Royalties
SoundExchange Royalties
SoundExchange pays digital-performance (neighboring-rights) royalties for US plays on services like SiriusXM and Pandora. Distributors register you only as the recording owner — so your featured-artist share goes unclaimed unless you register directly.
When your recording plays on US non-interactive digital radio — SiriusXM, webcasters, Pandora's radio tier — it earns a digital-performance royalty (also called neighboring rights) that SoundExchange collects. It pays two shares: one to the sound-recording owner, and one to the performers — the featured artist plus non-featured musicians.
The gap that leaves money unclaimed
Here's where money is lost: a distributor typically registers you only as the recording owner, not as the featured artist. The featured-artist share has to be claimed by registering directly with SoundExchange — until then it sits in SoundExchange's unclaimed pool. SoundExchange covers US plays only; international neighboring rights are collected by each country's own society.
How to make sure you collect it
Notes registers your recordings with SoundExchange for both shares and reconciles what it collects, so the full neighboring-rights royalty is matched to you. Run a free royalty review to see what you're owed.
Good to know
SoundExchange Royalties: common questions
- Does my distributor register me with SoundExchange?
- Usually only as the sound-recording owner — not as the featured artist. The featured-artist share has to be claimed by registering directly with SoundExchange, or it goes unpaid. Notes registers you for both shares.
- Does SoundExchange collect international royalties?
- No — SoundExchange covers US digital-performance royalties only. International neighboring rights are collected by each country's society, so you need separate registrations to collect them.