Since Suno recently partnered with Warner Music Group, their fine print quietly changed. As technology advances, staying hyper-aware of your rights as an artist isn’t optional anymore.

So let’s break down what the terms actually say, what they mean for you, and my recommendations on how to use Suno without compromising your work.

What You Own vs. What You Grant

Suno’s terms are clear that your pre-existing intellectual property (your input to the platform) remains yours. If you write lyrics, compose a melody, or create chord progressions before uploading them, basic copyright law protects those elements.

But here’s the catch.

When you submit anything to Suno, whether that’s lyrics, audio, melodies, or prompts, you grant them a license that’s worth reading carefully:

“A worldwide, non-exclusive, fully paid-up, sublicensable, assignable, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, store, modify, distribute, create derivative works based on, perform, display, communicate, transmit and otherwise make available any and all Content... including... to train, develop, fine-tune or otherwise improve the Service and any related artificial intelligence or machine learning models.”1

Translation: The moment you upload your original lyrics or melody to Suno, you’re giving them permission to use that work to improve their AI. Forever; for free. And they can sublicense that right to others.

Let that sink in. Your phrasing, your melodic choices, your lyrical structures become part of the training data that helps Suno generate music for everyone else.

Suno’s CEO has suggested that not all user inputs directly train the model in the way people assume. From a technical standpoint, training on low-quality user submissions would pollute the model. But the terms of service explicitly reserve the right to use your submissions for training purposes. The legal language protects them, not you.

As much as we might want to cry theft, it’s not theft if you agreed to it. That’s why reading the fine print matters.

My personal advice: never upload your entire song to an AI platform if you care about your ownership rights. That might sound extreme, but it’s the safest position.

That said, you can still use these tools strategically. I recently started experimenting with Suno, and I only input prompts to work on a part for a song. Never the full song. A guitar texture here, a drum idea there. That way, the platform never has access to my complete work. And when I do use a part generated from Suno, I recreate it all in my DAW entirely.

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Ownership Depends on What You Pay (But It’s Not What You Think)

The terms make a clear distinction between tiers.

If you’re on a paid Pro plan, Suno assigns you their rights in the output. You can release commercially, distribute to streaming platforms, monetize, and license for sync.

If you’re on the free or basic tier, you can only use outputs for personal, non-commercial purposes. You must credit Suno and you don’t own what’s generated.

But here’s what’s hidden in the fine print about “ownership” on the Pro plan.

The Fine Print:

The ToS states: “Suno assigns to you all of its right, title and interest in and to any Output owned by Suno.”

Translation: You own what Suno owns. The problem? Suno might not own anything copyrightable in the first place. Courts are still deciding whether AI-generated content qualifies for copyright protection. If it doesn’t, you’re getting commercial rights to something with no legal protection.

The ToS also states: “Due to the nature of machine learning, Output may not be unique across users and the Service may generate the same or similar output for a third party.”

Translation: Someone else could prompt Suno tomorrow and get nearly identical output as yours. You’d have no legal claim against them.

What This Could Actually Look Like:

Scenario 1: You release a Suno track and it starts gaining traction. Another user prompts something nearly identical and releases it the same week. You can’t file a takedown because you can’t claim infringement. You both have “commercial use rights” to something neither of you owns.

Scenario 2: A music supervisor wants to license your track for a TV placement. They ask you to prove you own the copyright. You can’t and they pass because the legal uncertainty isn’t worth the risk. Sync deals require clear ownership chains.

Scenario 3: You build a catalog of 50 tracks using Suno over two years. You want to sell your masters or license your catalog to a publisher. But there’s nothing to sell. No transferable copyright means no asset. The music you made has no long-term value beyond what you already earned from streams.

The bottom line: AI-generated music might get you faster results, but there’s a price to pay. Commercial use rights let you release music today. Copyright ownership protects you tomorrow. With AI-generated output, you may only have the first.

Use platforms like Suno as a tool, but don’t rely on them to create full songs. Always put your own DNA in it. Your lyrics, your melodies, your human authorship in your own DAW. That’s what’s copyrightable.

The Platform Flagging Problem

Here’s something the ToS doesn’t tell you, but distribution platforms will.

Many distributors are now stamping music as “AI-generated” in their metadata, and platforms like Deezer automatically detects it. Even if only one song on an album used AI, the entire project can be branded as containing AI-generated content.

As AI detection improves, this metadata will only get stronger and more widespread. Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube are all watching how AI music evolves, and policies around disclosure, monetization, and content ID systems are shifting.

