Blog

Welcome back to our Beginner Series! In this post, we’re digging into who actually gets paid when a recording earns neighboring rights royalties. Whether you’re a lead artist, a session musician, or a label, this one’s for you.Neighbouring rights - Who gets paid and why?If you’ve performed on a recording that’s been officially released, your work could be generating income every time that recording is played in public—on the radio, in a café, on TV, or on certain streaming platforms. But who exactly qualifies for these royalties?This is where neighboring rights come in. These rights ensure that the people who helped bring a recording to life are fairly compensated when that recording is used commercially. But not everyone involved in a song qualifies, so let’s look at who does.🎤 Featured Performers A featured performer is typically the main artist credited on a track. This could be a lead singer, a solo instrumentalist, or a member of a band whose name appears as the primary act. If this is you, you almost certainly have a right to neighboring rights royalties.🎧 Non-Featured or Session Musicians Many countries also recognize the rights of non-featured performers—also called session musicians or background vocalists. If you were hired to perform on a track but weren’t listed as a main artist, you might still be eligible for royalties.🎚️ Producers and Record Labels The producer or record label that invested in the creation and release of the recording also receives a share of neighboring rights royalties. This reflects their role in financing, organizing, and distributing the music.🧠 In Summary Neighboring rights are shared between: - Featured artists - Session musicians (in many cases) - Producers or record labelsIf you’ve performed on a track that’s being played somewhere in the world, your contribution may be earning royalties—whether you know it or not.📅 Next post: “How to Claim Neighboring Rights Royalties”

Episode 2: Who Gets Paid and Why?

Welcome to the first post in our Beginner Series on Neighbouring Rights! If you’ve ever performed on a track and wondered whether you’re entitled to royalties, this is the place to start. We’ll walk you through what neighbouring rights are, how they differ from copyright royalties, and why they matter.What are neighbouring rights? <br style="border-color: #e5e7eb; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(62,172,255,.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-transform: translateX(0) translateY(0) rotate(0) skewX(0) skewY(0) scaleX(1) scaleY(1); --tw-border-opacity: 1;" data-mce-style="border-color: #e5e7eb; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(62,172,255,.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-transform: translateX(0) translateY(0) rotate(0) skewX(0) skewY(0) scaleX(1) scaleY(1); --tw-border-opacity: 1;">When most people think about music royalties, they usually picture the rights earned by songwriters and composers. These are known as copyright royalties, and they protect the melody, lyrics, and structure of a song. But there’s another important type of right that’s often overlooked—especially by performing artists. These are called neighbouring rights.Neighbouring rights are a type of royalty paid to the people involved in the recording of a piece of music. This includes:- Performers (both featured and non-featured/session musicians) - Producers or record labels (those who fund or release the recordings)These royalties are generated when a recording is used publicly. That can include:- Airplay on radio and TV - Music played in restaurants, shops, gyms, or hotels - Use on certain streaming platforms or internet radio servicesIf you’ve performed on a commercially released recording, and that recording is played in any of these settings, you may be entitled to royalty payments—even if you didn’t write the song.Copyright protects the song itself—the composition, lyrics, and melody. Copyright royalties are paid to the songwriter and music publisher.Neighbouring rights, on the other hand, protect the recording of the song. They reward the people who helped bring the song to life in a studio. So, if you’re a vocalist, instrumentalist, or producer on a track that’s played in public, you may have a right to royalties—regardless of who wrote the song.For many artists, neighbouring rights are a valuable income stream—especially if their recordings receive regular radio play, are included in playlists, or used by businesses. However, these royalties are not automatic. You need to be registered with the right organizations, and your contributions must be documented correctly.Unfortunately, many performers miss out on these payments because they simply don’t know the rights exist, or they aren’t sure how to claim them. That’s where this blog series comes in.Over the next few weeks, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know—who qualifies, how to register, common mistakes, and how to get help if you need it.📅 Next post: “Who Gets Paid and Why?”

Episode 1: What Are Neighbouring Rights?

Navigating the world of music rights can be overwhelming—especially when it comes to neighbouring rights, which are often misunderstood or overlooked entirely. That’s why we’ve created this Beginner Series: to break things down in a clear, accessible way for anyone new to the topic.Every two weeks, we’ll explore a different aspect of neighbouring rights, helping performers, producers, and rights holders understand what these royalties are, who qualifies, and how to make sure you’re not missing out on income you’ve earned. From the basics of what neighbouring rights are, to claiming royalties, avoiding common mistakes, and understanding international usage and streaming, this series is designed to help you feel informed and empowered.Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refresh your knowledge, we hope this series helps you get the most from your recordings.Stay tuned for the first post called "What are neighbouring rights" which will be released here over the next few days.

Understanding neighbouring rights: Beginner series

Recently, Sweden's Ministry of Justice has announced to implement national treatment remuneration rules for music usage, effective July 1, 2025. This policy change represents a significant advancement in aligning national copyright laws with European Union directives and it ensures that foreign music creators receive the same remuneration as Swedish nationals, promoting fairness and equity in the global music industry.The Netherlands was among the first to respond to the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU) 2020 ruling in the RAAP v. PPI case. By January 1, 2021, the Dutch collection society SENA began implementing national treatment, extending equitable remuneration rights to non-EEA performers and producers, including those from the United States. Similarly, Denmark's collecting society, Gramex, has recently aligned its practices with the CJEU's directive, ensuring that foreign artists receive equitable remuneration for the use of their music within Denmark. ​Sweden's decision to adopt national treatment further underscores the importance of non-discriminatory practices in the creative sector and highlights the evolving landscape of international copyright law. As more countries follow suit, the global music industry moves closer to a fair and equitable system for all creators, regardless of nationality.

