Royalties
Neighboring Rights
Neighboring rights are royalties paid to performers and the recording owner when a sound recording is publicly performed — the recording-side counterpart to songwriter performance royalties.
When a recording is broadcast or publicly performed, most countries pay a 'neighboring' right to the performers and master owner — separate from the songwriter's performance royalty on the composition.
In the US there's no neighboring right for terrestrial AM/FM radio, but non-interactive digital radio (Pandora, SiriusXM) does pay it, collected by SoundExchange. Internationally, neighboring rights are a large, frequently-uncollected income stream. Notes makes sure you're registered to collect them.
Good to know
Neighboring Rights: common questions
- How are neighboring rights different from performance royalties?
- Performance royalties are paid to the songwriter for the composition; neighboring rights are paid to the performer and master owner for the recording. Different owners, different collectors.
- Who collects neighboring rights in the US?
- SoundExchange, for non-interactive digital uses. There is no US neighboring right for terrestrial radio.
