Neighbouring Rights Explained — What Indie Composers Should Know

What neighbouring rights are

Neighbouring rights (sometimes called “neighbouring rights of phonogram producers”) are a separate set of rights from copyright. They belong to:

• Performers — people who perform on a recording.
• Phonogram producers — typically the entity that financed and owns the master recording.

These are different from copyright (which sits with the songwriter/composer). Neighbouring rights exist separately under the Rome Convention and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

How they pay out

Neighbouring rights are paid:

• For the use of a specific recording in public performance — broadcast radio, certain streaming, certain TV use.
• In jurisdictions outside the US — the US is the notable exception that does not have a neighbouring rights framework, partly because US copyright already covers some of the ground.
• Through national collecting societies — PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), SIAE (Italy), etc.

A broadcast radio station in Germany playing a master recording owes the neighbouring-right owner a royalty that flows through GVL.

How an indie composer collects

If you’re both the songwriter AND the performer AND the owner of the master, you can collect neighbouring rights as the performer and as the master owner. (You collect copyright/performance royalties as the songwriter via your PRO.)

To collect neighbouring rights:

1. Identify the relevant society for each jurisdiction where your music is performed.
2. Register as a performer and master owner with each society.
3. Submit your catalog with ISRC and metadata.
4. Reconcile usage reports as they come in (typically quarterly).

The big collection societies handle this — most have reciprocal arrangements to collect on behalf of foreign rights-holders.

When it matters

Neighbouring rights matter most when:

• Your music is played on broadcast radio (especially in EU/UK/AU/CA/JP).
• Your music gets sync placement in TV or film productions with broadcast distribution.
• Your master recordings are licensed for compilations or samples used in other works.

For indie composers who do significant international promotion, neighbouring rights can be a meaningful revenue stream — but it requires deliberate registration.

Where LicenseTrack fits

Neighbouring rights are a registration-and-reporting workflow, not a fingerprint-matching workflow. LicenseTrack doesn’t directly register neighbouring rights claims — but it does surface the usage (the master-on-YouTube, the master-in-a-podcast-intro) that you can then route through the appropriate collection society.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the PRO collects neighbouring rights too. Most PROs only handle performance royalties on the composition side.
• Missing the master-owner half. Even if you’re registered as a composer, you’re not automatically registered as a master owner with the neighbouring rights society.
• Confusing neighbouring rights with mechanical royalties. Different streams, different societies, different rules.

Internal links

• See how LicenseTrack monitors Spotify.
• Read about collecting royalties directly.
• Catch every match on YouTube.