WSO2 designs new API functionality for SACEM (Image Credit: Photo by anna-m. w @ Pexels).The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) is to use new API functionality from WSO2. That new functionality allows it to deal with the shift from in-person performances to online performances. It has already resulted in WSO2 handling over 5 million APIs calls per month across 160,000 creators.

Ricardo Diniz, General Manager for UK and Southern Europe, WSO2 (Image Credit: LinkedIn)
Ricardo Diniz, General Manager for UK and Southern Europe, WSO2

Ricardo Diniz, vice president and general manager, UKI and Southern Europe, WSO2, said, “The music industry was severely impacted by the COVID pandemic, which led to the mass cancellation of live events.

“SACEM has established an exceptional supplemental royalties distribution specifically geared to broadcast live streams to assist members in continuing to share their work and broadcast concerts or DJ sets online. We are proud to have quickly created and deployed the critical APIs to allow members to do so.”  

What has WSO2 delivered to SACEM?

The shift to online and streaming performances created a real challenge for SACEM. While it allowed performers to continue to work, recording what happened at performances became more complicated. It meant working with a range of new apps, some of which were delivered during the pandemic.

The first move was a small-scale pilot working with the APIs used by the online site and mobile apps. Once that was stable, it was expanded to handle on-premises and B2B integrations. The last step was for SACEM to make it available on the public cloud. It meant that anyone could start using it to integrate with their own apps.

SACEM customers already have access to the WSO2 API Manager through SACEM’s developer portal. They can also take advantage of the integration platform-as-a-service that SACEM offers. The SACEM legacy APIs are available through the WSO2 gateways to ensure continuity with older apps.

Enterprise Times: What does this mean?

It’s been a tough two years for performing artists, authors and those that support them. With no live performances and sales of merchandise, SACEM members have had to rely on royalties from streaming content. There were already some ways to track this pre-pandemic. However, the shift to online created an urgent need for a better approach.

WSO2 has provided a better approach through the development of new API functionality. That it has been incorporated into apps by developers is good news all round. It means that money is beginning to flow, and royalties are providing some relief for artists.

As concerts begin to take place in person again, it will be interesting to see if the use of streaming performances die off. The expectation is that they won’t. Many artists and bands have said they will reduce their touring schedules. It is due to the carbon cost of moving them and their equipment around. Now that streaming has proven itself, some see this as a key part of the future for live music.

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