SoundExchange is the US organisation that collects digital performance royalties for recordings played on internet radio, satellite radio, and cable music services. For UK artists with any US audience, it is a royalty stream that requires direct registration; it is one that most independent artists have never claimed.
What is SoundExchange?
SoundExchange is a US non-profit performance rights organisation that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings, specifically for the master recording, not the underlying composition. It was established under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and holds a statutory licence that requires digital broadcasters (internet radio stations, satellite radio services like SiriusXM, cable music services like Music Choice, and some webcasters) to pay a set rate for the recordings they use. SoundExchange then collects those payments and distributes them to registered rights holders: 50% to the rights holder (usually the record label or the artist if self-released) and 50% to the featured performing artist, with a small percentage also distributed to non-featured session musicians and vocalists.
Who SoundExchange pays
SoundExchange maintains two separate registrant categories: sound recording copyright owners (the label or artist who owns the master) and featured artists (the performing artist on the track). These are distinct registrations because SoundExchange distributes the payment in two equal pools. If you are an independent artist who owns your own masters, you are eligible to register in both categories and collect the full 100% of the SoundExchange distribution for your recordings. If you are signed to a label, the label registers as the rights owner and you register as the featured artist; the two pools remain separate and both must be registered to ensure each share is correctly paid.
Why UK artists need to register directly
UK artists might assume that PPL, the UK neighbouring rights organisation, handles US income through its international reciprocal agreements. PPL does have agreements with many overseas organisations, but SoundExchange is not a standard reciprocal partner in the same way that European neighbouring rights societies are. For the categories of income that SoundExchange collects (US non-interactive digital audio transmissions), UK artists typically need to register directly with SoundExchange to collect. Relying on PPL's reciprocal arrangements for SoundExchange income is unreliable and often results in no collection. If your music is being played on Pandora, SiriusXM, or similar services and you are not registered with SoundExchange, that income has no registered claimant.
How to register with SoundExchange
Registration is free and completed online at soundexchange.com. You will need to create an account and then submit a registration as either a rights owner, a featured artist, or both. For each registration, SoundExchange will ask for your legal name, contact information, banking details for payment, and a list of recordings for which you are claiming rights. You can register your recordings by ISRC. SoundExchange also publishes a database of unclaimed royalties; artists who believe they may have uncollected SoundExchange income can search by artist name before registering. Once registered, SoundExchange distributes quarterly. Processing a registration and beginning distributions typically takes several months, but once complete, payments are retroactive to the point of registration.
The difference between SoundExchange and ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
A common point of confusion is the relationship between SoundExchange and the US performing rights organisations (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC). The key distinction is that ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect royalties for the composition (words and music), while SoundExchange collects royalties for the recording (the master). If your song is played on US internet radio, ASCAP or BMI collects the composition performance royalty (and your UK PRO, PRS, handles the international equivalent through reciprocal agreements). SoundExchange collects the recording performance royalty: the share that goes to the owner of the master and the featured performer. These are separate payment streams from separate sources, and none of them automatically routes to the others.
Code Group Music's Publishing Administration service includes SoundExchange registration as part of a full neighbouring rights and publishing setup for UK independent artists. If you have never registered with SoundExchange and have US streaming or broadcast activity, a Catalog Assessment will help identify how much you may have left on the table. Start at codegroupmusic.co.uk/#catalog-assessment.
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