The Resolve Exceptions page provides an interface for matching sales lines to catalog data when discrepancies exist between the two.

Once a sales line is matched, the association made between the combination of sales information and catalog data is remembered by the RoyaltyShare system. All other sales lines with that exact information will be automatically matched to the catalog when new files are imported moving forward.

Remembered matches are at the service level, meaning, for example, that matches made for iTunes do not affect matches made for Napster. Each service has a unique reporting format, and to ensure accuracy, similar matches may have to be made against multiple services.

Remembered matches are automatically applied to all files currently uploaded to the Royalty Status Tracker, usually reducing the overall number of exceptions during a nightly process.

Match not remembered? Matches are remembered as long as the sales transaction shows a minimum amount of information. For digital track matches to be remembered, services must report a track title with an artist name or ISRC. For digital albums, services must report an album title and artist name or UPC for the match to be remembered. Most services operating today report this information and more.

In addition to requiring an album title and artist name or UPC, matches for physical products require that the album title and UPC (if present) contain similar information for the match to be remembered. For example, matching a physical sale for the album "The Lonely River" to an album in your catalog data called "Lonely River" would be remembered, but matching a sale for the album "The Lonely River" to "The Longest Time" would not.

Should a sales line not contain enough information to be remembered, the match will have to be made again each time the service or distributor reports. However, revisions to reporting may be improved by the service over time and lead to more accurate and remembered matches at a later date.

"Header" section

"Header" section shows the name of the sales file being viewed, the service associated with the file, the number of total records in the file, and of those records, how many are exceptions. The count of exceptions left against initial exceptions will change as sales lines are matched to catalog.

Specific sales lines in the file can be navigated to by entering the line number in the field provided and clicking "Go."

Sales line information and "Suggested Track Matches"

The top line shows information in the sales record from the sales file received from the service. All available information is shown for key matching fields.

Catalog data that most closely matches the sales line will be shown under the "Suggested Track Matches" section.

If the system cannot locate catalog data with enough common identifiers to qualify as a suggested match, it will return the message "No audio/video matches were found for this sale."

Once a line of catalog is selected in the "Suggested Track Matches" section, the "Match to Catalog" button will become available. Clicking this button will match the sales line to the catalog data and will take the user to the next exception in the sales file.

Clicking the "Next Exception" link will also take the user to the next sales line exception. Clicking the "Next" link will take the user to the next sales line, matched or unmatched.

Clicking the "Back to Summary" button will take the user back to the Royalty Status Tracker.

"Catalog Search" section

The entire catalog can be searched to find potential matches for the sales line beyond the suggested matches. Searches can encompass all fields, or can look for information only in one specific field.

A Smart search restricts the search to fields where the text appears in the sales line. For example, if the sales line contains the word "blue" in the artist and album field, a smart search for "blue" will show any record that contains "blue" in the artist field, the album field, or both.

Unable to find tracks or albums in catalog data? Check to be sure that the appropriate product has been created for the type of sales you are matching. If you are matching digital sales, you must have a digital product for that album in the system. If you are matching physical sales, you must have a physical product.

Also, be sure you have the correct media type in the system. Video sales can only match to video results, and audio sales can only match to audio results.

Need to undo a match? Click the ‘previous’ link to go back to the matched record you would like to undo. At the bottom of the page, you will see a message that says "This sale has been matched" and a button that says Undo Match. Click this button to undo your work.

Note that only manual matches can be undone, and they can only be undone on the day they were originally matched.