For self-label artists building long-term careers, being flagged as an AI artist could affect how your music is perceived, surfaced, and monetized.

The Arbitration Clause: Why This Could Cost You Money

If you’ve been following the conversation around AI and music, you’ve probably heard the concern: platforms like Suno may have scraped publicly available music to train their models without consent, compensation or credit.

Right now, there are multiple active lawsuits against Suno for exactly this. The major labels (Sony, Universal, Warner) filed their lawsuit in June 2024, which most were lifted recently since their partnerships with Suno/Udio.2 In June 2025, independent country artist Tony Justice filed a class action specifically representing indie artists, arguing that musicians whose music was scraped have been “left without a seat at the table” in the major label litigation.3 That lawsuit now has nearly 1,300 artists signed on as plaintiffs, with potential statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work.

Here’s where Suno’s ToS becomes significant. When you sign up, you agree to this:

“YOU AND SUNO AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING.”

Translation: If you’re an independent artist whose music may have been scraped to train Suno’s AI, and you create a Suno account, you may be signing away your right to: sue Suno in court, join the independent artist class action, or receive any settlement if that lawsuit wins.

The majority of music on streaming platforms comes from independent artists, not major labels. If Suno trained on publicly available music, indie artists are the ones most affected. And those same artists might unknowingly give up their legal options the moment they click “agree.”

If you believe your music may have been used to train AI models and you want to preserve your legal options, think carefully before creating an account.

Other Clauses Worth Knowing

A few more provisions that matter for artists:

You waive moral rights. The ToS states you “irrevocably waive any and all so-called ‘moral rights’” in your content.

This means you can’t later claim the output misrepresents your artistic vision or harms your reputation.

You indemnify Suno. If your use of the platform causes legal problems, you’re responsible for covering Suno’s legal fees.

If you generate something that sounds too close to an existing song and get sued, that’s entirely on you.

The license on your submissions is perpetual.

Even if you cancel your subscription and delete your account, the license you granted Suno continues indefinitely. They retain the right to use anything you submitted.

The Bottom Line for Self-Label Artists

If you write your own music:

• Don’t upload your original work to Suno.

• Don’t build your catalog on AI-generated output.

• Understand what you’re agreeing to.

• Consider your legal options before signing up.

• Use AI tools intentionally, not as a crutch.

The self-label path is about ownership. Handing your creative work to a platform that reserves the right to train AI models with it runs counter to everything ownership represents.

Create with intention. Protect what’s yours.

What’s your take? Have you used AI music tools in your process? How do you draw the line between experimentation and protecting your work?

Leave a comment

Legal Disclaimer: The information, ideas, and suggestions in this article are not intended as legal advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this article, you should consult your personal attorney.

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Sombr just said in a recent interview that he never releases music without A/B testing it first. He posts incomplete songs on TikTok and finishes them based on his audience’s reaction. The comments exploded with: “This is why music sucks now.” “Pandering to the masses kills art.” “This is the least artistic thing to do.”

But here’s what makes this complicated: Sombr hit 1.2 billion streams in under a year. At 20 years old, “Back to Friends” earned him a Grammy nomination and global chart domination. Yes, he has the major label support, but there’s something else that’s clearly working.

I did a deep dive on his release strategy. What I found reveals a tension every independent artist needs to understand: the difference between using TikTok as a tool and letting it dictate your art. I’ll also share with you a template to try this strategy for your next release.

The Three-Year Struggle Nobody Talks About

Sombr, real name Shane Michael Boose, signed with Warner Records at 17 after his self-produced song, “Caroline,” went viral overnight. Labels flooded his inbox the morning after release.

Here’s what the success stories leave out: Between “Caroline” and “Back to Friends,” he released nearly 20 songs. For three years, he was a signed artist with major label support, releasing music that didn’t hit as powerfully as his self-released song.

But when you listen to what he actually says about that period, a more complicated picture emerges.

In interviews, he talks about using TikTok to A/B test in real time -

“Being able to A/B test things is something you’ve never been able to do in history as a musician.”

A/B testing isn’t new to music. Artists have done it live for decades, reading crowd reactions and adjusting setlists. What’s different now is scale and speed.

But when asked what finally made “Back to Friends” work, he says something different:

“Everything before ‘Back to Friends’ was me making what I thought people wanted to hear. That wasn’t the truth. ‘Back to Friends’ was when I said, ‘I’m going to make what I feel like making.’”

For three years, he and the label were using audience data to guide his creative decisions. The breakthrough came when he stopped optimizing and started trusting his instinct.

