Neighboring Rights for Independent Artists: The Complete Guide

TL;DR

Neighboring rights are royalties paid to performers and record labels when sound recordings are broadcast or streamed in over 150 countries outside the US. Unlike performance royalties (which go to songwriters), neighboring rights go to the people who recorded the music — artists and masters owners. Most independent artists have never registered for them and collect nothing from international radio, TV, and streaming.

There is a category of music royalties that doesn't exist in the United States — not because the US doesn't collect them, but because the US explicitly excluded them from its copyright law decades ago. Most of the world does not have this exclusion.

These are neighboring rights.

In the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, and over 150 other countries, broadcasters and digital services pay a royalty specifically to the performers and record labels when a sound recording is played. This is separate from the songwriter's performance royalty (ASCAP/BMI) and separate from on-demand streaming revenue.

For a UK radio station playing your song: PRS for Music (UK PRO) collects a fee from the broadcaster for the songwriter's rights, AND PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) collects a separate fee for the recording artist's rights. In the US, this second collection doesn't happen for AM/FM radio — though SoundExchange collects it for digital services.

According to IFPI's Global Music Report, sound recording performance rights (neighboring rights) generated approximately $2.7 billion globally in 2023. Independent artists receive a fraction of this proportional to their registration status. Independent artists receive a fraction of this proportional to their registration status.

Who Neighboring Rights Are Paid To

Neighboring rights split into two pools:

Performer's share: Paid to the featured artists who performed on the recording. If you are the artist, this is you. If you recorded a song with session musicians, they may also have a claim on this share.

Producer's share (or labels' share): Paid to whoever owns the master recording copyright. If you own your masters, this is also you — meaning you can collect both portions as an independent artist.

As an independent artist who wrote, recorded, and owns your masters, you are potentially entitled to 100% of neighboring rights royalties from international plays.

Where Neighboring Rights Come From

The sources that generate neighboring rights royalties:

Broadcast radio. AM/FM radio in the EU, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of the world pays neighboring rights to artists. This is the royalty stream the US has explicitly not adopted for terrestrial radio — though lobbying efforts to change this have been ongoing for years.

Television. TV channels that use music pay neighboring rights, separate from the sync fee and songwriter royalties.

International digital streaming. Streaming services that operate internationally — Spotify in Europe, Apple Music in Japan — trigger neighboring rights obligations in many territories. The interaction between on-demand streaming royalties and neighboring rights varies by country, but many CMOs collect them.

Public performance in venues. In many countries, venues pay neighboring rights fees when recorded music plays, in addition to the songwriter's performance royalty.

The Organizations That Collect Them

Each country has its own neighboring rights collection society:

The US SoundExchange is the closest American equivalent — but it covers only digital services (Pandora, SiriusXM), not AM/FM radio. For terrestrial radio neighboring rights in the US, independent artists currently have no recourse (this is the "performance tax" debate).

How to Register for Neighboring Rights

Option 1: Register through your PRO's neighboring rights program. ASCAP and BMI both have affiliated neighboring rights programs that can register you with international CMOs. BMI has a specific neighboring rights enrollment through a partner organization. ASCAP has a similar program. This is the most accessible path for most independent artists.

Option 2: Register directly with each CMO. For artists with significant plays in specific countries, direct registration with PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), or other major societies can yield higher payouts because you avoid the intermediary layer. PPL registration is free for UK-based artists; some societies charge fees or have eligibility requirements.

Option 3: Use a neighboring rights administrator. Companies that specialize in neighboring rights collection can register you across multiple territories for a percentage of collected royalties (typically 15–25%). This is appropriate for artists with substantial international plays but limited time.

What You Need to Register

Regardless of which path you choose, neighboring rights registration requires:

• Your legal name as featured artist
• Your stage name or recording name
• ISRCs for your recordings (essential — CMOs use ISRCs to match plays to performers)
• Evidence of performance (distributor statements, streaming data)
• Proof that you are the featured performer on the recordings
• If claiming the producer/label share: documentation of master ownership

The ISRC requirement is critical. Without ISRCs submitted to neighboring rights societies, they cannot match international broadcast and streaming reports to your recordings. This is the most common gap in existing independent artist registrations.

How Much Could You Be Missing?

