---
title: Neighbouring rights: the royalty US radio does not pay performers
publisher: RapCanon
canonical: https://rapcanon.com/glossary/neighbouring-rights/
license: CC-BY-4.0
retrieved: 2026-08-12
---

> Neighbouring rights are performance royalties paid for the use of a sound RECORDING, as distinct from the performance royalties paid for the underlying composition.

Glossary · Ownership

 
# Neighbouring rights

 
also filed under: related rights, sound recording performance royalties, neighboring rights

 
 

 
 Neighbouring rights are performance royalties paid for the use of a sound RECORDING, as distinct from the performance royalties paid for the underlying composition. 

 
## The mechanism

 
Two separate copyrights exist in most songs: the composition and the recording of it. Performing rights organisations collect for the composition. Neighbouring rights collect for the recording, and are split between the featured artist, the non-featured performers and the rights holder. They are administered by different bodies in different territories, which is why they are the most commonly unclaimed income in music.

 
## A worked example

 A record played on digital radio generates a composition royalty routed through a PRO to the writers, and a separate recording royalty routed through a neighbouring-rights body to the performers and the label. 

 A song on US terrestrial radio pays the writer and pays the performer nothing. 

 
## What it is confused with

 - Performing rights organisation A PRO collects for the composition and pays writers and publishers. Neighbouring rights collect for the recording and pay performers and the recording's owner. Registering with one does not register you for the other.
- Master versus composition Master versus composition is the ownership distinction. Neighbouring rights are one specific income stream that flows from the recording side of that split.
 

 
## Why it matters

 
In the United States, terrestrial AM/FM radio pays the composition side but pays the recording side nothing at all. A record can be in heavy rotation on American radio and generate zero neighbouring-rights income domestically, while the same play in most other countries would pay the performers.

 
Sources: US Copyright Office
 This entry is part of an open dataset published under CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution.
 Related: Recoupment · Black box royalties · 360 deal

---

## How to cite this page

**APA**
RapCanon. (2026). Neighbouring rights: the royalty US radio does not pay performers. Retrieved from https://rapcanon.com/glossary/neighbouring-rights/

**BibTeX**
```bibtex
@misc{rapcanon-glossary-neighbouring-rights,
  title  = {Neighbouring rights: the royalty US radio does not pay performers},
  author = {{RapCanon}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://rapcanon.com/glossary/neighbouring-rights/},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-08-12}
}
```

**Wikipedia**
```
{{cite web |title=Neighbouring rights: the royalty US radio does not pay performers |url=https://rapcanon.com/glossary/neighbouring-rights/ |publisher=RapCanon |access-date=2026-08-12}}
```

Licensed CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.
Canonical HTML: https://rapcanon.com/glossary/neighbouring-rights/