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Welcome to Synchtank’s monthly release notes! Get ready for exclusive updates on system enhancements, bug fixes, and exciting new features. Don't forget to check back here every month for the latest news.
Remember, depending on your Synchtank configuration, some features may not be available to you. If you have questions or queries about any of these items please contact your account manager.
December 2024
Asset Platform
WEBSITE SECURITY:
IP Address Blocking
IP addresses can now be blocked, allowing you to prevent unauthorised parties from accessing your website. The message that is given to blocked addresses is configurable.
To block an IP address, navigate to Website Settings -> Security and enter your message and the respective IP addresses (as individual addresses or as ranges using a * wildcard, as in the examples below):
November 2024
Asset Platform
METADATA:
Masters (Sound Recording) - Bulk Edit
You can now bulk edit your P Lines in the Masters (sound recordings) section of the admin. Which also features automated concatenation of P Line Year and P Line Owner, making Sound Recording editing quicker, easier and more consistent
New Composition Fields
With your Compositions, you now have additional fields for 'Version Type', 'Musical Work Distribution Category' and 'Recorded Indicator' - this is all in preparation for our launch of CWR registrations, a feature coming in 2025!
REPORTING:
Report Filtering for Masters
When you run your Masters (Sound Recording) reports you can now filtered by Sub-Catalog - allowing for better filtering of reports!
ADOBE PREMIERE EXTENSION:
Login Retaining Territory
For those with the Adobe Premiere extension, you can now retain which territory you have selected on the territory page which takes you back to that territory on return logins.
October 2024
Asset Platform
METADATA:
Tags can now be sorted by number of times used
Within the Metadata section you can now sort your tags by the number of times they have been used. This allows you to review tags that have not been used and remove them for good housekeeping, or see which have been used more than others for greater catalog understanding.
Sub-Metadata Types added
We have now added Sub-Genres, Sub-Moods and Sub-Instruments metadata tags to Masters section, Master Reports and Bulk Upload & Edit pages. Allowing for greater flexibility in tagging ensuring you get the best search results possible.
SOUND RECORDINGS:
Mp3 waveforms added
You now have the ability to add waveforms within the Admin for mp3 files. This allows users to see the waveform and view sections that may be of interest for licensing, etc. Waveforms are created in JSON and SVG formats.
Mp3 previews added
Alongside the newly added Mp3 file, you will have a preview of up to 45 seconds of the track automatically created, allowing you to quickly preview your tracks (as you can see in the above screenshot.
Audio file conversions
Various audio file formats are also created upon ingestion, saving manual conversion time and allowing flexibility in audio file sharing:
- wav and MFIT files will be converted to mp3 and aiff
- AIFF files will be converted to mp3
- mp3 files will be converted to a preview file and have a waveform generated
STEM MANAGEMENT:
Stem bulk uploads
You can now upload your stems in bulk as individual files or via a zip file, speeding up the stem upload process storage process.
CONTACT MANAGEMENT
Private option now available
You can now make Contacts (Persons) and Organizations (Companies) ‘Private’, meaning they will not be visible on your front end systems (they will still be visible in the Admin systems of course).
REPORTS:
Progress Bar
When running reports you will now see a progress bar with the number of total rows in the report and the rows created so far, allowing you to track the progress of your report.
SyncUp:
QUOTE AND LICENSE STAGES:
Within SyncUp you can now see the statuses for each Quote and Licence within an Opportunity, allowing you to track the status of each item independently.
DOCUMENT STORAGE ON QUOTES AND LICENSES:
You also have the ability to store document files against Quotes and Licenses, allowing you to keep them against the individual items rather than mixed together within the Opportunity.
PITCHES NOW ON OPPORTUNITIES and VIEWABLE ON ASSETS:
We now have pitches in SyncUp!! Pitches can now be added to Opportunities in the Admin and viewed on the assets that have been pitched. And coming soon pitching will feature on the front end, so stay tuned for that.
Also with pitching you can now see pitching activity on a track basis within the Masters, Licensing Activity section.
BUG FIX on ASSET USE:
Lastly we have fixed a small bug issue which now allows asset use to correctly copy from Sound Recordings to Compositions and vice versa.
September 2024
Asset Platform
BULK UPLOAD:
Collections can now be created ‘on the fly’ in bulk upload
When bulk uploading and editing in the system through your import tools, if you need to create a new Collection, this can now be done within the upload itself. Just type the collection name away and click the "+" icon to the right.
