SoundExchange is a US nonprofit that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings played on satellite radio (SiriusXM), internet radio (like Pandora’s non-interactive stations), and certain webcasters. Cover songs are eligible for these royalties in exactly the same way original recordings are, because SoundExchange pays out based on who recorded and performed the track, not who wrote it. If you’ve properly licensed a cover through mechanical licensing and released it to streaming platforms, you may be leaving money on the table if you haven’t also registered that recording with SoundExchange.

This is one of the most misunderstood corners of music royalties, largely because it sits in a different lane from the mechanical royalties most cover artists are already familiar with.

What does SoundExchange actually pay for?

SoundExchange pays digital performance royalties tied to the sound recording copyright — the specific recorded performance — not the underlying composition. This is a separate royalty stream from the mechanical royalties collected when your cover is streamed on-demand through Spotify or Apple Music, and separate from the performance royalties a PRO like ASCAP or BMI collects for the songwriter.

In practice, SoundExchange royalties come from noninteractive digital transmissions: SiriusXM satellite radio, Pandora’s radio-style listening, and business/webcasting services. On-demand streams on Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music do not generate SoundExchange royalties — those are handled through mechanical and label agreements instead. SoundExchange is a narrower, specific slice of the royalty picture, but it’s real money that many independent artists never claim simply because they don’t know it applies to them.

Does SoundExchange apply to cover songs specifically?

Yes, and this is worth stating plainly: SoundExchange has no concept of «cover song» versus «original song» in its royalty calculation. It only cares about who owns the sound recording. If you recorded a licensed cover, you are the sound recording copyright owner (or your label is), and that recording is eligible for SoundExchange royalties the moment it gets airplay on a qualifying noninteractive service.

The composition side is a different story — the songwriter and publisher of the original song still earn their mechanical and performance royalties regardless of who recorded the cover. Both royalty streams run in parallel. Your job as the cover artist is to make sure your side, the sound recording side, is actually registered so SoundExchange has somewhere to send the money.

Who is eligible to register with SoundExchange?

Any artist, band, or label based in the US — or in many cases, artists from countries with reciprocal agreements — can register as a rights owner. There is no requirement to have a certain number of streams, a label deal, or a specific catalog size. If you performed on the recording and hold the master rights, you’re eligible.

For independent cover artists, this usually means registering as both the «featured artist» and the «sound recording copyright owner,» assuming you self-funded and self-released the recording. If you worked with session musicians or a producer who claims a portion of ownership, that needs to be reflected accurately, similar to how you’d handle a split sheet for songwriting credits.

How do you register a cover song with SoundExchange?

Registration happens directly through SoundExchange’s own website, separate from your distributor. You create a free account, list yourself as the rights owner or featured artist, and register each recording with matching metadata — title, ISRC code, and artist name.

The ISRC code is the critical link. It’s the unique identifier assigned to your specific recording, and it’s what allows SoundExchange to match airplay data back to your account when a satellite or internet radio station reports its playlist. This is one of several reasons metadata accuracy matters so much for cover releases: a mismatched ISRC or misspelled artist name can mean royalties sit unclaimed rather than reaching you, sometimes for years.

Why does this get overlooked so often on cover releases?

Most independent artists releasing covers are laser-focused on getting the mechanical license sorted and the track approved by their distributor, and understandably so — without a valid mechanical license, the release itself is at risk. SoundExchange registration feels like a secondary, optional step by comparison, so it frequently gets skipped entirely.

The result is a quiet but measurable gap: royalties accumulate at SoundExchange under an «unclaimed» status when a recording gets airplay but no registered rights owner exists to receive the payment. SoundExchange has publicly acknowledged holding substantial unclaimed royalties over the years, and cover artists with any real airplay on Pandora or SiriusXM are a plausible source of some of that backlog.

How does this fit with royalties from Globex Music?

Globex Music handles the mechanical licensing and distribution side of your cover release — clearing the composition automatically and getting your track live on 200+ streaming platforms starting at $1 per single, with royalty payouts from your on-demand streams starting from $10 USD. SoundExchange is a separate, complementary system that captures a different royalty type from a different set of platforms, and registering with it costs nothing and takes about the same effort as setting up any other royalty account.

Because Globex charges a flat per-release fee rather than an annual subscription — compare that to DistroKid’s $44.99/year or TuneCore’s $24.99/year base plus separate per-cover licensing fees — the cost of getting a cover properly distributed stays predictable over time. Adding a free SoundExchange registration on top doesn’t change that cost structure at all; it just makes sure you’re capturing every royalty stream your recording is actually entitled to, not only the ones your distributor pays out directly.

The bottom line

SoundExchange royalties are a legitimate, often-missed revenue stream for licensed cover recordings, separate from the mechanical royalties your distributor handles. If your cover gets any airplay on SiriusXM or Pandora, registering the recording is a five-minute task with no downside and a real, if modest, upside — and it costs nothing to check whether you already have unclaimed royalties sitting under your name.

Sign up or log in to your dashboard and upload your release now

Latest from the blog

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!