The Mimetic Trap in Real Time

I recently wrote about René Girard’s concept of mimetic desire - the idea that we want things because others want them, not because they’re authentically ours. Sombr’s three-year struggle is mimetic desire playing out in real time.

When you use TikTok to decide what to create, you’re asking: “What do people already want?” You’re reverse-engineering your art from audience reaction. That’s not creation. It’s imitation on demand.

The songs that didn’t land weren’t bad - they still had millions of streams, but they just didn’t hit the threshold that was expected by the label. They were strategically shaped by what Sombr and the label thought would work based on what they saw performing.

“Back to Friends” wasn’t A/B tested into existence. He wrote it and made a demo alone in his bedroom, and brought it to producer Tony Berg to record and release it without knowing if it would connect. It sat for three months before it caught fire.

The virality wasn’t engineered. It was a response to something genuine.

When TikTok Testing Actually Helps

So here’s the framework: there’s a meaningful difference between what you should and shouldn’t let data influence.

What NOT to A/B test: The Music Itself

Using TikTok to decide what songs to make, what sounds to chase, what lyrics will resonate - this is where you end up making strategic content that doesn’t connect.

What you CAN test: The Presentation

Once you’ve made something authentic, experiment with how you present it:

• Does a certain camera angle perform better?

• Do text overlays increase engagement?

• Does a specific section hook people faster?

• Does raw footage outperform polished content?

This testing is about distribution, not creation. You’re not changing your art, but you’re learning how to get it in front of people who’ll connect with it.

What you CAN test: Which Song to Release Next

After “Back to Friends” charted, Sombr had been teasing “Undressed” on TikTok. He saw genuine excitement building. His label wanted to wait and milk the first song’s momentum.

Sombr pushed to release it anyway. He was reading his audience’s response to something he’d already made from a real place. The song charted alongside “Back to Friends” and the two songs ended up complementing each other.

Your Self-Label Toolkit: Apply This to Your Next Release

1. Find Your Clippable Moment

Test which section of your finished song has the strongest emotional hook. Post 3-5 short videos across a week, each featuring a different section:

2. Presentation Test: 7 Days, 7 Variations

Once you’ve identified your strongest hook, post it 7 different ways - one per day. Track which variation performs best. That becomes your template:

3. Build Community You Control

TikTok is excellent for discovery, but challenging for retention. You don’t own that relationship. If the algorithm shifts, you’re at its mercy.

Sombr recognized this early. He migrated superfans to Discord - a space for direct communication and deep community. The key is to use TikTok for exposure and to migrate those audiences to your platform of priority, whether that’s Spotify, your website, newsletter, etc.

Platform Migration Setup:

Pick your goal, then align all bios to one CTA:

If your goal is to drive a release:

• Pre-save link in TikTok bio

• Same link everywhere else

• Pinned post directing to pre-save

If your goal is to build a direct connection:

• Discord/newsletter link in all bios

• Exclusive content only through that platform

• Regular mention: “Join the Discord,” “Link in bio.”

The rule: Every social bio should point to the same link. Don’t split attention.

Here is a template for your next release. Try it out and let me know how it goes.

The Three-Year Lesson

What strikes me most about Sombr’s story is the patience required to survive the gap between signing and breaking through.

He was candid about the fear: “My ego was stroked so hard. I left school. When you’re thrown into a commercial thing and competing, if you don’t do numbers within a certain time, you get dropped. That was creeping in.”

But even while songs weren’t charting, Sombr was building genuine connections through content. As i-D magazine described him, Sombr’s online presence is ‘knowingly silly and self satirizing,’ leaning into the matcha-drinking, Clairo-streaming soft boy trope with full awareness.1

This is the major label reality: artists get signed before they’ve developed their identity, and labels start the clock before they understand who they even signed. The pressure to perform commercially is immediate and constant, and that pressure pushes you away from “your” art.

For self-label artists, the timeline might be longer, but the pressure is different. You’re not racing a contract clock. You’re building something sustainable.

The Question Worth Sitting With

So here’s a question to ask yourself if you’re using TikTok as a tool:

When you post a snippet and watch the response, are you learning what resonates? Or are you learning what to imitate?

The difference matters more than any algorithm.

Test how you present your song. Test what you prioritize. But you don’t have to test what you create. The second you do, you’re not making art - you’re making content. And those two things don’t last the same way, nor do they hold the same weight.

What’s your experience with using TikTok as a tool? Have you made something because you just want that viral moment? Or released something genuine without knowing if anyone would care?

