SoundExchange and MusicNation Open a New Neighboring Rights Route Between the US and UAE

Music rights infrastructure in the Middle East continues to develop, and a new agreement between the United States and the United Arab Emirates represents another significant step.

SoundExchange and UAE-based Music Nation Copyrights Management, known as MusicNation, announced a reciprocal neighboring-rights agreement on September 17.

Under the agreement, SoundExchange artists and rights owners can receive eligible neighboring-rights royalties when their recordings are used in the UAE, while eligible Emirati creators can be compensated when their music is used in the United States.

SoundExchange says its international network now includes more than 100 agreements and covers 93% of the available global neighboring-rights market.

What are neighboring rights?

Neighboring rights are often misunderstood by artists.

They are not exactly the same thing as traditional songwriting copyright.

A song can contain several separate rights.

The songwriter and composer hold rights connected to the underlying composition. The recording itself — the master — has its own rights. Performers and owners of sound recordings may also be entitled to neighboring-rights royalties when recordings are publicly performed or broadcast in territories where those rights apply.

This means an artist can potentially have several different revenue streams attached to the same piece of music.

If these rights are not properly registered and administered, money can remain unidentified or never reach the correct rights holder.

Why this matters for the MENA music industry

The significance of the SoundExchange–MusicNation agreement extends beyond one specific royalty route.

For years, one of the major challenges across parts of the MENA region has been building stronger infrastructure around music licensing, reporting, collections and distributions.

As markets such as the UAE expand their entertainment, hospitality and cultural sectors, rights management becomes increasingly important.

Hotels, radio stations, venues, broadcasters, restaurants, digital services and other businesses all use music. A healthy music economy requires systems that can identify that usage and send the appropriate royalties back to creators and rights owners.

For Moroccan and other MENA artists, this development is also a reminder to look beyond streaming royalties.

Spotify and Apple Music are only part of the picture.

Publishing, performance rights, neighboring rights, mechanical royalties, sync and master royalties can all contribute to an artist or label's income.

Registration matters

Artists should know who owns their master recordings, who represents their compositions and which organizations are responsible for collecting different types of royalties in the territories where their music is being used.

The more international a catalogue becomes, the more important that administration becomes.