Are you missing SoundExchange money?
Your record spins on SiriusXM and Pandora radio, and money piles up with your name on it. Most independent artists never claim a dime of it. Here's why.
Real talk: SoundExchange is a check with your name on it that you probably never picked up. It collects digital performance royalties for your recordings — and it owes money to artists who never even knew to sign up. It's free. And it's just sitting there.
What this money actually is
Every time your record gets played on digital radio that you don't control the playlist on — SiriusXM, Pandora radio, internet and webcast stations — that spin generates a royalty. Not for the song you wrote. For the recording itself — the master, the actual audio people hear. That's a whole separate lane of money from your publishing, and it's the lane SoundExchange runs.
People mix this up all day, so lock it in: this is not your PRO, and it's not your distributor. Your PRO (ASCAP, BMI) pays you for the songwriting — the words and the melody. SoundExchange pays for the master recording. Two different pockets. If you only signed up for one, half your radio money is going nowhere.
Who it pays — and why that matters to you
When your record spins on digital radio, that money gets split three ways. Here's who eats:
Read that first box again. The featured-artist share gets paid straight to you — not to your label, not filtered through anybody. That's the part most artists sleep on. If you own your masters, that middle slice is yours too.
Why almost nobody claims it
Simple: nobody told you. There's no envelope in the mail. No push notification. Your record can spin for years and the money just sits unclaimed, waiting on you to know it exists. Here's the part that stings:
- It's free — there's no reason not to have it, except not knowing.
- It's separate from everything else you already set up — so being on Spotify or having a PRO does nothing for you here.
- The money that piled up before you signed up? That's back-pay — and going and getting it is a different move than just turning the faucet on going forward.
And here's the real kicker: SoundExchange is one source out of nine. Each one has its own rules, its own paperwork, its own way of holding your money hostage until you know the game. Setting up one is easy to say. Setting up all nine — in the right order, so nothing collides and no back-pay slips through the cracks — is where artists drown. That's the hard part, and that's the part that's actually worth money.
This is general music-business education, not legal or financial advice. Done Deal Digital is not a PRO or collection society. For your situation, talk to a qualified pro.
That's one lane on the map
This is one of nine — and doing them all right is the hard part.
Done Deal Digital runs the whole pipeline: we set you up at every royalty source, in the right order, and chase your back-pay — so you never have to learn nine different systems.
Start with a free Royalty Checkup →