Leave a comment

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Self-label simply means you guide the direction of your career. You operate like a label, whether that is just you for now or you plus a few key people. If ownership and creative control matter to you, this community is for you.

You are not unsigned. You are signed to yourself.

The Weight You Are Carrying Is Real

If you are releasing music, tracking royalties, pitching to playlists, posting content, juggling split sheets, and trying to stay creative all at once, of course, it feels like a lot. You are doing the work of an entire label team without the decades of training or support those teams receive.

Overwhelm is normal. Burnout happens.

But neither are signs that you are not cut out for this.

They are signs that you need more structure, not more pressure.

Education, experience, repetition, and a clear plan turn noise into direction. The self-label path also requires patience and self-compassion. You are building an ecosystem inside yourself. If that means putting a post-it note on your screen, reminding yourself to breathe, or that “you got this”, do it. It matters.

Avoid heckling yourself for not knowing what no one taught you.

Extend grace to the artist who is learning to be an entrepreneur and a creator at the same time.

Major Label vs. Self-Label: The Truth About Paths

I have my own opinions on why being a major label artist is no longer the romanticized path. I believe true ownership is the ultimate power move for an artist. With that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a major label deal. For some artists, their priorities, bandwidth, and goals make that path the right move.

However, the stronger you are as a self-label artist now, the more leverage you will have later. You understand the business well enough to make the label work for you, not the other way around.

What matters most is knowing the trade-offs and being honest about what you want from your career.

Major Label Artist Sacrifices:

• You give up ownership of your masters.

• You surrender some creative control.

• Your release timeline becomes dependent on the label’s priorities.

• Your earnings pass through a system that doesn’t value transparency.

• Your artistic direction is influenced by commercial expectations.

Self-Label Artist Sacrifices:

• You self-fund your releases and visuals.

  But you own 100 percent of your rights and keeep the long-term equity they generate.

• You juggle more roles: creative, administrative, and strategic.

  But you have full autonomy over your direction, branding, and pace.

• You do not start with industry connections.

  But you build relationships organically with people who choose to work with you because they believe in your vision, not because they are on a salary.

• You spend more time understanding the business.

  But you gain literacy that protects you throughout your entire career.

• Your growth may feel slower at first.

  But your foundation becomes stronger, more stable, and entirely yours to scale.

This is the self-label path. Not the easier one, not the harder one, but the intentional one.

It prioritizes ownership, clarity, patience, and long-term sustainability over short-term convenience.

Both paths can lead to a meaningful, successful career. It depends on what you value most.

Hack 1: Build Your Operational Vision Board

Imagine this:

Six months from now, you wake up with clarity. Not because things finally clicked, but because you created yourself a roadmap. You know what you are building toward. You know what each month requires. You feel grounded rather than reactive.

An operational vision board transforms vague dreams into measurable steps.

Action Step:

Write down specific goals with deadlines. Under each, list 5 tangible actions that support them.

Example:

Goal: Book 10 live shows for Summer 2026

Actions:

• Book a studio and hire a videographer to film live performance videos of my strongest songs, with clean audio, so I can post them on YouTube and send them to bookers.

• Post one raw live version of my songs on social each week, singing directly to the camera to showcase my voice & music.

• Make a list of all the local venues that fit my vibe and find their booking contacts.

• Email each venue with my live videos and a short intro. (Here is a template email to get you started.)

• Look up similar artists and where they have performed.

Hack 2: Prepare for the Opportunity You Are Manifesting

Imagine this:

A producer you’ve been trying to work with messages you out of nowhere.

A sync agent wants to pitch your track to a TV show.

And instead of panicking or digging through old folders, you calmly send a link within minutes.

Forget the stereotype that artists are naturally disorganized or only move when inspiration strikes. Basic organizational skills are not a contradiction to creativity. They support it.

When opportunities arrive, they rarely wait. Being ready signals that you are not just talented. You are a professional. You are in this for real.

Action Step:

Make a list of what you would need ready if your dream opportunity came tomorrow.

Example:

If a sync agent messaged me today, have prepared:

• One folder with finished songs

• Full mix, instrumental, acapella, and TV mix

• Artwork

• A simple one-sheet describing each track’s mood and tempo

• Metadata

• Clear songwriter and master splits

Hack 3: Create and Maintain Your Master VAULT

Piggybacking off the sync agent scenario: when your song is being considered for placement, the turnaround is FAST. If you don’t have all the assets ready or sign-off from songwriters or master owners (if you worked with a producer who takes a % of your master recording), they move on to the next artist in their back pocket within hours.

