Gramex takes a step towards real-time royalty payments – a global first 

Gramex is taking a significant step towards real-time royalty payments through a collaboration with the UK-based technology company Bloctave. The aim is to improve payment speed, transparency, and rightsholders’ ability to manage their income. 

For artists and other music rightsholders, the most important factors are receiving payments quickly and having a clear understanding of where their earnings come from. While progress has been made in recent years, payment schedules tied to annual cycles and limited transparency have remained the industry norm. 

Real-time visibility into usage and earnings 

Gramex is developing an advance payment system that integrates usage data and processes royalties in real time. This means that rightsholders can monitor the use of their recordings virtually as it happens. 

During the testing phase, the system has already demonstrated the ability to process an event from a radio play to funds reaching a rightsholder’s account in under 30 seconds. Although the system is still under development, the results highlight the potential of a faster and more transparent royalty model. As the pilot phase progresses, the aim is to expand the group of test users in order to gather broader usage data to support further development. 

“In January this year, we were invited to take part in testing Gramex’s new real-time pilot service. The pilot made it possible to monitor the revenue generated from domestic radio airplay of our own repertoire via the MyGramex portal. However, this was not only about tracking the accumulation of neighbouring rights remunerations – it also enabled us to withdraw the accrued funds to our company account immediately. In practice, having instant access to these Gramex revenues significantly improved our ability to accelerate production schedules for new releases and enhanced overall profitability”, says Gabi Hakanen, CEO of Vallila Music House, who has been involved in the pilot phase. 

A significant change is also that earnings will no longer be tied to traditional payment cycles. Rightsholders will be able to view and withdraw their funds whenever they wish, providing greater flexibility in cash flow management. 

Real-time systems as part of a broader fintech transformation and a response to younger generations 

Gramex’s system development is linked to a broader transformation in the financial and payments sector. New technologies—such as real-time bank transfers, open banking solutions, digital wallets, and blockchain-based infrastructures—are reshaping how money moves. Real-time royalty payments are part of this shift, where revenue streams in the creative industries are aligning with new standards enabled by modern financial technology. 

This shift also reflects the behaviour of younger generations. For them, the mobile device is the primary interface for everyday life: banking, payments, investing, and content consumption are all managed primarily through smartphones. 

“Working with Gramex has been a great pleasure for us. As a progressive and forward-looking organisation, Gramex demonstrates a strong commitment to developing its services for the benefit of rightsholders. We are proud to have built a platform that enables real-time, on-demand royalty payments, improved transparency, and a more modern user experience for Finnish rightsholders,” says Rob Dabrowski, Founder of Bloctave. 

Towards next-generation services 

For Gramex, this initiative is an important part of the continuous development of its services to meet the needs of current and future customer groups. 

“We want to ensure that our services evolve in line with what technology enables, allowing us to better meet our customers’ expectations. Gramex has been—and intends to remain—among the first to adopt new operating models and solutions. We have been developing this advance payment system as a global first,” summarises Ilmo Laevuo, Managing Director of Gramex. 

Gramex will continue developing the system in cooperation with Bloctave and will provide further updates on the project’s progress in early 2027. 

Gramex is a copyright organisation representing performing artists and producers of sound recordings. Gramex continuously develops its services to ensure that rightsholders receive their royalties more quickly, transparently, and flexibly—this is why it is contributing to the development of real-time payment solutions together with Bloctave. Bloctave is a UK-based software company specialising in real-time payment systems for royalty management. 

Further information: 

Ilmo Laevuo 
Managing Director, Gramex 
+358 40 900 2141
ilmo.laevuo@gramex.fi

Riku Lievonen 
Head of Communications and Public Relations, Gramex 
+358 40 832 7479
riku.lievonen@gramex.fi