PBS, a prominent American public broadcaster and national content aggregator, delivers a vast array of programming across the USA and internationally. Handling “a large volume of cue sheets from many sources” the scale of their music reporting is immense. Lauren, who leads all music-related cue sheets, licensing, and compliance for the entire organization, explains the scope: “Everything that touches music in any way comes over my desk.” This extensive operation demanded a modern and efficient solution for cue sheet management.
Cue Sheet Challenges at PBS
PBS recognized an increasing need to move beyond its long-standing system. While once a “good, robust program,” their previous system had become “really old,” Lauren noted, having “not [been] substantially updated since 2007”. With the impending discontinuation of support for their existing system, PBS sought a forward-thinking platform capable of handling the complexities of a national aggregator.
Outdated Cue Sheet System & The Impending Need for Automation
The challenge for PBS wasn’t about transitioning from purely manual, paper-based processes, but rather about upgrading from an aging digital system that lacked the sophisticated automation required for their extensive and diverse music usage.
The existing system was robust in its time, but its neglect proved Lauren’s observation: ‘if people aren’t actively working to improve the system, it creates more workload over time.’ The sheer volume of cue sheets from national programming, all managed by Lauren herself, drove the urgent need for a more streamlined and automated solution to ensure accuracy, efficiency and scale.
The Solution: Soundmouse by Orfium
PBS made the strategic decision to implement Soundmouse by Orfium, drawn to its powerful Audio Recognition (AR) technology and comprehensive platform capabilities. Lauren emphasized the critical role of this technology, stating, “The AR really stood out for us, considering the volume of work we deal with every day.”
Soundmouse’s ability to manage PBS’s varied music landscape has proved invaluable. Lauren explained how it handles their three core music categories: “About a third of the music that comes through is library music—perfect for AR. Another third of the music is popular music, which is all pre-loaded in your system.”
Significantly, Soundmouse also processes their original scores. “The last third of our music is specially composed. That is why the recognition is really valuable for us.”
This positive impact extends to PBS’s content producers, who quickly saw the benefits. For shows with extensive music catalogs, the cue sheet process became remarkably simple. “I have shows that have thousands of songs in their catalog, and now it’s simple. The producers have uploaded all of those songs, and every week a cue sheet is automatically created, placed in their inbox for review and then it arrives in my workspace for a quick and easy approval” Lauren shared. “They love it. I love it”
The Results
Transformative Efficiency in Cue Sheet Processing
The adoption of Soundmouse by Orfium has dramatically increased efficiency at PBS.
The automation of cue sheet generation delivered immediate and substantial time savings. Lauren said, “When cue sheets come through – it’s a quick review and I can approve them with a single click. Compared to how these used to be managed, it’s a mighty difference.” This automation has dramatically streamlined what was previously a heavily laborious oversight process.
“For a national network like ours with such diverse music—from library tracks to popular songs and original compositions— Soundmouse’s Audio Recognition is invaluable. It processes everything for us, which is essential for managing my workload and ensures our producers’ content is handled right every time.”
Lauren Koch, Senior Director, Music Copyright, PBS.
Accurate Compliance and Comprehensive Music Reporting
With Soundmouse, PBS achieved “more complete reporting,” a critical advantage for a national broadcaster legally bound to PRO compliance requirements and rights management. The system’s flexibility also allows producers to easily adapt, as “people have quickly gotten used to attaching video and audio, the alternate way to run AR” further enhancing the accuracy and ease of reporting across their diverse content.
Built In Compliance and Producer Satisfaction
Soundmouse by Orfium has also empowered PBS to manage its complex national music reporting requirements with greater efficiency. The platform’s benefits resonated strongly with their partner content creators. “I have a lot of our clients [producers and composers] who really love it” Lauren said, highlighting the positive ripple effect throughout the production ecosystem.
“Our producers have shows with 1,000 songs in their catalog; they upload them, and every week it just works. They love it.”
Lauren Koch, Senior Director, Music Copyright, PBS.
Strategic Advantage and Technological Leadership
Beyond operational improvements, Soundmouse supports PBS’s broader strategic aims. The ability to accurately fingerprint music in programs they own “ties in with what Orfium does well. The tracking that Soundmouse allows us to do is important as creators and copyright holders need transparent understandings of their royalties.”
“The tracking that Soundmouse allows us to do is important as creators and copyright holders need transparent understandings of their royalties.”
Lauren Koch, Senior Director, Music Copyright, PBS.
Soundmouse by Orfium has not just upgraded a system at PBS; it has transformed a critical operational function into a streamlined, efficient and highly valued process. This allows PBS to dedicate more resources to its primary mission: creating and distributing high-quality programming to audiences across the country.
PBS is proud to be on the cutting edge with this software. We like new technology and feel very happy and lucky to have this software .
Lauren Koch, Senior Director, Music Copyright, PBS.
To find out more about how Soundmouse by Orfium could revolutionize your cue sheet creation, collaboration processes, and delivery, speak to our team today.