Now Imagine this:

You are delivering everything with ease.

No chaos. No panic. No guesswork.

And you GET that sync placement. Signed, sealed, delivered.

Your master vault is more than an organization. It is preserving and respecting your entire catalog the way a label would.

Action Step:

Create a MASTER CATALOG folder with a subfolder for each song containing:

• MIXES

  • Full mix, instrumental, acapella, TV mix

• STEMS (optional, but necessary if you perform with backing tracks or if you ever want a song remixed)

• ONE-STOP AGREEMENTS

  • Producer and songwriter splits with signatures

• METADATA

  • Title, Artist name, featuring Artist (if any), primary genres + subgenres, release date, song length, song key, BPM, musician credits, production, engineering, mix and master credits, songwriters (info + IPI numbers from their PRO, your PRO info, ISRC, ISWC,

• LYRICS

• ARTWORK

Hack 4: Build Your Release Ritual

Imagine this:

You are not scrambling for your next release. You move through each step with confidence because you know exactly what needs to be done. Your workflow feels like a ritual instead of chaos.

Action Step:

Create a release checklist to ensure you are collecting ALL your royalties:

• Splits Information (master recording and songwriting)

• Metadata finalized

• Distributor upload

• Recoupment (how much did you invest towards the release?)

• PRO registration

• SoundExchange registration

• Publishing admin (Songtrust, KOSIGN)

• Neighboring rights (if applicable)

• Editorial pitch

• Content schedule

If you need a refresher on how royalties work, check out my articles Royalty 101 and a deeper dive on common royalties artists leave unclaimed here.

Hack 5: Build a Content Routine That Gets You Excited

I know this topic is a hard one for many artists today. Content overwhelm and burnout are real.

But imagine this:

Your content no longer feels like a chore.

You are not chasing trends or comparing yourself to artists with full teams.

Your presence feels intentional, grounded, and sustainable.

Content is not about being everywhere. It is about showing up in a way that feels honest and manageable to you. But it still requires some push and discipline.

Action Step:

Create content pillars for your social channels. Build recurring series that genuinely excite you and give structure to your weeks - like a ritual.

Example:

• Mondays: Weekly livestream to perform and connect with your audience

• Wednesdays: Lyric highlight or short explanation of a song idea

• Fridays: Feature a supporter, duet, stitch, or fan-created content

• Sundays: A weekly cover that your audience can look forward to

The Bottom Line

If you are a self-label artist, you are already ahead of the curve.

The discipline you build from building yourself makes you a more powerful artist now and later.

You are not waiting to be chosen. You are choosing yourself.

Your path requires patience, clarity, systems, and self-compassion.

Every structure you build becomes another layer of stability beneath your vision.

You are the artist and the architect.

Which Hack Are You Starting With First?

Which hack would you like me to dive deeper into next time? What systems do you wish you had today, and what is one step you can take to start building them?

Share your thoughts in the comments, and I will help you refine them.

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Major label artists rarely feel this because they have entire teams tracking royalties and managing recoupment for them. Independent artists most often don’t. And while new distributors and royalty-tracking tools are popping up, most are built for labels and administrators, not for artists. The infrastructure still favors the people around the music, not the people making it.

This leaves self-managed artists navigating a royalty system that was never designed with them in mind. But here’s the bright side. If you understand how the business actually works and build your own ecosystem, you can have more control and, in many cases, more financial power than major label artists.

If you need a refresher on how royalties work at the simplest level, check out my previous post: Royalties 101 for Self-Managed Artists.

I have dealt directly with the administrative departments of all the major labels, and I can tell you firsthand: even the people responsible for collecting royalties make mistakes, handle too many artists at once, or miss things entirely. Transparency has never been the industry’s strong suit. But as an independent artist, you can take ownership. With the right systems, you can collect your money accurately, consistently, and sometimes more effectively than artists signed to major labels.

If you are overwhelmed by royalty terminology, here are the actual steps you should take with an easy-to-monitor checklist.

What Should a Self-Releasing Artist Do?

If you own both your songwriting and your masters, you need representation on both sides of copyright.

At minimum, every independent artist should:

1. Join a PRO such as BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC

2. Sign with a publishing administrator such as Songtrust or an equivalent service

3. Register with SoundExchange as both the artist and the rights owner

4. Consider a neighboring rights administrator if you have international listeners or radio activity

5. Keep your metadata and splits clean because none of this works without accurate information. (It’ll also save you so much time when your song is being considered for a sync placement and increase the chance of actually getting placed!)

