The Three Kings - feat. 7^X "Black Wall Street"

https://dap.direct/d2/share/eyJzIjo3OTIyODYsInJzIjoidkJpS1hnIn0 The Gentle Men of Black Wall Street The Three Kings | POD Productions & 7^X Music Group Behind the walls, they gave them a number. But inside, they carried something they couldn’t confiscate, a vision. To the system, it was a correctional facility. To them, it was Black Wall Street: a place where currency wasn’t measured in dollars, but in wisdom, resilience, and the quiet exchange of knowledge between men determined to rise. “Where others served time, they served purpose.” They are Three Kings, gentle men in a place built for hardness. Where others saw confinement, they saw clearing up the old mindsets. Where others served time, they served purpose becoming the teachers, the kings, supporting the supplicant, guiding those around them toward liberation before they ever reached the gate. Their story isn’t one of escape. It’s one of elevation. Seeing behind the walls, they studied the ancient scripts languages etched in stone long before modern systems existed. They understood that the roots of civilization ran deeper than any prison foundation. That tree growing through concrete is not a metaphor. It is them. “No wall is thick enough to silence the love of family.” While they built kingdoms behind bars, a circle of family and friends refused to let the dream go quiet on the outside. They carried the vision when the walls tried to bury it. They made calls, kept the faith, sent word, and held space, because they knew what was being built inside was bigger than any sentence handed down by a court. Love became logistics. Loyalty became legacy. Every visit, every letter, every prayer was a brick laid on the outside of Black Wall Street. From inside, their friends in the outside world became the bridge. 7opca7 — The Digital Maestro stepped up, shaping sound and story with 7^X Music Group, transmitting freedom through frequency. Alongside De^Xan – The Catalyst, they built art that breaks through concrete, proving that walls can’t contain a liberated mind. Joining forces with family and friends, they made history with a single "Black Wall Street", unshakeable mindset: FREEDOM It was family who kept the studio sessions alive when the artists couldn’t be there. It was friends who passed the music through the gate before anyone knew it could travel that far. Mothers, brothers, partners, childhood friends, all of them became producers in their own right, investing belief where the system invested doubt. The Three Kings didn’t rise alone. They rose because an entire community decided their story was worth finishing. They prayed for healing, not just their own, but for every man sitting in those rooms watching them take responsibility and hold the future in their hands like a glowing orb of possibility. POD = FREEDOM. The pod was never a cell. It was a classroom. A studio. A sanctuary. “The liberation and the future were never outside, they were always within.” The liberation and the future were never outside. They were always within, waiting to be unlocked by the right mindset, the right knowledge, the right frequency. They carried all three. And when the gates finally open, it won’t just be three men walking out. It will be every family member who held on, every friend who carried the torch, every prayer that refused to be unanswered. Black Wall Street was never just a place behind walls. It was a movement kept alive by the people who loved them enough to never stop believing. This is the story of three men who became Three Kings, who turned a prison into a promise, and a family’s faith into forever. This is Black Wall Street. Credits Produced by: POD / 7^X Music Group 7opca7 — The Digital Maestro De^Xan — The Catalyst 7^X Studios

Maximizing Your 2026 Royalties: A Guide to SoundExchange for Independent Creators

Maximizing Your 2026 Royalties: A Guide to SoundExchange for Independent Creators

By Antonio ‘7opca7’ Randolph | March 19, 2026

As we’ve seen with the recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate determinations for 2026, the potential for revenue from digital performances is at an all-time high. With subscription streaming rates now sitting at $0.0032 per play, the difference between "leaving money on the table" and "building equity" comes down to one thing: Accurate Registration.

For independent artists, producers, and label owners, understanding how to claim these statutory rates is no longer optional—it is a business imperative.

1. The SoundExchange Mandate

Unlike BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC (which collect for songwriters), SoundExchange is the sole organization designated by the U.S. government to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for featured artists and sound recording copyright owners (SRCOs).

If your music is played on SiriusXM, Pandora, iHeartRadio, or any of the thousands of non-interactive webcasters, SoundExchange is holding your money.

2. The 2026 Registration Checklist

To ensure you are receiving the full benefit of the new 2026 rates, follow this professional workflow:

• Dual Registration: Register as both the Featured Artist and the Rights Owner (if you own your masters). SoundExchange splits payments 50/45/5 (Artist/Owner/Non-featured musicians). If you are independent, you are entitled to 95% of the total payout.

• ISRC Precision: Ensure every track has a unique International Standard Recording Code (ISRC). In 2026, metadata mismatches are the #1 cause of "black box" royalties—money that sits uncollected because the system can't find the owner.

• International Reciprocity: SoundExchange has agreements with foreign collecting societies. Ensure your account is set up to collect your Neighboring Rights royalties from international plays in territories like the UK, France, and Germany.

