Introducing Neighbouring Rights Administration at Downtown Music Publishing Africa
The music industry continues to evolve, creating new opportunities for artists, performers, and recording rights holders to earn income from the use of their recordings. As part of our commitment to supporting creators and improving royalty collection pathways, Downtown Music Publishing Africa is pleased to introduce Neighbouring Rights Administration as a new service offering.
This addition expands our ability to help music creators, performers, and recording rights holders access revenue streams that are often overlooked but can play an important role in a sustainable music career.
What Are Neighbouring Rights?
Neighbouring Rights are royalties generated from qualifying uses of sound recordings and performances. These rights are distinct from music publishing rights, which relate to the composition and lyrics of a song.
When a sound recording is broadcast on radio, played on television, performed in public venues, or used in certain non-interactive contexts, eligible performers and recording rights holders may be entitled to receive Neighbouring Rights royalties. These royalties are typically collected and distributed by collective management organisations and related rights organisations around the world.
For many artists, session musicians, featured performers, record labels, and independent recording rights holders, Neighbouring Rights can represent an important additional source of income alongside publishing and other recording-related revenue streams.
Why Neighbouring Rights Matter
As music usage continues to grow across territories, so does the opportunity to earn royalties from qualifying uses of recordings. However, collecting these royalties can be complex.
Different countries operate under different regulations, collection societies, reporting systems, and eligibility requirements. Without proper registration and administration, royalties can remain unclaimed, misallocated, or delayed.
Effective Neighbouring Rights administration helps ensure that eligible performers and rights holders are identified, registered correctly, and better positioned to receive royalties when their recordings are used in qualifying contexts.
How Downtown Music Publishing Africa Can Help
Our Neighbouring Rights Administration service is designed to simplify the process and support clearer royalty collection and reporting for eligible clients.
We support rights holders through:
- registration of eligible recordings and performers
- rights management and metadata administration
- international royalty tracking and collection support through relevant channels
- claims processing and repertoire management
- ongoing monitoring of royalty distributions across relevant territories
By managing these administrative complexities, we help creators and rights holders spend more time focused on creating, building, and managing their careers.
Local Expertise, Global Reach
As part of Downtown’s global ecosystem, Downtown Music Publishing Africa combines local industry knowledge with international infrastructure and expertise. This enables us to support clients in accessing eligible royalty opportunities across multiple markets while ensuring their rights are properly represented.
Whether you are an artist, performer, producer, independent label, or recording rights holder, our team is here to help you navigate the increasingly complex music rights landscape and strengthen the administration around your recordings.
Expanding Opportunities for Music Creators
At Downtown Music Publishing Africa, our mission is to empower creators through transparent, efficient, and innovative rights administration services. The introduction of Neighbouring Rights Administration reflects our continued investment in practical solutions that support long-term creative and commercial sustainability.
To learn more about how Neighbouring Rights work and whether you may be eligible to collect royalties, contact our Neighbouring Rights team.
Together, we can help ensure the qualifying uses of your recordings are tracked, claimed, and reported more clearly.