This is how you recreate for yourself the infrastructure major label artists receive from full administrative teams. Let’s break it down.

PROs, Publishing Admins, SoundExchange: They Are Not Interchangeable

Most artists assume that because they signed up with a PRO like BMI or ASCAP, they are fully covered. But performance royalties are only one part of the royalty ecosystem.

To collect everything you are owed, you need to understand that each organization collects a different type of royalty for a different part of the music.

Below is the plain language breakdown every independent artist should know.

1. PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)

Performance Royalties for the Composition

A PRO collects performance royalties for the composition. This means the underlying song: the lyrics, melody, and chords.

They collect when your song is:

• played on the radio

• performed live

• used in bars, cafes, and venues

• broadcast on television

• streamed on digital platforms for the performance portion only

PROs do not collect mechanical royalties.

A mechanical royalty is the payment a songwriter or publisher earns whenever their composition is reproduced. This includes streams, downloads, physical formats, and when another artist releases a cover of the song.

PROs also do not collect anything for the master recording. If you are only with BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC but have not appointed a publishing administrator, you are likely missing part of your publishing income.

2. Publishing Administrators (Songtrust, Sentric, TuneCore)

Mechanical and Global Publishing Royalties

A publishing administrator works alongside your PRO but covers additional revenue streams that the PRO does not.

Publishing administrators collect:

• mechanical royalties for streams and downloads

• international publishing royalties

• performance royalties through global partners

• unmatched and unpaid royalties from foreign societies

They link your compositions to dozens of global collection systems that your PRO alone cannot access.

Publishing administrators do not collect:

• royalties for your recording (distributors typically collect this)

• digital performance royalties for the recording (SoundExchange)

• neighboring rights

This is why Songtrust is not the same as SoundExchange. They operate on completely different sides of copyright.

3. SoundExchange

Digital Performance Royalties for the Sound Recording

This is one of the most commonly missed revenue streams for independent artists.

SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for the master recording. These royalties are earned when your recording is played on non-interactive digital services such as:

• Pandora Radio

• SiriusXM

• Online webcasters

• Digital radio stations where the listener cannot choose the next track

SoundExchange pays:

• The featured artist

• The master recording owner

• Non-featured performers such as session musicians and background vocalists

It is the only U.S. organization legally authorized to collect these royalties.

SoundExchange does not collect:

• mechanical royalties

• publishing royalties

• on-demand streaming royalties

• neighboring rights outside the U.S., except for specific partner agreements

4. Neighboring Rights

Global Master Side Broadcast and Public Performance Royalties

Outside the United States, when your recording is played on the radio, television, in clubs, in cafes, or in public spaces, the master recording owner and the performers earn royalties. These are called neighboring rights.

The United States does not grant full neighboring rights for terrestrial radio or public performance of recordings. The only neighboring style royalty is for digital non-interactive streams, and SoundExchange handles those.

If your music receives international play, or you plan to expand outside the U.S., you may need a neighboring rights administrator.

Some companies that offer these services include:

• Symphonic

• Lime Blue Music

• AllTrack

• SoundExchange International Mandate

No service covers every territory. If you start seeing an increase in international streams, make a list of the countries and confirm with your neighboring rights administrator that these territories are covered.

Why This Matters

If you are only collecting from your distributor and your PRO, you are earning a fraction of what your music actually generates. Once you understand which organization handles which part of your royalties, you stop guessing and start filling in the gaps. That is when your income becomes predictable, trackable, and scalable.

You do not need a label or a large team of administrators to build a sustainable career. You need clarity, proper registration, and the right systems in place to collect what your music is already earning.

So the next time you submit your song for release, make sure you register it in the places that actually pay you. Use this checklist for each song you release:

Royalty Registration Checklist for Independent Artists

• PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)

  • For performance royalties on the composition.

• Publishing Administrator (Songtrust, Sentric, TuneCore Publishing)

  • For mechanical royalties and global publishing royalties.

• The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective)

  • Verify your songs are properly listed for U.S. digital mechanical royalties.

• SoundExchange

  • Register as both Featured Artist and Sound Recording Rights Owner for U.S. digital performance royalties on the master.

• Neighboring Rights Administrator

  • Symphonic, Lime Blue Music, AllTrack, or SoundExchange International Mandate for international master-side royalties.

• Distributor (DistroKid, AWAL, CD Baby, Tunecore, etc.)

  • Uploads your master recording to DSPs and pays master royalties.

• Metadata and Splits

  • Double-check songwriter splits, producer splits, ISRC, ISWC, and all credits.

