Session (formerly Auddly)

Session, formerly known as Auddly, operates as a critical data management and collaboration hub within the music industry, designed to ensure artists, producers, and songwriters receive proper credit and compensation for their work. The company was founded by a trio of Swedish music industry heavyweights: songwriter and producer Niclas Molinder, celebrated pop producer Max Martin, and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA. Molinder, a songwriter and producer himself with a background that includes a stint as a chef, identified the administrative challenges and data inaccuracies in the music industry as a significant problem, particularly after starting his own publishing company. This firsthand experience with the complexities of tracking contributions led to the creation of Auddly in 2012, born from a need to solve the industry's "value gap" and manage metadata efficiently from the point of creation.

The platform rebranded to Session in 2019 to better reflect its purpose and facilitate its expansion, particularly in the US market. The core of the business is a free application available on mobile, desktop, and web, which serves as a collaborative tool for music creators. It allows users to manage song rights, document contributions, and agree on royalty splits in real-time during the creative process. The service targets all music creators, from emerging artists to established professionals, including songwriters, producers, and musicians. By capturing vital metadata—such as writer and producer credits, and unique identifiers like IPI numbers—at the source, Session aims to eliminate the inaccuracies that lead to an estimated $655 million in unpaid royalties annually. The platform integrates with major Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Ableton, allowing for seamless data capture in the background without disrupting the creative workflow.

Session's business model is centered on providing this free tool to creators to establish an authoritative record of song information. This accurate data is then injected into the broader music ecosystem, benefiting labels, publishers, distributors, and performing rights organizations (PROs). The company has formed strategic partnerships with key industry players, including Universal Music Group, SoundCloud, and PROs like ASCAP and PRS for Music, solidifying its role as a central reference point for song data. While the app for creators is free, the value lies in creating a standardized, accurate data pipeline that the entire industry can rely on, addressing a critical bottleneck in royalty distribution. In March 2023, Session was acquired by Salt, a royalty processing platform, a move that integrates its creator-centric data capture tools with a large-scale royalty management system, with Björn Ulvaeus joining Salt's board.

Keywords: music rights management, metadata collection, royalty payments, songwriter credits, music collaboration tool, creative rights, music data, Björn Ulvaeus, Max Martin, Niclas Molinder, Auddly, music publishing, creator economy, digital audio workstation integration, song data accuracy, intellectual property, PROs, royalty splits, music tech, rights holder data, song registration