What benefits has ACTRA RACS experienced by partnering with Noctil for metadata processing?
With Noctil, ACTRA RACS was able to streamline the ingestion and processing of artist and sound recording metadata. The new solution automates data ingestion from various sources, VRDB (SCAPR), other Music Licensing Societies, and IPD (SCAPR) with various standards and formats, including DDEX, CSV, XML, etc.
Noctil’s platform uses AI and Machine Learning technologies to improve matching and identification. This high-quality, error-free data has streamlined the claims process, resulting in faster and more accurate distribution of royalties to recording artists and performers.
Overall, our collaboration with ACTRA RACS has significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of the organization’s operations, reducing operational costs and leading to improved rightsholder remuneration.
What unique features does Noctil’s no-code platform offer to its users in the music and audio-visual industries?
The Noctil platform is a faster and more reliable solution with less upfront cost, is scalable and offers continuous tech improvement at an affordable cost. It’s basically an all-in-one platform for all your metadata needs in the music and audiovisual industries. Our platform can ingest metadata from any source and any format, transform it into the right format and ensure you have high-quality metadata.
This is very important in the music and audiovisual industries because unmatched, duplicate or incomplete metadata can lead to delayed or missed royalty payments for artists and other rightsholders. That’s why we built Noctil from the ground up to help organizations such as ACTRA to streamline their metadata ingestion and royalty distribution processes.
By being a no-code platform, organizations can adapt it to their own in-house models without needing complex backend development. With Noctil, organizations experience 4x faster implementation, a reduction in costs by up to 80%, a 98% increase in royalty payouts and an increase in metadata accuracy by up to 98%.
In what ways does Noctil’s technology support the mission of keeping artistic creativity alive?
The company was set up with the mission of keeping artistic creativity alive by ensuring rightsholders are paid for their work. Music is one of humanity’s most universal ways of expression that is ever-present in the lives of people of all countries, ages, and cultures around the globe. We truly believe that music has the power to transform lives and change the world. That is why Noctil aims to help musicians continue to create more powerful music and ensure that they are paid for their deserved rights, keeping artistic creativity alive.
Remuneration in the music and audiovisual industries is an important topic that should have an easy solution. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Before starting Noctil, I worked with and saw various music organizations in the areas of rights management and Neighboring Rights, each reinventing the wheel to solve how music metadata is exchanged and matched. Some organizations have resources to improve efficiency, but in most cases, they need more resources and time. Inefficient systems and processes prevent most agencies from collecting and distributing money to their full potential.
This why I started Noctil – to bring technological advancement in AI/ML and Cloud computing to these organizations by solving their common and challenging problems in a commercially viable and affordable way.
What industries and organizations are among Noctil’s typical customers, and how do they benefit from the platform?
We designed our platform to be industry-agnostic, recognizing that effective metadata management, data transformation, and advanced matching/entity resolution are critical to driving better business outcomes across many sectors. From healthcare and legal to IT and telecom, high-quality metadata plays a vital role. In industries like music and audio-visual, it becomes even more crucial as it underpins remuneration, copyright protection, discovery, customer experience, and auditing processes.
Our services cater to a wide range of clients in the entertainment industry, including publishers, labels, administrators, and rights management agencies in the entertainment industry, though we extend beyond this sector as well. By simplifying metadata management, we enable our customers to efficiently process and exchange data across industry stakeholders and standards. Our next-generation metadata matching and calculation engine is highly configurable, allowing clients to achieve optimal business results quickly and cost-effectively.
What role do organizations like DDEX and the Music Business Association play in relation to Noctil’s operations?
These two organizations serve distinct but complementary roles in supporting the music industry’s sustainability and economic growth for creators and stakeholders.
DDEX plays a crucial role in establishing metadata exchange standards across the industry. By creating and promoting a clear, structured language for data exchange, DDEX improves data quality and streamlines processes, making the industry more efficient. The success of any standard hinges on widespread awareness and adoption, and DDEX is instrumental in driving both. For Noctil, which provides a no-code platform for metadata management, DDEX standards are essential. Noctil’s operations must align with these standards to ensure seamless data exchange, compatibility, and compliance across the global music ecosystem. This allows Noctil’s customers to efficiently communicate metadata, reducing friction in royalty calculations, rights management, and usage tracking processes.
On the other hand, the Music Business Association facilitates the sharing of knowledge and expertise across the industry. It provides a platform where artists, creators, business leaders, and tech innovators can exchange insights, identify key challenges, and collaborate on solutions. The association acts as a catalyst for problem-solving, helping the industry evolve by fostering communication and cooperation among its diverse participants. For Noctil, involvement with Music Biz helps the company stay at the forefront of industry trends, emerging challenges, and evolving business needs, which informs product development and strategic direction. Noctil can also contribute to and benefit from the collective work of industry peers in driving innovation and improving operational standards.
Jacob Varghese is a technology leader and founder of Noctil, a music and audiovisual metadata management platform.
With over 24 years of experience leading complex technology projects, Jacob started Noctil to fix the inefficient systems and processes that cause delayed or lost royalty revenue in the music and audiovisual industries. Jacob strives to ensure rightsholders are
paid for their work, and make technological advancements and research accessible and affordable to the industry.
Working with Music Licensing
Companies (MLC) and providing technology leadership to build global repertoire metadata has given him an in-depth understanding of the music and audiovisual rights and licensing process. Before Noctil, Jacob has worked in the telecom, media, and entertainment industries with Fortune 500 companies.
Jacob is passionate about
using technology to solve complex business problems and drive sustainable growth. When he is not immersed in the latest tech trends, he can be found mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs or exploring the great outdoors. He has a graduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Application.
