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A $200M KITTY, SMARTPHONE WARS AND BADDEST PIRATES FINGERED

SoundExchange is holding an unpaid royalty account of more than $200 million, according to documents obtained by Digital Music News and information shared directly by the company. According to IRS returns, SoundExchange was holding the bag on a fund balance of nearly $260 million by the tail end of 2008. Subsequently, SoundExchange executive Laura Williams told DMN that the figure was closer to $200 million at the beginning of 2009 because of ongoing payouts. The org couldn’t offer more up-to-date figures, due to auditing phase confidentialities. But SoundExchange noted that the amounts paid to artists are growing faster than the growth of the unclaimed pile. For example, 2007 featured an artist payout of $36.2 million, 2008 was $100 million, 2009 was $155.5 million and the Q1 of this year was $51.7 million. "The whole industry is increasing year-over-year,” said Williams. “We're just a part of, or more accurately a reflection of, that explosion." But an attorney reviewing the situation noted that "any non-profit carrying more than $200 million on its books has a serious problem."… In the same story, Pandora founder Tim Westergren noted that his site accounts for roughly half of the total, non-interactive payout to SoundExchange, a figure confirmed by SoundExchange itself. Westergren told DMN he was unaware of the unpaid royalty total, though he sympathized with the difficulties involved in reaching artists. "I think, and I say this as a musician myself, that musicians need to step up here," he said. "I don't think SoundExchange is trying to hold on to money. It's just remarkably hard to get musicians to take the initiative."… Gartner Research countered a recent NPD study related to Android and iPhone purchases, noted Digital Music News. Instead of a Q1 lead, Gartner found that the iPhone is actually beating Android-powered smartphones by 3 million units when measured globally. In North America, Android did surpass Apple during Q1, and the global lead is being attributed to growth in Europe and Asia. But the slowdown in iPhone purchases could be pinned on the fact that prospective buyers are waiting for the 4GS. After the initial report, Apple had questioned the survey-based NPD finding, while pointing to a stronger performance globally… In related news, MySpace said yesterday that it will allow third-party developers of mobile apps to integrate MySpace, first for Google's Android platform and in coming weeks for the iPhone, PaidContent reported… Fewer than 2% of mobile users in the U.S. and Western Europe said they downloaded a song to their phone during the first quarter, Reuters reported, citing comScore data. While 24% of users said they listened to music on their phones, the majority had preloaded tracks on their PCs, rather than paying to download over the air… The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus has released a "list of notorious websites" it deems to be offering "countless" unauthorized copyrighted works. China's Baidu, Canada's Isohunt, Ukraine's mp3fiesta, Germany's RapidShare, Luxembourg's RMX4U.com and Sweden's notorious The Pirate Bay were described in the report as "among the most heavily visited websites worldwide." RIAA topper Mitch Bainwol applauded the Caucus’ move, stating, "Shining the spotlight on these websites sends a vital message to users, advertisers, payment processors and governments around the world." Formed in 2003, and now counting 70 pols as members, the Caucus—chaired by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)—was created to bring greater attention to piracy issues as they come before Congress.