ESP3 Articles

He robbed from the rich to give to the poor, or so the story goes, and made England a better place. Well that’s the gist of the fable, but what I do know for certain is that at this year's Midem I have found a modern day Robin Hood dedicated to finding money from the rich major entertainment agencies and companies and giving to the poor independent music companies, distributors, writers & producers who deserve it. Unlike the Robin Hood of merry old England this modern day Robin Hood is comprised of 3 separate individuals.

ERIK COCHIUS has 32 years of experience in the music industry at CBS Records and Sony Music in the areas of manufacturing, production, artist and copyright royalties and label operations. At Sony Music Erik was responsible for pan- European copyright licensing and reporting, as well as, the design and implementation of key business systems used in support of European operations. Erik was the founder of Sony Music’s global product and label information database, used to facilitate the release, registration, production and sales reporting of product. This system and the related business processes were used as the foundation to launch Sony’s digital platform.

Also he has been deeply involved in e-media projects, advising on IFPI/RIAA matters, neighboring rights. Erik was the principle creator of the Sony Music’s copyright claims management system used to process, control and report millions of dollars in copyright royalties.

PAUL GILBERT has over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry at CBS Records and Sony Music with extensive experience in business operations, business affairs, royalty and copyright administration and industry anti-piracy activities. At Sony Music Paul was a member of the International Executive team responsible for the development and implementation of strategic worldwide business systems and processes used by 45 foreign subsidiaries in support of the management of their business affairs, financial and administrative activities. Most recently, Paul guided the global launch of the business processes and information technology in support of Sony Music’s worldwide digital music distribution infrastructure.

In the music publishing industry Paul was Vice President of Publisher Services at the Harry Fox Agency, the foremost licensing, collections and distribution agency in the US. Paul was responsible for the day-to-day management, planning, direction and leadership to the department whose mission is to service publisher clients. Responsible for publisher affiliation and client relations as well as the maintenance of song file database used in the key downstream agency processes (i.e. Licensing and Distribution).

STEFAN JANSSON has over 18 years of experience in the software industry with extensive experience in designing and developing software solutions for royalty and copyright administration for the entertainment industry. Among others both BMG and Sony Music were serviced with royalty and copyright software for a number of their affiliates since 1990. A combined total of over thirty affiliates for these companies – in Europe, Asia and Australia - were serviced by software systems developed by his software company. He was also involved in a number of client/server projects for Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, developed a bank system for handling SWIFT messages for a Finnish bank, and lately involved with the development of an Oracle-based sales support system for a large Swedish company.

Stefan has a Master of Science degree in Engineering Physics from KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) in Stockholm. His graduation thesis project, which was done at Seiko Instruments in Japan, was on data compression. Ever since his graduation he has worked mostly with software architecture, design and programming with a main focus on database applications supporting business processes and always striving to achieve excellence in software together with a dedicated team of developers.

Collectively they are known as ESP3 (http://www.esp3services.com/).

So in plain language, ESP3 will organize your office, with the most efficient and effective way to create, register and distribute your products. Business operations and tasks such as the collection of repertoire metadata, product numbering, release planning, label copy creation are all maintained and managed by ESP3 in a secured database with easy client access and the ability to share this information with your global partners. ESP3 has created software in which contract information is maintained, sales data is collected and royalties are calculated and reported. All the things you need to compete globally in today’s market place.

ESP3 focuses its services on supporting Independent record companies, music publishers and distributors of the world. In a marketplace that is rapidly changing and where increasingly complex business needs are emerging, this organization provides the industry with maximum efficiency and effectiveness to help their clients focus on their core business.

Oh and did I mention that they can find money owed you by foreign countries, companies and multi- nationals?

They may not wear green tights, carry bows & arrows or swing through trees, but when it comes to finding your international money they’ve got Robin Hood beat all the way to Sherwood Forest.