MUMBAI: CD Baby, the largest digital distributor of independent music and administrator of publishing rights in the world, has partnered with Cosynd, the first affordable legal services platform made specifically for creators, to allow CD Baby’s members to document ownership of their content easier than ever before. Starting this November, the partnership will provide CD Baby’s members with a fast, affordable, and legal way to create basic copyright ownership agreements and to register their content with the U.S. Copyright Office, making CD Baby the only digital distributor to offer these valuable services to creators.

Without an ownership agreement in place, collaborators that created a copyright have an equal claim of ownership and rights by default, regardless of the size of their contribution under U.S. copyright law. Misunderstandings between collaborators can lead to a slew of legal issues including improper exploitation of copyrights and unpaid royalties.  To date, an estimated $2.5 billion worth of black box royalties have gone unclaimed, because of a lack of available ownership data. Creators seeking to resolve matters of ownership and infringement are ineligible to file lawsuits unless they have registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

“Making it easy for artists to manage the rights around their music catalog is a key part of being a total monetization solution. Our partnership with Cosynd provides these tools in a very accessible way,” says CD Baby CEO Tracy Maddux“There is more content being created and more opportunities tomonetize that content than ever before. If you’re a creator, documenting ownership of your copyrights is a crucial step from the beginning - otherwise you won’t get paid! Disputes arise, liability increases, lawsuits ensue, and we all suffer the losses. CD Baby is one of the most trusted names in the music business and the go-to resource for educational information concerning music promotion, distribution, and rights management. We’re thrilled to be partnering with them to help creators protect themselves and their rights from the very start,” says Cosynd CEO Jessica Sobhraj.

Cosynd is the first platform to make documenting and managing this crucial ownership data and filing copyright registrations a breeze for creators of all types of content - music, videos, imagery, and literature.  Whether creating a fast split sheet or a more extensive copyright ownership agreement, Cosynd walks each creator through building their custom agreement by asking a series of questions in non-legalese. Collaborators can assign default roles and splits to each other and multiple titles can be added to a single agreement at any time, eliminating redundant work. Aside from the variety of agreements available, Cosynd requires real e-signatures, which sets them apart from other platforms and is key for collaborators that face questions regarding ownership from content platforms, like YouTube. Once an agreement has been signed, collaborators cannot go back and change the ownership splits, as they can on other split sheet apps. Creators may also invite their attorneys to review/edit the agreements if they wish to at no additional charge.

CD Baby is home to more than 650,000 artists and 9 million tracks that are made available to over 100 digital services and platforms around the globe. The company celebrate its 20th anniversary in March when it announced of $80.1 million in payouts to independent artists in 2017 and over $600 million worldwide since its 1998 launch.

Cosynd is the affordable, easy, and legal way for creators to protect their content. The platform allows creators of music, video, visual art and literature to collectively verify their ownership of their copyrights and establishes other critical legal details. Cosynd also provides a quick and easy way for these collaborators to register their content with the U.S. Copyright Office. Cosynd is advised by seasoned executives across media, intellectual property, and the startup realm including CD Baby, Source3, Fox Rothschild LLP, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Lowey LLP, The Recording Academy, Songwriters Hall of Fame, NYC3, BuzzFeed, Lattice VC, WAM Ventures, creator of the Capital, Pipeline Angels.