Share your own experience in the comments — what’s been the most confusing part of royalties for you?

Leave a comment

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If you’re a self-managed artist, you’ve already watched the tutorials, read the guides, and maybe heard someone casually drop the term “neighboring rights” in a session—cue the quiet panic that you might be missing yet another type of royalty you didn’t know existed.

Here’s the truth: you’re already doing a lot. You’re writing, producing, promoting, managing releases—all while trying to keep up with how the business side works. Royalty flow charts can get messy, fast. So don’t beat yourself up if you discover you’ve missed something.

By the time you finish this post, my hope is that you’ll understand exactly where your royalties come from, what you might be missing, and how to fix it moving forward.

The Three Core Royalties You Need to Know

Let’s start with the basics. Every stream, sale, or sync triggers multiple kinds of rights and royalties. Here’s the simple breakdown:

1. Master Royalties — for the recording.

If you own your master recording, you get paid by your distributor when your song is streamed, downloaded, or licensed (YouTube, TikTok, etc.)

2. Mechanical Royalties — for the composition.

Every time your song is reproduced (digitally or physically), you earn mechanical royalties for the songwriting portion of your song from your publishing admin.

3. Performance Royalties — for public use.

When your song plays on the radio, TV, a café, or a live stream, you earn performance royalties from PRO organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

These rights move through different organizations— and if your royalties sit unclaimed for years, they don’t just disappear — they often end up being absorbed into the general pool of large rights-holders (which tend to be major labels or big publishers) who had nothing to do with your independent track.

The Royalties Most Artists Miss

Most independent artists do the basics: they distribute their music, join a PRO like BMI or ASCAP, and assume they’re covered. The truth is—there’s more to it.

4. Digital Performance Royalties - for the recording.

These are royalties earned when your recording plays on non-interactive digital radio services such as Pandora, SiriusXM, or webcasters. Platforms where listeners cannot choose the songs to play next, skip ahead, or replay tracks.

If you haven’t registered with SoundExchange (the U.S. organization that collects them), those royalties could be sitting unclaimed. (soundexchange.com)1

5. Publishing & Mechanical Royalties - for the composition.

Even if you’re registered with a PRO, that only covers performance royalties. You still need a publishing administrator (like Songtrust, Sentric, or TuneCore Publishing) to collect your mechanical and global publishing royalties.

Without one, you could be missing 20–30% (or more) of your income from streaming and international plays. (songtrust.com)2

6. Neighboring Rights — The One Most Artists Miss

There’s one more layer of royalties many U.S. artists overlook: Neighboring Rights. These pay the master recording owner and performers (i.e., additional vocalists, session musicians) when the recording itself (not just the composition) is broadcast, played publicly, or streamed—especially outside the U.S.3

If you’re an independent artist, you may be missing these royalties entirely unless you’re registered to collect them.

If you’re a U.S. artist, here’s how it works:

• Registering with SoundExchange ensures you collect digital performance royalties for your recordings in the U.S. (non-interactive streaming, etc.).4

• To collect international recording-side royalties, you’ll need to register with foreign societies or use a neighbouring-rights administrator.5

• This recording-side royalty stream is separate from what your publishing administrator (like Songtrust) collects for the composition side.6

In short: SoundExchange covers a portion of the recording-side royalties in the U.S. and their international service covers some international agreements—but not every territory or usage.

Some other services that help with neighboring-rights registration and international collection include Symphonic Distribution, Lime Blue Music, and AllTrack. It’s important to understand that while these companies aim for a broad reach, no service guarantees every country or every type of use.7

We’ll dive deeper into the different neighboring-rights services and what works for you in a separate post.

The Royalties Flow

Before we break this down — a head’s up:

Royalty flow charts notoriously get messy.

That’s because who earns what depends on ownership—whether you have a label, a publishing deal, sync deal or collaborators with split rights.

To keep things simple, the example below assumes you’re an independent artist who owns 100% of your master and publishing, not signed with a sync agency, and you’re not tied to a label or outside publisher.

This chart is meant to give you a clear baseline of how royalties flow when you distribute your own music, belong to a PRO, and have accounts with SoundExchange and Songtrust.

For this example, we’ll assume you’re releasing music through DistroKid and are registered with BMI. This is just a hypothetical scenario — not an endorsement of any specific platform.

Why This Matters

If you’re only collecting royalties from your distributor or PRO, you’re likely missing entire categories of income. Registering with SoundExchange and a publishing administrator like Songtrust ensures you’re getting both sides of what your music earns — master and composition.

