Royalties
Non-Featured Musician Royalties
Session players and background vocalists get a statutory 5% of SoundExchange digital-performance royalties — 2.5% to musicians, 2.5% to vocalists — paid by the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund.
When a recording plays on non-interactive digital radio, US law (17 U.S.C. §114(g)) reserves 5% of the SoundExchange royalties for the people who played and sang on it but aren't the headline act: 2.5% to non-featured musicians and 2.5% to non-featured vocalists.
That 5% is paid by the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, separately from the 50% to the master owner and the 45% to the featured artist. You don't have to be a union member to be owed it.
It applies only to the statutory digital-performance royalty — not interactive streams, sales, or terrestrial radio.
Good to know
Non-Featured Musician Royalties: common questions
- Do I need to be in a union to collect these?
- No. The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund pays non-featured musicians and vocalists their statutory share whether or not they are union members.
- Where does the 5% come from?
- It is carved out of SoundExchange’s digital-performance receipts by statute — 2.5% for musicians and 2.5% for vocalists — on top of the 50% owner / 45% featured-artist split.