FAQs

About PTR Strategic

1. Who is PTR Strategic?

PTR Strategic Ltd is a specialist consultancy and advisory service for music rights management, with a particular focus on the recorded music sector.

Founded and directed by Charlie Phillips, a solicitor qualified in England and Wales, PTR brings well over two decades of experience in music rights, data management, and industry strategy.

Co-director Indre Phillips is a joint-qualified ACCA chartered accountant and CTA chartered tax advisor, overseeing all financial matters for the business and supporting clients with deep expertise in rights revenue optimisation.

Together, Charlie and Indre combine extensive legal, financial, and strategic insights to serve the complex needs of today’s music industry.

2. What services does PTR Strategic offer?

PTR Strategic offers an array of services focused on maximising the value of music rights for clients. Our key offerings include:

• Neighbouring Rights Management Strategy: Comprehensive advisory services for managing neighbouring rights, ensuring accurate repertoire registration, resolving disputes, and optimising revenue collection internationally.
• Data & Metadata Advisory: Helping clients improve data quality, meet industry standards, and navigate systems like RDx and DDEX, essential for rights management.
• Strategic Advisory: Consulting services tailored to support clients in enhancing rights and revenue management strategies, adapting to industry changes, and achieving operational efficiencies.
• Industry & Legal Context Advisory: Advising on legislative developments, policy impact, and compliance, keeping clients up-to-date on key changes in music rights regulation.

3. What experience and qualifications does PTR Strategic have in the music industry?

PTR Strategic’s co-directors bring unmatched industry experience. Charlie Phillips, as a former head of Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) and a long-standing advocate for independent labels, played a critical role in securing millions of dollars in neighbouring rights revenues globally. His expertise in music rights, especially neighbouring rights, data, and the legislative landscape, is widely recognised.

Indre Phillips’s expertise in finance and tax provides the critical framework needed for managing complex financial operations and ensuring accurate and efficient rights revenue management strategies for clients.

4. Who are PTR Strategic’s clients?

PTR Strategic works with a broad range of clients, from major record labels to independent artists, providing tailored services to each client’s unique needs. Our clients seek our services because we bring both the industry-wide understanding and personalised service that allow us to navigate complex rights issues with confidence and precision.

Clients past and present include the Ivors Academy, IFPI, Warner Music Group, Domino Recording Company, and various individual music writers and performers of stature. 

5. What are PTR Strategic’s industry affiliations and memberships?

PTR Strategic is a member of DDEX  and AFEM. Charlie is an active participant in the DDEX RDR working group dealing with optimising message standardisation for performance rights in recorded music. He is also Co-chair of the AFEM Metadata Advisory Group, assisting the electronic music community in navigating the complexities of metadata management.

PTR Strategic is actively involved with leading music industry organisations and initiatives critical to global rights management. Our engagement in these groups ensures our services align with the latest industry standards, trends, and policies, allowing us to advocate effectively for our clients and keep them informed of any industry shifts impacting their rights.

About Music Rights and Licensing

1. What are neighbouring rights, and how do they differ from copyright?

Neighbouring rights are a category of rights specific to the performance of sound recordings. They are more formally (and correctly) referred to as ‘performance rights in sound recordings’). Neighbouring rights apply to the performers on a recording, and the owner (or exclusive licensee) of the recording.

Neighbouring rights are legally distinct from the copyright in compositions (which are typically owned by composers and songwriters, and controlled by music publishers). While copyright owners have exclusive control over the use of their work, neighbouring rights holders—typically record labels and performers—are entitled to remuneration when their recordings are used in public settings, such as broadcasts or public performances.

2. How do collective and direct licensing mechanisms work?

Licensing mechanisms vary between collective licensing and direct licensing:

• Collective Licensing: Rights are managed by a collective licensing organisation (a collective management organisation or CMO) on behalf of many music rights holders, so it can license these rights to many end users of music. This simplifies the licensing process for broadcasters and others who wish to use a broad range of music without having to deal with each one individually. Rights holders receive royalties from CMOs based on usage tracked by these organisations.
• Direct Licensing: In contexts such as on-demand streaming of music, rights holders license their repertoire directly to users. This approach provides greater control around commercial and practical aspects of the licensing process, but is more resource-intensive, requiring ongoing interaction between each licensor and its respective licensees.   

3. What is the difference between exclusive and non-exclusive rights regimes?

Exclusive rights give the rights holder full control over the use of their work, allowing them to authorise or restrict its usage. This means the rights holder has a right to authorise or prohibit any party from using its rights.

“Authorise” usually means negotiating licensed usage according to specific terms, eg record companies licensing streaming services.

“Prohibit” means the ability to take legal action against entities using the rights without authorisation, eg litigation against unlicensed file sharing sites.

In contrast, non-exclusive rights, such as neighbouring rights, provide only an obligation for a user to make a fair payment in return for using the rights, rather than the ability for a rights holder to take legal action to prohibit usage. As long as the user is making a fair payment to the rights holders (sometimes called “equitable remuneration”) then they may continue to use the rights.

Non-exclusive rights are often managed in practical terms through collective licensing organisations, such that where users pay to use music without needing individual permissions from rights holders (eg individual labels and performers).

This is vital for understanding why neighbouring rights are generally managed collectively, enabling broadcasters, venues, and digital platforms to license large catalogues efficiently.

