Rights Tracker Review: A Multi-Vertical Mid-Market Rights Tool with Native Screener Delivery

TL;DR

Rights Tracker (rightstracker.com) is a Santa Monica-based rights and licensing platform serving mid-market TV/film distributors, sports rights licensors, and music libraries since 2004. Founder-led, multi-vertical, fast to deploy, and one of the few peers with a dedicated native screener product (Rights Tracker Screen). Limits: no named customer logos in public collateral, no EMA platform-spec delivery, and a small operating footprint (~12 staff). Best for mid-market distributors and licensors who want a fast deployment and bundled screener delivery without committing to enterprise-tier pricing.

What it is

Rights Tracker was founded in 2004 by Ross Bentley (ex-ITV, ex-script writer, ex-licensing consultant in kids animation). HQ is Santa Monica, California, with secondary offices in London, Paris, and Avalon Beach NSW (Australia). Headcount sits in the 11 to 50 range with annual revenue around the $1M mark per public sources, positioning the company as a steady founder-owned operator rather than a venture-backed scale play. The product is split into three lines: Rights Tracker License (the core rights / royalties / contracts engine), Rights Tracker Vision (TV/Film distributor edition), and Rights Tracker Screen (screening rooms, branded video portals, screener delivery).

What it does well

1. Multi-vertical scope. Strong fit if a buyer holds mixed catalogs across TV/film, sports, music, publishing, advertising production, or even national archives. Most peers are entertainment-only.
2. Native screener product. Rights Tracker Screen handles screening rooms and branded video portals as a first-class capability. Among rights platforms, only a handful (Molten Cloud being one) bundle screener delivery natively.
3. Fast to deploy. Vendor cites “ready after two hours of training” and “implemented in a few days” for core avails / conflict / alerts / reporting. Realistic mid-size deployments land in the 2 to 8 week range.
4. Strong availability engine. Conflict checks, hierarchical rights dimensions, and deal-term capture are the documented core competency.
5. Founder-led continuity since 2004. Twenty-plus years of product evolution under stable leadership.
6. API openness. Public APIs for B2B and B2C integrations are explicitly marketed, helpful for customers integrating into broader stacks.

Where it falls short

1. No named customer logos. Public case studies are all anonymised (“a global advertising production company”, “an international TV distributor with 30,000+ hours”). The most recent dateable named customer is a 2012 Shine Group reference.
2. No EMA / platform-spec delivery exports. Distributors selling into Apple, Amazon, Netflix, or FAST channels will need a bridge tool.
3. Royalty depth unclear. Multi-tier waterfalls and talent participations are not surfaced as first-class features in public collateral. Routed via finance integrations rather than native modeling.
4. No broadcast scheduling. Pure linear broadcasters need a different stack (Mediagenix WHATS’ON or Rightsline via RSG heritage).
5. Small operating footprint. Around 12 staff and roughly $1M ARR introduces concentration risk for enterprise buyers planning multi-year commitments.
6. Dated marketing surface. Limited recent thought leadership, no significant 2024-2026 press, and dated copy in places.

Pricing

Not publicly disclosed. The vendor self-describes as “sensibly priced.” Implied range based on customer scale and revenue base: low five-figures to low six-figures USD annually, comfortably below Rightsline or Vistex.

Implementation time

Vendor claims days for core deployments. Realistic full-cutover: 2 to 8 weeks for a mid-size deployment, including data migration and training.

Who it’s for

• Mid-size TV/film distributors with mixed catalogs (under 30,000 hours).
• Sports rights licensors managing affiliate broadcaster relationships.
• Music libraries and publishing rights operators looking for a single tool across asset types.
• Buyers who specifically want a bundled screener product without buying a separate screener tool.
• Teams that want to be live in weeks rather than months.

Who it isn’t for

• Large studios or broadcasters needing audit-grade royalty waterfalls (Vistex, Rightsline).
• Operations that prioritise EMA / platform-spec delivery to streaming platforms (Molten Cloud, Whip Media).
• Linear broadcasters needing scheduling (Mediagenix, Rightsline).
• Procurement teams that require named enterprise customer references upfront.

Alternatives

• Molten Cloud: broader bundled module set including 100+ platform delivery templates.
• Rightsline: consolidated enterprise stack with deeper contract configurability.
• Whip Media: SVOD-delivery and platform-performance specialist alternative.
• Vistex Counterpoint: for participations-led buyers.
• Rights Management Software in 2026: post-rollup buyer’s guide.
• How to Choose Rights Management Software: decision framework.

Sources

• Rights Tracker vendor website: rightstracker.com
• Anonymised customer case studies: rightstracker.com/casestudy
• Founder LinkedIn: Ross Bentley
• LinkedIn company profile and Latka revenue/headcount data