from the SOCAN Data Governance Office, as we continue to lead the global transformation of music rights.