4. Does PTR Strategic offer a Neighbouring Rights management service?

No. We advise various parties involved in collective licensing on specific issues relating to their activities. We assist them in understanding how the rights and licensing mechanisms work so they can decide for themselves the best way to manage their rights. Some of our clients manage everything themselves. Others use specialist service providers. The best option for an individual client will depend on a number of factors. We review each client’s situation in detail, and advise them on the best strategies for them. We work with a range of service providers to ensure that our clients interests are best served on an international basis. We are in regular contact with all leading service providers and are well placed to recommend different options according to specific client needs.

Our services include advising rights holders, labels, writers or performers on the best routes for them to ensure they are optimising the value of their rights internationally.  This also includes working with collective licensing organisations on complex areas relating to licensing and data management, supporting them in their mission to serve the best interests of their members as transparently and efficiently as possible. This includes tailor made structured reporting and guidance for individual clients.

Areas where we have particular experience include detailed guidance on repertoire registration and maintenance processes, supporting the resolution claims conflicts and data discrepancies, and tracking revenue flows to ensure payments are complete and accurate.

5. What are the benefits of PTR Strategic’s rights advisory services?

By utilising PTR’s rights services, clients benefit from:

• Faster Payments: our insights into CMO operations and processes enable our clients to receive payments as quickly as they are made available, eliminating delays and improving cashflow.
• Enhanced Financial Tracking: Our in-house finance expertise ensures our clients are provided with transparent, accurate, and timely revenue analysis.
• Strategic Revenue Optimisation: With insights from various data points and reporting, we provide clients with key information about their repertoire’s performance, helping them maximise value from their rights. This includes structuring payment pathways to reduce administrative fees, and mitigating value erosion from wasteful foreign exchange processes.
• Future planning and strategic certainty: by combining advisory services with active knowledge sharing with clients we ensure out clients are not only well advised but well aware of the context they operate in, allowing them to make the best decisions for their future.

Technical Data Management and Industry Standards

1. What are ISRC and ISWC codes, and why are they important?

The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) uniquely identifies sound recordings, while the International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC) does the same for musical compositions. These identifiers are essential for tracking usage across the global music ecosystem and enabling accurate royalty distribution. Without these codes, it would be difficult to allocate payments accurately to the correct right holders for the myriad different uses of music in different markets. 

2. How does data and metadata quality impact rights management?

High-quality data and metadata are critical in managing rights effectively. Accurate data allows collective licensing organisations to identify and allocate royalties correctly, reducing revenue losses and disputes. PTR Strategic advises clients on ensuring their data meets the stringent requirements of CMOs worldwide, significantly improving revenue capture and reducing administrative friction.

3. What is RDx, and how does it facilitate neighbouring rights management?

RDx is the international data exchange platform standardising neighbouring rights data transfer between record labels and CMOs. By adopting RDx, CMOs and rights holders improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of royalty distribution. PTR Strategic’s services help clients leverage RDx for optimised data submission, thereby streamlining neighbouring rights management across borders. The concept of RDx was developed by Charlie Phillips while running the international independent recording sector’s neighbouring rights initiatives, and developed by him and other stakeholders including Universal Music, Warner Music, PPL and SENA to become the platform in operation today. More information is here: https://www.rdx-portal.org/

4. What is a CMO?

“CMO” stands for “Collective Management Organisation”. A CMO is an entity that licenses aspects of copyright on behalf of multiple rights holder licensors for use by multiple end user licensees. CMOs can also be referred to as “collecting societies”. The term “CMO” is used here to describe any collective licensing organisation.

5. What is “an MLC”? Is this the same as “The MLC”?

In the international neighbouring rights sector the abbreviation “MLC” stands for “Music Licensing Company”. This refers specifically to a neighbouring rights collective licensing organisation, and usually specifically the sound recording licensing element of that organisation. By contrast, “The MLC” is the “Mechanical Licensing Collective” which is the US based entity tasked with offering licensing solutions for the mechanical reproduction element of digital streaming services in the US.

Industry Context

1. What are current challenges in the neighbouring rights sector?

The neighbouring rights sector faces significant challenges, including inconsistent data standards, complex global licensing systems, and evolving legislation. Rights holders must navigate multiple CMOs with varying standards and practices, making accurate registration and revenue tracking a challenge. PTR Strategic works directly with clients and industry institutions to resolve these complexities at individual client and industry level, advocating for improved standards across the industry.

2. What value does PTR Strategic bring to independent labels and artists?

PTR Strategic empowers independent labels and artists by simplifying the neighbouring rights process, from licensing to revenue collection. Our team’s in-depth knowledge of the independent sector ensures we understand and address their unique needs, providing tailored support that enables smaller entities to access international rights markets with confidence.

3. How does PTR keep up with changing industry standards?

PTR remains at the forefront of industry developments through our active participation with IFPI, DDEX, AFEM, and other key organisations. Our team regularly engages in policy discussions and advisory panels to ensure our services reflect the latest regulatory, data, and licensing standards. This involvement allows us to adapt our services to benefit our clients amidst an evolving rights landscape.

4. Why is data standardisation important in music rights management?

Data standardisation enables consistent, efficient management of rights across the global music market. By using standardised data formats like DDEX, rights holders and CMOs can exchange and process information more effectively, reducing errors, accelerating revenue processing, and supporting transparent rights allocation.

5. What industry trends are shaping the future of neighbouring rights?

The future of neighbouring rights is likely to be shaped by the push towards exclusive rights regimes, greater demands for transparency, and ongoing technological advancements in data management. PTR Strategic stays ahead of these trends, advising clients on adapting to new models and maximising their rights’ value within a rapidly changing industry.

For more information or to discuss your specific needs, please contact our team. We’re here to help you navigate and optimise your music rights globally.