REPORTS:
Alternative Titles now shown in separate columns
When you pull a master or composition report you will now see a column for each alternative titles if you have them rather than one column separated by a comma, simplifying the view and analysis you may wish to run.
User Reports can now be filtered by User Group
User Actions, Search and Download Reports can now be filtered by User Group, allowing for more control over reports filtering.
Royalty Platform
New Report for expenses and recoupment data
New report shows amounts payable including categories and other information to each line item depending on the type of payment. The report breaks out the amounts payable by amount recoupable vs not recoupable.
Alternative Titles shown in Matching Grid
A new column has been added for the AKATitle. It displays where an AKA is a strong match for the SongTitle, enhancing manual song matching capabilities
August 2024
Asset Platform
DELIVERY:
Autotags now available for selection in Delivery Module
You can now map data from autotagged fields to include this data in deliveries to third parties
REPORTS:
In progress reports can now be canceled
If a report was created in error or is taking to long to compile, it can be canceled:
July 2024
Asset Platform
FRONT-END:
Audition, share, and download stems
You can now see all stems relating to a track on the front end, allowing your teams and customers to audition, share, and add stems to playlists! Stems can also be included when downloading tracks, albums and playlists.
Asset Platform (Modules)
SYNCUP:
SyncUP reports now available for export and import
You can now create reports for SyncUP Opportunities, Quotes, and Licenses and export them. The exported files can then be used as templates to populate with data from other systems to ingest legacy data into SyncUP. This allows you to create a historical record of licensing activity for more intelligent quoting!
REPORTS:
Filter Album Reports by Label and Catalog
Albums can now be filtered by Label and by Catalog to allow you to only include data relating to those labels or catalogs in your reports.
Custom Reports now indicate mandatory and importable fields
When creating custom reports (using Reports > Data Templates), the system now shows which fields are mandatory (those marked with *) and which fields can be imported back into the system using the Spreadsheet Upload function (
):
Royalty Platform
KOSCAP performing rights society added
KOSCAP, The Korean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, has been added as a new performing rights society for Korea, allowing registrations to that society.
June 2024
Asset Platform
CATALOG:
Artists are now stored in a separate structured table rather than as a text field
You can now add Artists as their own entity and create master recordings and albums using a structured artist dropdown rather than as free text (as previously). This will increase consistency and reduce duplication of data. Reports, bulk imports and ingest processes also use the new artist field.
*For master/composition split systems only
ID3 tag data used to populate Artist field
When a user uploads an mp3 with ID3 tag data, the artist is stored in a structured field rather than as free text, saving it needing to be entered manually. Where an artist does not exist, a new one will be created.
*For master/composition split systems only
Albums and Album Tracks can now be imported using manual ingest or spreadsheet uploads
Albums and album tracks can now be added or edited using report output templates, saving manual entry.
*For master/composition split systems only
INGESTION
Ingest now ignores csv header case
When ingesting tracks, the case of the headers used in the csv will be ignored (e.g. “SongId” will be equivalent to “songID”)
Royalty Platform:
- Improvements to Recoupment Provisioning
- Improvements to handling of blank song titles on income statements
- Improvements to financial transaction visibility in artist portal
May 2024
Asset Platform
CATALOG:
Productions can now be added to a Master from within the Masters tab
You can now add a Production to your master direct from the main tab rather than having to use a separate Productions tab.
Note: The Production has to already be in your Synchtank system for it to be added to a Master Recording
*For master/composition split systems only
P Line now automatically builds from P Line year and P Line Owner
When creating P Lines, you can now enter the year and owner in the respective fields, and the P Line field will auto populate using that information, ensuring consistency and saving rekeying. You can edit or amend details to the created P Line, but bear in mind this will break the link with the source fields.
*For master/composition split systems only
April 2024
Asset Platform
INGESTION:
Content ingestion now compatible with Master/Composition split systems
Customers with Master/Composition split systems can now import content and create masters and compositions via the system ingest tool, allowing them to quickly and easily bring in new assets and accompanying rights information.
REPORTS:
Neighboring Rights Reports now available on Master/Composition split systems
Customers with Master/Composition split systems can now run reports for delivery to neighboring rights societies, allowing them to make claims to collect performance royalties for recordings.
New Detached Shares filter on Compositions Shares report
The Compositions Shares report can now be filtered to only include Detached Shares so you can easily export them, fix them, and reingest the corrections.
Asset Platform (Modules)
CUE SHEETS:
Cue Sheets now available on Master/Composition split systems
Customers with Master/Composition split systems can now take advantage of our Cue Sheet module.
