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About FastTrack

FastTrack is the alliance of five founding societies BMI (United States), GEMA (Germany), SACEM (France), SGAE (Spain), SIAE (Italy), and seven societies welcomed to the international alliance since its founding in September 2000; AKM (Austria), ASCAP (United States), BUMA-STEMRA (Netherlands), MCPS-PRS Alliance (United Kingdom), SABAM (Belgium), SOCAN (Canada), and SUISA (Switzerland). It s principal purpose is to develop and harmonize digital tools for 21 st century management of author’s rights throughout the globe. FastTrack has already made important advances in the digital realm in the processes of registration, documentation and licensing of works. Its projects are based on a global model of information networks that utilize the Internet to connect resources.

FastTrack’s work is based on the adoption of “Best Practices” already existing among its members. The sharing of technological expertise and development costs, combined with the power of a network computing architecture using the Internet will deliver substantial benefits in the near term for the rights-owners represented by FastTrack Member Societies. The use of the FastTrack decentralized information, communication, licensing and distribution systems will increase efficiency in day-to-day business processes, and improve the management of the operations of the members of FastTrack to their own benefit and their users’ benefit.

FastTrack is firmly committed to the respect for the sovereignty, national and cultural identity of its constituent societies. Its early results prove that economies of scale can be reached among societies without giving up any measure of independence. The FastTrack technical and organizational model is low overheads, flexible, reversible, and takes advantage of the latest developments in the fields of technology and communication.

The three FastTrack “Core Projects” are:

  • An international network of databases created to facilitate exchange of information on musical works, and distribution of royalties among FastTrack Member societies, known as the “Global Documentation and Distribution Network” (GDDN). The GDDN now includes more than 8 million works from FastTrack Member societies and it is already producing benefits by making available extensive authenticated information on musical works to all FastTrack Member societies.
  • “Online Works Registration” (OWR) for both writers and publishers members of each FastTrack society. OWR has been successfully implemented, and it is used in day-to-day business by BMI.
  • Real-time “Licensing On-Line” (LOL) and license fee payment for customers.

FastTrack has adopted a philosophy of modular development towards limited targets with definable near-term benefits. Work on the three core projects is on schedule and will be completed by the first quarter of 2003.

Contact:
FastTrack, the Digital Copyright Network GIE
130, rue Cardinet
75017 PARIS (France)
Tel: +33 1 56 79 14 50
Fax: +33 1 56 79 14 51
e-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Pictured above at the Fast Track Board meeting in Geneva where members welcomed ASCAP to the technical alliance are Eduardo Bautista (SGAE), Manfred Brunner (AKM), Chris van Houten (FastTrack), Alfred Meyer (SUISA), Jurgen Becker (GEMA), Jacques Lion (SABAM), Frances Preston (BMI/FastTrack Supervisory Chair), Cees Vervoord (Buma/Stemra), John LoFrumento (ASCAP), John Hutchinson (The MCPS-PRS Alliance), Franco Migliacci (SIAE), Andre LeBel (SOCAN) and Bernard Miyet (SACEM).

FastTrack Partner Sites