What is a Neighboring Rights Society?

A neighboring rights society is an organization that collects and distributes royalties on behalf of performers and owners of sound recordings when those recordings are publicly used. These societies focus on the rights related to the sound recording, rather than the underlying musical composition.

Neighboring rights societies collect royalties from uses such as radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, public performances in venues, and certain types of digital streaming. When a recording is played publicly, the society collects licensing fees from the broadcasters or venues and distributes those royalties to the performers and the owners of the master recording.

These organizations help ensure that recording artists and record labels receive compensation when their recorded performances are used publicly. They operate similarly to performing rights organizations but focus specifically on neighboring rights connected to sound recordings.