Beatport Only Pays “Trapped” Royalties

Beatport has reportedly paid major labels for the past quarter through ‘trapped royalties’, but has failed to pay all independent labels.

DJ, Morgan Geist, otherwise known as Storm Queen, posted the e-mail he received from the online retailer on Facebook.

‘Dear Morgan Geist,

Since inception over 10 years ago Beatport has paid almost $200,000,000 to its label partners. Beatport’s parent company, SFX, is currently involved in a ‘going private’ process that has trapped certain earned label payments. This process will be coming to an end in the next few weeks, at which time all payments will be able to be made. Beatport prides itself on being the broadest and original friend of the makers of electronic music and will clear this one time obstacle very shortly.
In the meantime, feel free to contact your label manager with any questions. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

– The Beatport Team’

In December 2014, Beatport announced that it would be relaunching this year with a free, ad-supported music streaming service.