Are You Missing Out on Royalties?

If you are a music composer, you are probably aware that you are due royalties when your music is broadcast, and that collection of those royalties is handled through performers rights organizations ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. If you are a performer, you may not be aware that you are also due a royalty when your recorded music is broadcast in certain media, and that those royalties are handled by SoundExchange (for royalty artists) and the AFM & AFTRA Fund (for sidemusicians).

SoundExchange

SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization that collects statutory royalties from satellite radio (such as SIRIUS XM), internet radio, cable TV music channels and similar platforms for streaming sound recordings. The Copyright Royalty Board, which is appointed by The U.S. Library of Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the sole entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties on behalf of featured recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who record and own their masters.

For more information, visit http://www.soundexchange.com/

AFM & AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund

The AFM & AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund was formed for the purpose of distributing royalties from various foreign territories and royalties established by government statute under U.S. Copyright Law.

Where do these royalties come from?

AFTRA & the AFM collectively entered in a variety of negotiations and agreements with organizations including Geidankyo/Center for Performing Rights Administration (CPRA) in Japan and US government agencies to secure royalties for non-featured performers (e.g. sidemusicians & background vocalists).

What are the specific sources of revenue that are currently handled by the AFM & AFTRA Fund?

The Fund distributes money to non-featured vocalists and non-featured musicians for the rental in Japan of U.S. and Japanese produced sound recordings, Japanese Private Home Copying, Dutch royalties received from SENA in the Netherlands for Private Home Copying and certain broadcast royalties, Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) monies, and statutory license royalties for the digital broadcast of sound recordings in the U.S pursuant to the DPRA (Digital Performance Rights in Sound Recordings Act of 1995) and DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998).

For more information, visit http://www.raroyalties.org/

Terrestrial Radio Royalties

While performers do not currently receive royalties when their music is broadcast over terrestrial radio (over the air), the AFM is currently lobbying to make this happen. For more information on the campaign, please visit http://www.afm.org/departments/legislative-office/sign-the-afm-perfomance-rights-petition