SourceAudio will include SourceAudio Detect at no extra cost in plans covering catalogs with 2,000 or more tracks from October 1, incorporating music monitoring into eligible customers’ subscriptions.
The revised pricing and packaging will bring additional monitoring and licensing tools into core plans. Detect was previously sold as a separate service, with charges determined by catalog size.
Monitoring and claims review
Detect helps labels, publishers, music libraries and other rightsholders find public performances of their recordings. Its usage data supports cue-sheet checks, royalty tracking, research into omissions and other analysis.
For customers using SourceAudio’s YouTube Content ID service, Detect can flag performances missed by fingerprinting. SourceAudio can then examine those uses to determine whether manual claims may be appropriate.
Brent Phillips, SourceAudio’s chief technology officer, said:
“Monitoring becomes much more useful when it is integrated directly into the systems rightsholders use to manage and monetize their catalogs,” said Brent Phillips, Chief Technology Officer at SourceAudio. “By making Detect part of the core subscription for more of our clients, we’re putting usage data alongside the licensing and rights-management tools they already use, making it easier to identify performances that may have been missed and act on that information.”
Watermarking and fingerprinting
Detect uses two identification methods. Inaudible watermarks powered by Digimarc technology are applied when tracks are uploaded for monitoring. SourceAudio’s neural fingerprinting also recognises unwatermarked recordings, including older catalog material.
The combined system monitors music across:
- More than 85 major television networks.
- 217 radio stations in the top 20 U.S. markets.
- YouTube.
- Custom channels requested by clients.
Tony Rodriguez, Digimarc’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, said:
“A Digimarc watermark stays with a recording wherever it goes, so rightsholders get proof of where their music was used instead of an estimate,” said Tony Rodriguez, EVP, Chief Technology Officer at Digimarc. “By including Detect in more of its plans, SourceAudio is bringing that proof to far more catalogs, and we’re proud to be the digital watermarking technology behind it.”
Plan access and reporting tools
Customers with catalogs below 2,000 tracks can switch to a qualifying plan to obtain Detect. The October 1 changes will also extend The Brief Inbox to every plan.
The Brief Inbox provides licensing opportunities and creative briefs from SourceAudio’s network of broadcasters, agencies, brands, technology platforms and other professional music buyers.
SourceAudio expanded Detect in June 2026, making it the first tool of its kind to pair Digimarc watermarking with neural fingerprinting.
Detect also supplies clips documenting music usage and exports monitoring data in formats compliant with PRO (performing rights organization) requirements, supporting performance verification, royalty reporting and collection.