When editing cue sheets, you can now select entries from your existing list of Masters. You can also add and edit new Masters and Compositions from within the cue sheet section. Importing an EDL (edit decision list) file will select Masters where they exist, or create new Masters and Compositions where they do not.
The “Add Tracks” dropdown allows you to add internal or external tracks and the Edit icon enables editing of Composition Shares.
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER (D2C) LICENSING:
D2C Licensing functionality now available for Master/Composition split systems
Customers with Master/Composition split systems can now offer licensing functionality to their clients via our D2C Licensing module which provides e-commerce tools for needle drop or subscription licenses.
March 2024
Asset Platform
FRONT-END
Updates to Track/Master artwork display
Track/Master display settings have been updated to provide a hierarchy of artwork and reduce the use of basic default images, giving your catalog a finished look and feel.
Artwork is now displayed on your front-end depending on the following:
- If a track or master has artwork attached to it in the system, that artwork is shown
- If the track or master has no artwork, but it is associated with one or many albums that do, then the artwork of the album with the earliest release date or system creation date is displayed
- If neither of the above apply and the track or master is associated with a catalog that has artwork, the catalog artwork is shown
- If none of the above apply, the default artwork is shown depending on your system settings
CATALOG
New Notes field scroll bar
The notes field within your assets now includes a scroll bar and extendable button to avoid notes taking up your whole screen and keep your system looking clean.
USERS
New User expiry field
A new 'User access expiration' field has been added at the User level that allows admins to set a date on which the user’s account should be expired and access revoked. This allows admins to manage users who should only temporarily have an account or have an account with date limitations.
Asset Platform (Modules)
DELIVERY
New control over audio file naming conventions
Within the Delivery module you can now control the file naming conventions used to deliver audio files, so audio files are named according to your needs or those of the delivery recipient.
DDEX ERN batch profile now implemented
Label metadata and resource files can now be delivered using DDEX ERN batch profile - details here.
New mapping of automated metadata tags
Automated metadata tags (if available on your system) can now be included in Delivery module mappings subject to an appropriate license agreement.
February 2024
Asset Platform
FRONT END
Fixed issue with new users selecting their Country
A bug has been fixed so that new users signing up for an account and wanting to select their Country can begin typing in the search box to instantly narrow down dropdown results.
REPORTS
Metadata Catalogs column added to All Tracks report
The All Tracks report now includes the Metadata Catalogs column, allowing users to easily bulk edit their catalog metadata.
USERS
Notes field added to Users
A new User Notes field has been added to the User Information Section allowing you to capture any notes you want to add for your users. These notes will also be included within the user reports, imports and export scripts.
Asset Platform (Modules):
DELIVERY
Writer and Publisher IPI numbers/roles now included in Delivery mappings
Writer and Publisher IPI numbers and Roles are now included in Delivery module mappings, ensuring consistency and improved accuracy when delivering compositions to your partners and third parties.
Publisher Mech Affiliation now maps in Delivery
Publisher Mech Society affiliations now map correctly in the Delivery module, displaying the mechanical society of a composition’s publisher(s) in the mapping preview and in the delivered CSV file.
INGEST
Tracks without audio removed from front-end
Tracks from some production music libraries were inadvertently delivered without audio. These have been removed from customer front-end systems so that only tracks with audio available can be searched for and selected.
January 2024
Asset Platform
CATALOG
Search Albums, Masters and Tracks by release date(s)
Within the Catalog section of the Synchtank Admin you can now search through Albums, Masters and Tracks using specific Release Dates in the Advanced Filter.
Simply navigate to the Albums, Masters, or Tracks section and select the advanced search toggle icon to reveal further search functionality.
FRONT END
Third-party track delivery now includes metadata
You can now include metadata when delivering your tracks and playlists to third-parties for pitching and project submissions to ensure all key rights information is included.
REPORTS
Users report now includes ‘Business Type’ field
When creating a users report we have now included a ‘Business Type’ field for companies who wish to capture further information about their users.
Masters report now includes Unions
If a musician or artist is a member of a union you can add this data to their record. This means the Unions field data is now included in the Masters report, regardless of whether it is hidden or shown in the Admin interface.
USERS
New bulk edits for Role Groups
When managing your users you can now update the Role Groups in bulk, just like you can with User Groups or Collections. You can do this by navigating to the Users section, selecting the users you wish to make edits to, and at the top a menu appears where you can then select our bulk edit icon to make the changes required.
Royalty Platform (IRIS)
Songcodes now exported as numeric
IRIS songcodes will now be exported as numeric within the in Song Report.