Collecting your neighbouring rights: your options
Making your choice
This section details the two most common routes for collection: the Self-Managed path for hands-on control and the Serviced option for those seeking expert assistance. Each offers unique benefits, suiting different needs.
Read on to find guidance on which approach could best support the collection of your neighbouring rights, ensuring an informed decision for your specific situation.
The completely independent approach for hands-on, admin-savvy people. If you're willing to manage your neighbouring rights by yourself, this option may well suit you. In this situation, it is up to you to:
Choose your society and membership set-up.
Handle the membership including correspondence and tax requirements.
Make sure you have a comprehensive overview of the recordings you performed on.
Submit claims for every recording you contributed to.
Check your royalty statements for accuracy and completeness.
If you’re not a born administrator or prefer to focus on your music, you can ask a specialised collection agent to take care of your neighbouring rights administration. This is especially interesting for artists with an extensive repertoire and significant airplay.
The experts will optimise your collection set-up.
They handle all the society-related correspondence for you.
They will assemble and organise the metadata regarding your recordings.
They will submit claims and evidence.
And they will analyse your statements.
That way, you can take a step back from the admin and focus on other things. There’s a cost to this, but generally, the collection agents take their share from the royalties they collect on your behalf.
Claim what's due
Although rules and regulations differ per country, most artists will be eligible for neighbouring rights in the majority of countries where their recordings are being played.
Uncertain which path to take?
We're happy to offer a complimentary consultation. We'll carefully look at the best choices for collecting your neighbouring rights, varying from doing everything by yourself to hiring someone else to do this for you.