Sweden adopting national treatment for artists

LP vinyl record with sound graphic equalizer and musical notes, against black background

For decades, the way performing rights organisations (PROs) have distributed royalties from background music — the kind played in shops, cafés, gyms, hotels and restaurants — has largely depended on estimates, market research, or proxy data rather than direct measurement. That approach was born out of necessity: it was simply not feasible to track every song played in every venue.But as technology evolves, so does the potential to make royalty distributions fairer and more accurate — based on what’s actually being played, in real time.Why it mattersBackground music represents a significant source of revenue for music rights holders. Yet historically, this revenue hasn’t been distributed in a way that reflects true usage. This often leads to:- Overrepresentation of popular, mainstream tracks. - Underpayment to niche genres, emerging artists, or local repertoire. - A lack of transparency in how performance data is collected and processed. By capturing real-world data directly from venues, PROs can better reflect actual music use, benefiting a broader range of creators.Audoo’s approachOne of the most visible companies in this emerging field is Audoo, a UK-based music recognition company focused specifically on monitoring background music in public venues.Audoo has developed a dedicated device — the Audoo Audio Meter — which is installed in venues such as shops, bars and restaurants. These devices continuously and passively recognise music being played using audio fingerprinting technology. Importantly, the system is designed with privacy in mind, capturing only music (not speech) and processing data securely in line with GDPR.Audoo partners with PROs around the world, providing them with high-resolution data to improve the accuracy of royalty distributions. Their goal is not only technological, but also ethical: to ensure that all artists, regardless of popularity, are fairly compensated when their music is played in public spaces.BMAT’s role in the backgroundAnother key player in the music data space is BMAT Music Innovators, a Barcelona-based company known for its audio fingerprinting and monitoring services. While BMAT is best known for tracking music usage in broadcast and live performance environments (such as radio, television, clubs and festivals), they also support background music monitoring indirectly.Rather than deploying their own hardware, BMAT works with collective management organisations to process data provided by background music service providers or third-party monitoring systems. In some cases, this includes data from venues where background music is used, though it is not their primary business focus.In that sense, BMAT plays a complementary role in the ecosystem — enabling PROs to make better-informed decisions about distributions, even if they are not directly gathering background music data at the point of use.A step towards transparencyThe move toward real-time monitoring of background music is part of a broader industry shift toward greater transparency and accountability. Whether through hardware deployments like Audoo’s, or through data processing platforms like BMAT’s, the goal is the same: to ensure that every creator gets paid when their music is played — not just those at the top of the charts.

Towards Fairer Royalties: The Rise of Background Music Monitoring

AI is quickly reshaping our daily lives, including the entertainment we seek in books, films and music. When it comes to the creation of new music, there are some critical issues artists and labels have to address: how to determine ownership, share revenues in a fair way, deal with AI in a responsible way, protection of true artistry. Understanding these developments is essential for artists finding their way in this ever changing landscape.Key Considerations for AI in Music Contracts1. Ownership &amp; AI-Generated MusicWith AI composing and replicating voices, ownership is a growing concern.· &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Labels may require artists to confirm whether work is human-made or AI-generated.· &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; AI-generated elements (and identified as such) in recordings might be treated as label-owned assets, similar to session musician contributions.2. Use of Artist's Voice &amp; LikenessAI cloning of voices makes rewriting of name and likeness clauses necessary.Some artist contracts grant labels rights to use AI-generated versions of an artist’s voice. On the other hand, artists with sufficient clout manage to negotiate consent clauses preventing unauthorized AI replication of their voice. 3. Revenue Sharing &amp; AI DerivativesFair compensation for AI-generated/enhanced music is under discussion.More and more, contracts now specify how royalties are split for AI-enhanced works. AI Detection Tools may likely be of in case of disputes about the proportion of AI-enhanced/generated elements. 4. AI Training RestrictionsArtists are trying to push for controls over AI training on their past recordings.Some contracts prevent labels from using recordings for AI training without consent.&nbsp; However, other agreements force AI companies to properly license artists’ work before allowing them to upload such recordings. 5. AI Detection ToolsCompanies are developing AI detection technology to protect artists.Platforms like YouTube and Deezer and monitoring companies such as Audible Magic use AI detection to distinguish between human-made and AI-generated music. Future agreements may require verification of track origins. ConclusionAI is transforming the music industry, making it essential for artists to stay informed. As contracts evolve, balancing innovation with creative rights protection is critical. We advise artists to carefully review agreements and seek legal advice to ensure fair treatment in this evolving landscape.

Zanoise blog

Episode 2: Who Gets Paid and Why?

Episode 1: What Are Neighbouring Rights?

Understanding neighbouring rights: Beginner series

Sweden adopting national treatment for artists

Towards Fairer Royalties: The Rise of Background Music Mo...

AI and Music Contracts: Key Things to Consider