3. The "Letter of Direction" (LOD) for Producers

In the modern era, producers are often cut out of digital performance royalties because SoundExchange’s mandate is technically for "performers."

Pro-Tip: As an architect of the sound, ensure your contracts include a Letter of Direction (LOD). This allows the featured artist to direct a percentage of their royalties (typically 2–3 points) directly to you through SoundExchange.

4. Why the 2026 Rates Matter Now

The shift from the $0.0023 rate in 2018 to the $0.0032 rate today may seem small per play, but at scale, it is a 39% increase in gross revenue. For a catalog with 1,000,000 digital radio spins, that is a difference of thousands of dollars in compounding revenue.

The Bottom Line

In my work with Big-N-Mage Publishing, we often say: “Music without ownership is noise. Music with structure is power.” The CRB has done the work of raising the rates. Now, it is your job to build the infrastructure to collect them. Don't let your hard-earned royalties sit in a digital vault. Register, document, and defend your assets.

The 2026 Royalty Cheat Sheet

Who Collects Your Money?

Royalty Type	Source	Who Collects It?	Who Gets Paid?
Performance (Composition)	Radio, TV, Venues, Streaming (Spotify/Apple)	PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)	Songwriters & Publishers
Mechanical (Composition)	Digital Streams, Physical Sales, Downloads	The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective)	Songwriters & Publishers
Digital Performance (Master)	Non-Interactive (SiriusXM, Pandora, Webcasts)	SoundExchange	Featured Artists & Label Owners
Streaming Royalties (Master)	Interactive Streams (Spotify, Apple, Tidal)	Distributors (DistroKid, Tunecore, Orchard)	Label Owners / Master Owners
Sync Licensing	Film, TV, Ads, Video Games	Direct Contracts (Negotiated by your Publisher)	Both (Songwriter & Master Owner)

                                                         

                                        

The "Composition vs. Master" 2026 Royalty Infographic

From 2018 - 2026 "The New Standard for Digital Performance"

Copyright Royalty Board 2026 Rate Determination: The New Standard for Digital Performance

By 7opca7 | March 19, 2026

The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has finalized the 2026 cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for master recording copyright holders and non-commercial webcasters. These updates reflect the final phase of the Web V rate period and account for the inflationary pressures that have reshaped the music economy since the landmark 2017 determinations.

Streaming Rate Comparison: 2018 vs. 2026

The CRB continues to adjust rates based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), resulting in a steady climb for per-performance royalties.

Service Type	2018 Rate	2026 Rate (Projected/Set)
Commercial Subscription	$0.0023	$0.0032
Commercial Ad-Supported	$0.0018	$0.0026

The Difference: In 2018, the industry saw a modest "basis point" increase. By 2026, the cumulative impact of inflation and the transition from the Web IV to the Web V era has pushed subscription rates up by nearly 39% compared to eight years ago. This shift reflects the CRB’s commitment to ensuring that master recording owners, labels and independent artists, keep pace with the rising costs of digital infrastructure and living expenses.

Non-Commercial Webcasters

For 2026, non-commercial webcasters will pay $0.0026 per performance for all transmissions in excess of 159,140 aggregate tuning hours (ATH) per month.

• Then (2018): The rate was $0.0018.

• Now (2026): The rate has matched the commercial ad supported tier, closing the gap that existed in the late 2010s and simplifying the royalty landscape for mid to large non commercial stations.

Mechanicals and Sirius-XM

While your original article anticipated a "slate of determinations," 2026 finds the industry operating under the matured Phonorecords IV agreement.

• Mechanical Royalties: Songwriters and publishers are now benefiting from a headline rate of 15.35% of total service revenue, a significant jump from the 11.4% rate that was being fought for in late 2017.

• Satellite Radio: SiriusXM and Music Choice rates, which were once negotiated in isolation, are now more closely aligned with the "willing buyer/willing seller" standard, significantly increasing the payout to SoundExchange for featured artists.

Satellite Television Retransmission

Beyond music, the 2% COLA mentioned in 2017 has evolved into a more aggressive adjustment period.

• Private Home Viewers: The rate has risen from the 2018 mark of 28 cents to 34 cents per subscriber per month.

• Commercial Establishments: The rate for commercial viewers has climbed from 58 cents to 71 cents per subscriber per month.

The 2026 Perspective

In 2017, the industry was focused on "basis points." In 2026, the conversation has shifted toward Total Royalty Optimization. With the integration of AI-tracking and blockchain based distribution (technologies Mr. Randolph and firms like Big-N-Mage are currently championing), the accuracy of these collections is higher than ever before. While the rates have increased, the primary challenge in 2026 remains the "metadata gap" ensuring that these higher rates actually reach the pockets of the correct rights holders.