Summary

  • We are very sorry about this tragic situation, and we hope you and your family are safe.
  • This message provides information about royalties and payments to Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. We are doing our best to ensure that you are informed about this topic as we continue to explore all viable options.
  • The sanctions and recent changes to the global banking system (removal of banks from the International Swift network, etc) have led to Tipalti (our payment processor) no longer processing any transactions to Russia.
  • If a payment is not able to be sent and received due to the current situation (whether from sanctions, regulations, bank policies, or other causes), we will continue accruing your royalties in your account. 
  • New sanctions and regulations are being announced frequently, and the situation may continue to change.

Additional Information

We send our deepest sympathies to those affected by the tragic conflict in Ukraine, and we hope that you and your family are safe. Merts Distribution Services strongly supports the basic human right of free speech. We are proud to continue enabling independent musicians around the world to express themselves freely and receive the compensation they deserve for their hard work.

We continue to monitor the new sanctions and regulatory directives, which are currently changing on a daily basis. Note that some U.S. states as well as other governments around the world have issued or may soon issue additional regulatory directives. These regulations may be different from or in addition to those issued by the President of the United States through the Treasury Department.

At Merts Distribution Services, we must comply with the laws and regulations of all jurisdictions in which we operate. Our ability to process payments or conduct other normal business activities may be restricted at any time by any of a variety of government agencies (federal, state, or foreign).

Given the sanctions and other measures now in place against a variety of Russian banks and related companies and individuals, our payment processing partner, Tipalti, has ceased operations in Russia meaning we can no longer send payments to clients with bank accounts in Russia.  

While we cannot send payment to you presently, we will continue to accrue all royalties we receive for your content distributed by Merts Distribution Services. We will not be able to release these royalties to you until our payment processor renews operations in Russia.

Information regarding recent sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) can be found here at the “Recent Actions” page: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions

Finally, we are very sorry about the situation in Ukraine, and the problems and uncertainty that it is causing for many people. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, as well as the continued sanctions and regulations from a variety of government entities. Please note that as a result of this very unpredictable situation, the applicable laws, regulations and policies may change at any time.