And once you start to build traction internationally, adding a neighboring rights administrator can unlock another layer of royalties waiting overseas.

Going Forward: Secure Your Future Royalties

If you haven’t yet set up your accounts:

1. Register with SoundExchange — for U.S. digital performance royalties on your recordings (non-interactive streaming, etc.).

2. Opt-in to SoundExchange’s International Mandate — if you’re already registered, it lets them collect royalties when your recording is used overseas through their global partner agreements.8

3. Sign up with a publishing administrator (like Songtrust, Sentric, or TuneCore Publishing) — for composition-side mechanical and international publishing royalties.

4. Check your songs at The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) — many distributors (e.g., DistroKid) register your releases automatically, but you should still verify that you’re listed correctly so you don’t miss out.

5. Audit your catalog regularly — confirm every song has correct metadata, splits, and is registered in all required systems.

6. Look into neighboring rights administration — especially if your music is played overseas or placed in sync; for full global coverage, you’ll likely need a specialized admin beyond basic registrations.

By taking action today, you’re not just collecting what you’ve already earned—you’re building the foundation for sustainable income as your music grows.

Closing Thought

As artists navigating an industry that rarely values transparency—especially on the business side—we have to be more vigilant than ever.

As a self-managed indie artist, it can feel isolating to keep decoding this landscape on your own. But you’re not alone. And knowledge is power.

The real measure of success isn’t streams or followers—it’s building your own ecosystem. Big or small doesn’t matter; what matters is that it works for you because you understand exactly how you’re earning from your art. That clarity is power.

Drop your questions or comments below. I’d love to know what challenges you’re navigating right now and any helpful tips you’ve discovered along the way.

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Coming Soon:

How to Choose a Neighboring Rights Administrator: What Indie Artists Should Know

The average independent artist spends somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000 per release. Playlist pitching usually eats the biggest slice of that pie, often 40% or more, yet for many, the results feel invisible.

You submit your song, cross your fingers, and hope the algorithm gods deliver. When it doesn’t work, you feel discouraged. But here’s the truth: it’s not that your music isn’t good. It’s that most campaigns start without intention.

Work Smarter, Not Louder

We can’t blame ourselves. Between writing, producing, filming, posting, rehearsing, and managing everything else, few artists have the bandwidth to vet every playlist curator or analyze campaign data. But that’s where the difference lies.

The artists who see real traction don’t spend more; they spend smarter. They treat every dollar like a data point.

Before hiring any service, ask:

• Who are these curators?

• What playlists have they built before?

• Do their audiences actually listen, or just follow?

• Does this align with the sound and story I’m building?

A playlist placement that brings the wrong listeners is just noise. A small one that connects you to the right ears can move mountains.

The Reality Check

Over 100,000 new tracks hit Spotify every single day.

Only a fraction, less than 0.2%, of artists make more than $50,000 a year from streaming.

That doesn’t mean you’re chasing an impossible dream. It means you need to treat every release as a strategic step, not a lottery ticket.

Your goal isn’t to go viral. It’s to build a system that compounds.

What $5K Looks Like When It Works for You

Here’s a reframe.

What if instead of pouring thousands into a one-time push, you built infrastructure that lasts?

Typical Spend → Smarter Investment

• $2,000 playlist pitching → Build a direct line to your fans through an email list — a space where real listeners stay connected. (And no, email lists being outdated is a total myth.)

• $1,000 ads → Focus your ads on listeners who’ve already connected with your songs or videos — they’re the ones most likely to come back.

• $1,000 PR → Invest in tailored outreach to about ten blogs or podcasts that truly align with your sound and story.

• $1,000 content → Create high-quality visual assets that can be reused across your next three releases.

The point is simple: focus on what compounds. It’s not about instant wins, it’s about steady growth.

The $5K Framework

Before you hit release, ask yourself four questions:

1. Who is this for, really?

   Look at your top listeners and what else they stream. That’s your lane.

2. How easy is it to find you?

   Unified handles, fast links, clear visuals. Each click matters.

3. What happens if Instagram disappears tomorrow?

   Build what you own: your email list, your relationships, your story.

4. Which version of success are you building toward?

   Touring? Sync? Streaming? Brands? Choose one lane first, then expand.

Final Thought

Whether your budget is $500, $2000, or $5,000 — it isn’t just a marketing budget. It’s leverage.

It can disappear in a month of campaigns, or it can become the foundation for your next five years.

The difference isn’t luck. Its intention.

Next: How to tell which metrics actually predict growth and which ones are just expensive vanity points.