Why NPREX is the Next Evolution of Licensing Collectives -Part 1
For over a century, collective licensing has been the default mechanism for licensing music performance rights. Broadcasters, venues, and digital platforms pay a percentage of revenue to performance rights organizations (PROs) like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC — gaining access to millions of songs without negotiating individual terms. It’s simple, scalable, and deeply entrenched.
But simplicity comes at a cost: opacity, inefficiency and distortion. Collective licensing hides the true value of individual works, rewards volume over precision, and leaves both buyers and rights holders in the dark. This is the way performance licensing has been, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
There is another way that can upend that model — and it’s not a tech startup or a government regulator.
It’s an exchange that’s been around for over a decade…
Enter NPREX: The National Performing Rights Exchange
Founded over ten years ago by economist and attorney Lee Greer, Ph.D., NPREX is a marketplace for music performance licenses. It uses a revealed preference pricing algorithm to match buyers and sellers based on actual demand — not historical royalties or collective bargaining - and calls on mathematical economics to map licensing terms to a price. Furthermore, transactions in NPREX at these prices can be settled immediately, enabling rights holders and writers to be paid immediately.
In NPREX, every license is priced individually. Every transaction reflects real-time market behavior. And every participant sees exactly what they’re paying for — and why. On top of this, these individual licenses comprise a single master license called the Composite License, which many believe is the natural evolution of the traditional blanket license.
The Problem with Blanket Licensing
Blanket licenses were designed for convenience, not precision. They allow licensees to play any song in a PRO’s catalog, regardless of usage. But this creates several problems:
No price discovery: Licensees don’t know what individual songs are worth.
No accountability: Rights holders can’t see how their works are used or valued.
No flexibility: Buyers pay for access they may never use.
It’s a one-size-fits-all solution in a world that demands customization.
How NPREX Challenges the Status Quo
NPREX offers direct licensing — allowing rights holders to transact with buyers without going through a PRO. This means:
Transparent pricing: Each license reflects actual buyer preferences.
Market discipline: Popular works command higher prices; niche works find their true value.
Data-driven decisions: Buyers can optimize their catalogs; sellers can adjust pricing strategies.
In short, NPREX replaces the blanket with a blueprint.
The NPREX Composite License: One Contract, Full Coverage
To make direct licensing even more powerful, NPREX introduces the Composite License — a legal innovation that bundles multiple rights (typically performance and mechanical) into a single, unified contract. This eliminates the need for separate negotiations with PROs and mechanical rights agencies.
With the Composite License, buyers can:
Secure all necessary rights in one transaction
Avoid legal ambiguity and reduce infringement risk
License music with speed, clarity, and confidence
For rights holders, it means greater control, faster deal flow, and more accurate valuation of their works.
Together, NPREX and the Composite License offer a complete alternative to blanket licensing — one that’s transparent, efficient, and legally sound.
The Economic Engine
At the heart of NPREX is a patented algorithm based on microeconomic theory. It treats music licenses like any other good — subject to supply, demand, and buyer behavior. This isn’t just automation. It’s market creation.
By revealing what buyers are willing to pay — and what sellers are willing to accept — NPREX discovers price in a way blanket licensing never could.
What This Means for the Industry
For broadcasters: No more paying for unused catalog. License only what you need.
For rights holders: No more waiting for royalty pools. Set your price and transact directly.
For PROs: A wake-up call. Adapt or risk irrelevance.
For platforms: A path to scalable, compliant, and cost-effective licensing.
The End of the Blanket?
NPREX doesn’t just offer an alternative. It offers a challenge. It asks why music licensing should remain opaque when a market exists to make it transparent. It asks why rights holders should surrender pricing power when technology allows them to reclaim it.
And most provocatively, it asks whether blanket licensing — once a solution — has become a problem.
The answer may not come from a courtroom or a Capitol Hill hearing. It may come from a marketplace.
NPREX isn’t just a platform. It’s a provocation. And with the Composite License, it’s a complete solution.