Neighboring rights general

What are neighboring rights?
In short it is the right of anyone who performed on a recording to receive payment when it is broadcast, played in public or streamed. Although neighboring rights are not identical to copyright, both rights are related hence the term “neighboring”. A very important international treaty protecting the rights of performers is the Rome Convention. The countries who signed and ratified this treaty have largely based their legislation on it. One of the convention’s principles is that countries grant nationals of other signatories the same level of protection as their local artists. However, the rules determining whether a recording qualifies for neighboring rights royalties can differ per country. In some countries the nationality of the artist is relevant, in others the country of recording, the country in which the record label is based, or even the country where the track was released. And then to complicate things even further, there are countries using a combination of rules.
