DDEX stands for Digital Data Exchange. DDEX is a consortium of leading media companies, music licensing organizations, digital service providers and technical intermediaries, focused on the creation of digital supply chain standards. To support the automated exchange of information along the digital supply chain, DDEX has standardized the format in which information is represented in XML messages and the method by which the messages are exchanged between business partners. These standards are developed and made available for industry-wide implementation. DDEX standards help rightsholders, retailers and technical intermediaries to more effectively communicate information along the digital supply chain. This leads to efficient business transactions, reduced costs and increased revenues for all sectors involved. Formed in 2006, DDEX initially focused on standardizing message formats for the digital music supply chain but the foundation of the standards is sufficiently generic that they can easily be adapted to other digital media supply chains