— Aperçu de CONTENU. Le design final = blocks shadcnblocks. Fiche partenaire (taxo par intégration). — ← toutes les pages
The global digital licensing agency that negotiates streaming deals for independent labels.
The royalty statements Merlin pays you land in Reprtoir and reconcile against your catalog automatically — matched to releases, tracks and contracts, ready to split and pass through to your rights holders.
Merlin is a member-based digital rights licensing agency for independent record labels, distributors, and other music rights holders. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in London, it was created so that independents could negotiate global digital deals collectively rather than one label at a time. Merlin does not distribute or manufacture music itself; instead it acts as a single licensing counterparty, striking terms with digital platforms on behalf of its members and passing the resulting royalties back to them. Its members are estimated to account for roughly 15% of the global recorded music market, giving the independent sector negotiating weight comparable to a major label group.
Merlin's membership brings together many of the world's leading independents, including Beggars Group, Domino, Ninja Tune, [PIAS], Secretly, Sub Pop, Warp, Empire, Nettwerk and Symphonic Distribution, alongside hundreds of distributors and label services. Through this collective model, Merlin licenses to the major digital services, historically including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook/Instagram, Deezer, SoundCloud, Pandora, Snap and others. Because a distributor or DSP settles independent-catalogue royalties through this single agreement, payments from platforms such as Spotify or Apple frequently reach labels 'via Merlin' rather than through a direct, per-label contract.
By its own reporting, Merlin represents more than 500 members and over 30,000 record labels worldwide, and works with over 40 digital services. Its scale has grown steadily: Merlin distributed roughly $845 million to members in 2018, and by 2019 had paid out more than $2 billion cumulatively since inception. In its 2024 financial year the organisation reported paying close to £1.2 billion to independent members, up from about £980 million the prior year. In January 2026, long-time executive Charlie Lexton became CEO, succeeding founding chief executive Charles Caldas.
Merlin is a member-based digital licensing agency, founded in 2007 and based in London, that negotiates streaming and digital deals on behalf of independent record labels and distributors. It represents over 500 members and more than 30,000 labels, roughly 15% of the global recorded music market, which is why independent royalties from services like Spotify and Apple often flow 'via Merlin'.
Yes. Merlin's statements are ingested and reconciled against your catalog automatically — matched to releases, tracks and contracts, ready to split.
Not by Reprtoir. Your data and stable identifiers stay yours and portable. Any commitment to Merlin is governed by your own agreement with Merlin, not by Reprtoir.
Reprtoir works with distributors, DSPs, collecting societies and more — from one catalog, with no lock-in.
Connect Merlin to your catalog — one platform, no lock-in.