Failure to modernize increases operational risks. Copyright issues drive 55%<\/a> of music industry lawsuits, frequently stemming from improper accounting or non-payments. Apart from the added downside risk to the business, the energy and time invested elsewhere are not invested in planning or realizing growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speed wins in an industry where legacy labels still pay quarterly or every six months. The fastest payers attract and retain the best talent because the payout experience directly impacts artist trust. Creators expect payment via their preferred method and demand transparent visibility into their earnings. Automating manual tasks is key.<\/p>\n\n\n Create Music Group<\/a> handles about 25,000 artists across four continents. They eliminated 36 days of manual financial work annually by introducing an automated system to onboard and pay out artists globally. Zach Victor, VP of Finance at Create Music Group, highlights their strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We aim to be one of the fastest to pay in the industry. Some labels only pay quarterly or every six months. But we pay monthly. A primary benefit of joining Create is your YouTube money. We pretty much pay it out three days after we receive it.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Create Music Group leveraged its payout stack to recruit talent. Speed-to-pay is a differentiator that attracts artists away from slower-paying competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By offering a portal where artists can log in and check the payout status and history of payouts, they eliminate “where’s my money?” friction and provide a level of validation, which helps secure long-term artist trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Platforms must recognize that administrative friction directly harms the relationship, while seamless onboarding and reliable payouts strengthen that core bond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you first launch, managing royalty payments feels manageable. But as you expand globally into numerous markets, the administrative burden quietly multiplies. Suddenly, your finance team is buried in manual tasks: onboarding new international artists, chasing down global tax forms, running compliance screenings, logging into numerous, disparate bank portals, and manually calculating currency conversions for every payout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this sustainable? No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying to scale a global music business by throwing more manual hours at fragmented banking systems is a losing battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forward-thinking companies like Thematic<\/a> operate differently. Whether you are a boutique indie label or a massive enterprise, automating these friction points transforms your operation. Instead of forcing you to add additional headcount every time your payment volumes grow, automation keeps your team lean. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFast Payments Build Artist Trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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