Orfium is a music rights management technology company founded in 2015 in Los Angeles by Drew Delis and Chris Mohoney. The company uses AI-powered tools to identify, match, and claim music usage across digital platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer. With a global team of over 700 across eight offices, Orfium is on track to recover $1 billion in total royalties for its clients.
How Orfium Works
Orfium is not a traditional sync licensing library or marketplace. It is a B2B technology company that helps rights holders (record labels, music publishers, production music companies, broadcasters, and collecting societies) manage, track, and monetize their music across digital and broadcast platforms.
The core process works in three stages:
- Identification: Orfium's AI platform scans digital platforms (YouTube, TikTok, social media, streaming services) to find uses of its clients' music. The system processed over three quadrillion rows of data in 2024 alone.
- Matching: The platform matches identified usage to the correct compositions and recordings in its clients' catalogs, resolving metadata gaps that cause unpaid royalties.
- Claiming: A dedicated team of expert claimers uses AI insights to place claims on behalf of rights holders. This "human-in-the-loop" approach ensures accuracy and prevents false claims.
In 2023, Orfium acquired London-based Soundmouse, a company specializing in music cue sheet reporting and audio recognition for broadcasters. Soundmouse was founded in 2000 by Kirk Zavieh and Charles Hodgkinson and brought nearly 400 staff and offices in London, Bulgaria, Seoul, Sri Lanka, Taipei, and Tokyo. The acquisition combined Orfium's digital platform expertise with Soundmouse's broadcast reporting infrastructure.
Orfium is led by CEO Rob Wells, who joined the company in 2017. The company has offices in Malibu, Athens, London, Tokyo, and additional Soundmouse locations.
Real-World Example
A mid-size music publisher with 50,000 compositions discovers that approximately 30% of YouTube uses of their catalog go unclaimed due to metadata mismatches. They partner with Orfium to identify and claim this missing usage. Over 12 months, Orfium's AI platform identifies 120,000 previously unclaimed videos using the publisher's music. The claiming team places claims on 95,000 valid uses. At an average of $0.003 to $0.005 per stream in YouTube revenue, those claims generate $285,000 to $475,000 in recovered royalties. Orfium takes a percentage of recovered revenue as its fee, meaning the publisher pays nothing upfront and only shares in revenue that would otherwise have been lost entirely.
Why It Matters for Independent Artists
Orfium does not work directly with individual artists. It works with the organizations that represent artists: publishers, labels, PROs, and collecting societies. However, understanding what Orfium does matters for independent artists for several reasons:
- Unclaimed royalties are real: If your music is on YouTube or TikTok and your publisher or label is not using a service like Orfium, a significant portion of your royalties may go uncollected. Ask your publisher or distributor what rights management tools they use.
- Metadata is everything: Orfium's entire business exists because metadata is often incomplete or incorrect. Ensure your ISRC codes, ISWC codes, and split sheets are accurate and registered with your PRO before releasing music.
- AI and copyright are converging: In 2025, Orfium was awarded a EUR 7.5 million grant from the European Commission to lead the AIXPERT project, a three-year research initiative focused on detecting copyrighted music within AI-generated outputs. This technology could determine how AI-generated music is attributed and compensated in the future.
- Global coverage matters: Orfium's partnerships with PRS for Music (Africa), Pony Canyon and Warner Music Japan (Japan), and BROMIS (South Korea) show that rights management requires territorial coverage. If your publisher only monitors one region, you are losing money elsewhere.
Read our guide to music licensing agreements to understand what rights you are delegating to publishers and labels who may use services like Orfium on your behalf.
Platform Features
- AI-powered identification: Scans YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and other platforms for music usage
- Soundmouse broadcast reporting: Gold-standard cue sheet management and audio recognition for broadcasters
- Human-in-the-loop claiming: AI identifies opportunities, expert claimers execute claims for accuracy
- AIXPERT project: Leading EU-funded research on AI music copyright attribution (EUR 7.5M grant, 2025 to 2028)
- Global presence: 700+ staff across 8 offices in Malibu, Athens, London, Tokyo, Bulgaria, Seoul, Sri Lanka, and Taipei
- $1B recovery target: On track to deliver $1 billion in total recovered royalties for clients
- Partnership network: PRS for Music, Pony Canyon, Avex, Bandai Namco, Warner Music Japan, JASRAC, BROMIS
Company Type and Licensing Model
Orfium is a B2B music rights management technology company, not a traditional sync licensing library or marketplace. The company provides AI-powered software and expert services that help rights holders (record labels, music publishers, production music companies, broadcasters, and collecting societies) identify, track, and monetize their music across digital and broadcast platforms.
