1 Introduction

This standard was developed by the member organisations of the Digital Data Exchange, LLC (DDEX) and provides a message that gives a uniform mechanism to enable Licensees (typically Digital Service Providers) to report to Rights Controllers (typically Music Rights Societies, Music Publishers, Music Licensing Companies and/or Record Companies) information regarding the level of usage and/or revenue generated from the distribution of such products, as well as sales of products based on Releases, to the relevant Rights Controllers.

The Flat File Variant of the Digital Sales Reporting Message Suite Standard has been developed in response to concerns regarding the file size and computational complexity of the XML Variant, and will lead to reduced implementation and running cost for Licensees and Licensors for user-generated content where the Message Sender either has, or has not, received a claim for a sound recording from the owner of that sound recording (the “master” Recording).

Any organisation wishing to implement this (or any other DDEX standard) is required to apply for an Implementation Licence. The terms of the licence and an application form can be found here and here.