Global Repertoire Database (GRD) for musical works is shaping up with the completion of the Scoping Study and the commencement of the Requirements and Design Phase.

The scope of the GRD is to provide a single, comprehensive and authoritative representation of the global ownership and control of musical works. Once deployed the GRD will “save extensive costs, currently lost to duplication in data processing”.

Delivery of the project is driven by the GRD Working Group: This consists of representatives from 14 organisations of creators, publishers, collective management societies, digital service providers and their trade associations – APRA, GEMA, PRS for Music, SACEM, STIM, CISAC, Sony/ATV/EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, ICMP, ECSA, Google, iTunes and Omnifone. In all, nearly 30 companies represented by nearly 100 individuals are directly involved in the work worldwide. Thirteen collective management societies for music are supporting the project with funding, knowledge and access to their databases and these are APRA, GEMA. PRS, STIM and SACEM as well as ASCAP, BMI, SGAE, SIAE, UBC, BUMA, SABAM and SOCAN. The project is managed by Deloitte with support from ICE and FastTrack as technology solution providers.

In mid-2013, the project will move into the technology build, with a first release of the database due in 2015.