The company operates on a revenue-share model rather than charging upfront fees:
- Percentage of recovered revenue: Orfium takes a percentage of the royalties it recovers for clients. Clients pay nothing upfront and only share in revenue that would otherwise have been lost.
- Negotiated per client: Pricing is based on catalog size, number of territories, and scope of services. No standard public pricing exists.
- Service tiers: Full management service (Orfium's team handles everything from finding and claiming to conflict management) and technology-only access (clients use the platform directly).
In 2023, Orfium acquired London-based Soundmouse, a company specializing in broadcast music cue sheet reporting and audio recognition. In May 2026, US performing rights organization BMI agreed to acquire Soundmouse from Orfium to build what BMI calls the largest cue sheet database in the global audiovisual marketplace. The deal is expected to close mid-2026.
Catalog Size and Genre Coverage
Orfium does not own or represent a music catalog in the traditional sense. It manages rights across its clients' catalogs, which collectively cover all genres of music. The platform processed over three quadrillion rows of data in 2024 alone, scanning platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer.
The company's client base includes catalogs of all sizes, from mid-size publishers with 50,000 compositions to major labels with millions of works. The Soundmouse broadcast reporting network covers television and radio broadcasts worldwide, generating cue sheets for music rights organizations across multiple territories.
Client Base
Orfium works exclusively with organizations, not individual artists. Clients include:
- Major record labels and indie labels
- Music publishers (large and independent)
- Production music companies
- Broadcasters and TV networks
- Collecting societies and PROs
- Digital platforms requiring rights management infrastructure
Named partners include PRS for Music (Africa territory coverage), Pony Canyon and Warner Music Japan (Japan), JASRAC (Japan), BROMIS (South Korea consortium of broadcasters and collecting societies), Avex, and Bandai Namco. The company has 327 employees (as of 2026) across offices in Malibu, Athens, London, Tokyo, Bulgaria, Seoul, Sri Lanka, and Taipei. Annual revenue is reported at $250 million.
How They Pay Artists
Orfium does not pay artists directly. The company recovers royalties for the organizations that represent artists (publishers, labels, PROs). Those organizations then distribute payments to artists according to their individual contracts.
The flow works as follows:
- Orfium identifies unclaimed music usage on digital platforms (YouTube, TikTok, etc.)
- Orfium's claiming team places claims on valid uses
- Revenue from those claims flows to the rights holder (publisher, label, or PRO)
- The rights holder distributes royalties to artists per their existing agreements
- Orfium takes its percentage fee from the recovered revenue before distribution
For example, if Orfium recovers $100,000 in previously unclaimed YouTube royalties for a publisher, Orfium takes its negotiated percentage (say 20%), and the publisher receives $80,000. The publisher then distributes the artist's share according to their contract.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Orfium | Rumblefish | Songtradr | Audiosocket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary service | Rights management + claiming | Rights management + licensing | Music licensing marketplace | Licensing + rights tech |
| AI identification | Yes (proprietary DLM) | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Broadcast reporting | Yes (Soundmouse) | No | No | No |
| Target client | Labels, publishers, PROs | Independent artists, publishers | Artists, brands, supervisors | Artists, brands, supervisors |
| Revenue model | Percentage of recovered revenue | Subscription + per-use | Transaction fees | Subscription + per-use |
| Founded | 2015 | 2005 | 2013 | 2008 |
| Team size | 327 | 50+ | 200+ | 30+ |
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Related Resources
- Sync Licensing Companies Directory - Browse more sync licensing companies
- PRO Directory - Find your performing rights organization
- Streaming Royalty Calculator - Calculate streaming revenue
- Sync License Glossary Term - Learn what a sync license covers
- Visit Orfium for enterprise rights management solutions
