Neighboring Rights Explained: International Radio Royalties

Neighboring rights are performance royalties paid to performers and labels when recorded music is played on radio, TV, or in public venues. These royalties exist in most countries outside the US and are separate from songwriter royalties. If your music plays internationally and you have not registered for neighboring rights, you are leaving money uncollected.

Songwriters have performance royalties. The song gets played, the writer gets paid through their PRO. That system is familiar.

Neighboring rights are the performer equivalent. When a recording plays on the radio in the UK, Germany, or Japan, the performers on that recording are owed money. Not the songwriter. The people who actually performed on the track.

This distinction matters because most artists are both writers and performers. You might collect your songwriter royalties through ASCAP or BMI while your neighboring rights royalties sit unclaimed in collection societies around the world. For the complete picture of royalty types, see Music Royalties Explained: The 6 Types You Earn.

What Neighboring Rights Are

The Legal Framework

Neighboring rights (sometimes called "related rights") come from the Rome Convention of 1961 and subsequent treaties. They recognize that performers contribute creative value to recordings, separate from the underlying composition.

This creates two parallel royalty streams for the same broadcast:

1. Performance royalty to the songwriter/publisher (composition)

2. Neighboring rights royalty to the performer/label (recording)

If you wrote and performed a song, you are owed both. Most artists collect the first and miss the second.

Who Gets Paid

Neighboring rights royalties are typically split between:

• Featured performers: The artist whose name is on the release (usually 45-50%)

• Session musicians: Non-featured performers who played on the recording (variable, often collected through union agreements)

• Rights holders: The label or whoever owns the master recording (usually 50%)

The exact split varies by country and collecting society.

Where They Exist

Neighboring rights are collected in most major music markets: all of Europe (UK, Germany, France), Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and approximately 70 other countries.

Notable exception: The United States does not have a general neighboring right for terrestrial radio. US radio stations pay only songwriter royalties, not performer royalties. Digital radio like SiriusXM and streaming services do pay performers through SoundExchange.

This means American artists with international airplay are owed money in other countries even though they receive nothing from US terrestrial radio.

The Collection Society System

How It Works

Each country has one or more collection societies that monitor broadcasts and public performances, collect fees from radio stations and broadcasters, and distribute royalties to registered performers and labels. To receive your royalties, you must register with the appropriate societies.

Major Collection Societies

This is not a complete list. Dozens of countries have their own societies.

How to Collect Your Royalties

Option 1: Register Directly

You can register with each collection society individually. This is free but time-consuming. Identify countries where your music is played, find the appropriate collection society in each country, complete their registration with proof of identity and your discography, and register your recordings with accurate credits.

Challenges: Each society has different requirements and processes. Some require local representation. Managing multiple registrations is administratively complex. Registration backlogs can delay payment by years.

Option 2: Use a Neighboring Rights Administrator

Companies specialize in collecting neighboring rights globally. They register you with societies, track your royalties, and handle collection.

Sign with an administrator, provide your discography and credit information, and they register you with relevant societies worldwide. They collect and distribute your royalties minus their commission, typically 10-20%.

The benefit: they often collect royalties you would never find on your own, from societies you did not know existed in countries where you did not know your music played.

When Direct Registration Makes Sense

Your music plays primarily in 1-2 countries, you have time to manage the administration, or your royalties are relatively small (not worth the commission).

When an Administrator Makes Sense

Your music plays in multiple countries, you have significant international radio play, you want to maximize collection without administrative burden, or you have back catalog with potentially unclaimed royalties.

What You Need to Register

Regardless of how you register, you will need:

• ISRC codes: Unique identifiers for each recording

• Complete credits: Every performer on every track

• Release information: Dates, labels, catalog numbers

• Proof of identity: Passport, tax documents

• Proof of performance: Evidence you performed on the recordings

The more complete your information, the better your collection.

Common Situations

You Are the Featured Artist and the Writer

You are owed performance royalties as the songwriter (through your PRO), neighboring rights as the performer (through collection societies), and neighboring rights as the label if you own your masters. Make sure you are registered for all three.

You Performed on Someone Else's Recording

You may be owed neighboring rights as a session player, depending on your contract for the session, whether the recording is broadcast in neighboring rights territories, and whether you are registered with the relevant societies. Session players often have unclaimed royalties. Check if you are eligible.

Your Label Owns Your Masters

The label receives the label share of neighboring rights (typically 50%). You receive the performer share. Make sure your registration reflects this accurately.

If your contract gives you a percentage of the label's neighboring rights income, verify the label is actually collecting and paying through.

Your Song Is Covered by Someone Else

If another artist covers your song, you receive performance royalties as the songwriter. You do not receive neighboring rights because you did not perform on that recording. The performer of the cover does.

Maximizing Your Collection

Accurate Credits Are Everything

Collection societies match recordings to performers using credits. If your name is spelled differently on different releases, you may have multiple unlinked profiles with unclaimed royalties. Standardize your name. Link your profiles. Claim all your recordings.

Register Proactively

Do not wait until you know you have airplay. Register your catalog now. Royalties accrue whether you are registered or not, but collection societies have limits on how far back they will pay. Some only pay 2-3 years retroactively.

Check for Unclaimed Royalties

Societies publish lists of unclaimed royalties. Search for your name and recordings. Money may be waiting.

Keep Your Discography Updated

Every new release should be registered. Build this into your release workflow. If you use an administrator, make sure they know about new releases promptly.

FAQ

Why doesn't the US have neighboring rights for radio?

The US broadcast industry successfully lobbied against them, arguing that airplay provides promotional value. Legislation has been proposed but not passed.

How much money are we talking about?

An artist with regular UK radio play might receive hundreds to thousands of pounds per year. International touring artists with broad airplay can receive tens of thousands.

Is this the same as SoundExchange?

SoundExchange collects equivalent royalties for US digital radio and streaming. It does not collect international terrestrial radio royalties. You need both.

My label handles this, right?

Maybe. Labels collect the label share. They may or may not collect your performer share on your behalf. Check your contract. If in doubt, register yourself.

Read Next

• Music Royalties Explained: The 6 Types You Earn

• Music Income: How Artists Actually Get Paid

• Music Publishing: How It Works

Know What You Are Owed:

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