Neighboring rights income varies significantly based on where your music plays. Some benchmarks:

• PPL generated £301 million in revenue in 2024 — a record — per PPL's Annual Review 2024, distributed to over 170,000 registered performers and recording rights owners
• GVL (Germany) distributed over €258 million in 2024, per GVL's reporting
• Re:Sound (Canada) distributed over $30 million CAD annually

For an independent artist with meaningful UK or European radio airplay — even occasional placement on Spotify editorial playlists that trigger neighboring rights obligations — annual neighboring rights income can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year, entirely separate from any other royalty stream.

Artists with catalog that has been streaming internationally for several years without neighboring rights registration may have accumulated significant retroactive claims. PPL, for example, allows retroactive claims going back several years for registered performers.

The US Exception and Why It Matters

The United States does not require AM/FM broadcasters to pay neighboring rights to performing artists. This is a longstanding carve-out from US copyright law.

This means: when a US radio station plays your song, the songwriter gets a royalty (via ASCAP or BMI) but the artist does not — unless the station is digital.

However, the US's position creates complications for American artists internationally: under reciprocity principles, some foreign CMOs do not pay out to American artists because the US does not reciprocate the payment to foreign artists. This is the "national treatment" issue in neighboring rights, and it affects how much American artists can collect from certain territories.

Despite this, many territories do pay out to US artists — particularly digital services. SoundExchange has reciprocal agreements with PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), SENA (Netherlands), and others that allow US artists to collect international digital performance royalties through their SoundExchange registration.

What CreateBase Does for Neighboring Rights

CreateBase handles neighboring rights registration and recovery as part of every international royalty engagement:

• We register you with your PRO's neighboring rights program and key international CMOs
• We submit your complete ISRC catalog to ensure matching works correctly
• We identify retroactive claims opportunities with PPL, GVL, and other major societies
• We leverage SoundExchange's reciprocal agreements to capture international digital royalties through a single registration point
• We monitor international neighboring rights distributions for your catalog on an ongoing basis

Find out what international neighboring rights you're missing → CreateBase delivers a free personalized royalty gap report within 48 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are neighboring rights and who is entitled to them?

A: Neighboring rights are royalties paid to performers and record label owners (masters owners) when sound recordings are broadcast or publicly performed. They are "neighboring" to copyright in the musical composition — they protect the recording, not the underlying song. Any artist who has performed on a commercially released recording is potentially entitled to neighboring rights royalties from the 150+ countries that recognize them. Independent artists who own their masters can collect both the performer share and the producer/label share.

Q: Does the United States have neighboring rights?

A: The US has a limited form of neighboring rights through SoundExchange, which collects digital performance royalties from services like Pandora, SiriusXM, and webcasters. However, the US does not require AM/FM radio broadcasters to pay neighboring rights to performers — a position that differs from the UK, EU, Canada, Japan, and most of the world. American artists can still collect neighboring rights from foreign countries that recognize them, subject to reciprocity agreements.

Q: If I'm registered with SoundExchange, am I also covered for international neighboring rights?

A: Partially. SoundExchange has reciprocal agreements with PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), SENA (Netherlands), and several other societies. Through these agreements, SoundExchange can collect and distribute international digital performance royalties for your catalog if you're registered with them. However, this covers only the territories and royalty types included in those specific agreements. For comprehensive international neighboring rights coverage — particularly broadcast radio — direct registration with key foreign CMOs or through your PRO's neighboring rights program is more complete.

Q: I've been releasing music for five years without neighboring rights registration. Can I claim back royalties?

A: Yes, for royalties still within each society's holding period. PPL (UK) allows retroactive claims going back several years. GVL (Germany) has a similar retroactive window. The exact lookback period varies by society. The sooner you register and file claims, the more retroactive royalties you can recover before they are redistributed within each society's membership pool.

Q: Do I need to register separately in every country?

A: Not necessarily. In many cases, registering through your PRO's neighboring rights program or through a neighboring rights administrator gives you access to multiple territories through reciprocal agreements. Registering with PPL, for example, connects you to PPL's reciprocal network across dozens of countries. SoundExchange connects you to digital performance royalties in several key territories. For maximum coverage — particularly in Germany, France, and Japan — additional direct registration may be beneficial.

Sources

• IFPI Global Music Report — $2.7B in global sound recording performance rights in 2023
• PPL Annual Review 2024 — £301M revenue in 2024 (record)
• GVL Annual Report 2024 — €258M+ in German neighboring rights distributions in 2024
• SoundExchange — Reciprocal agreements for international digital performance royalties
• IFPI Global Music Report — International music industry data