SoundExchange $13 Billion: Digital Royalties for Indie Artists

Reaching $13 billion in cumulative distributions is not an abstract milestone. It is evidence that a significant royalty infrastructure is operating at scale and distributing real money to recording artists and rights holders every quarter. The question that SoundExchange's March 2026 benchmark raises is not about the organization's success. It is about who is not yet registered to receive their share.

What SoundExchange Actually Does

SoundExchange is a nonprofit performance rights organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to administer statutory digital performance royalties for sound recordings. This is a specific and often misunderstood role.

When an internet radio station, a satellite service like SiriusXM, a Pandora station, or any other digital noninteractive service plays your recorded music, a performance royalty is owed to the sound recording rights holder. That royalty flows through SoundExchange, not through your distributor, not through ASCAP or BMI (which handle the composition side), and not through Spotify's interactive streaming royalty system.

SoundExchange's digital performance royalties page explains that the statutory license covers two distinct payment streams: 45 percent to the featured artist, 5 percent to session musicians and vocalists (through their union funds), and 50 percent to the sound recording rights holder, typically the label. For independent artists who are their own label, both the artist share and the label share may flow to them directly, provided they have registered both roles.

The $13 Billion Milestone in Context

SoundExchange's announcement of the $13 billion cumulative distribution milestone in March 2026 represented the largest cumulative total in the organization's history, confirming sustained growth in digital radio and streaming radio usage. The milestone was preceded by the announcement that SoundExchange had surpassed $12 billion cumulative distribution, which means the organization added roughly $1 billion in cumulative distributions within a relatively short operational window.

The quarterly distribution data provides a more granular picture of the pace. SoundExchange distributed $241.5 million in Q2 2025 alone, from digital services including SiriusXM, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and hundreds of internet radio stations and services. Annualized, that suggests approaching $1 billion in a single year. For context, this is royalty income generated entirely separate from Spotify's interactive streaming system, Apple Music subscriptions, or download sales.

The Registration Gap: Millions Are Leaving Money on the Table

Despite consistent growth and quarterly distributions, a large portion of independent recording artists have never registered with SoundExchange. The reasons are mostly informational rather than structural: many indie artists are unaware that digital radio generates a separate performance royalty, or they assume their distributor handles it.

Distributors do not handle SoundExchange royalties. DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and their peers handle interactive streaming royalties through pro-rata agreements with Spotify, Apple Music, and similar services. Those are entirely separate from the digital performance royalties that SoundExchange collects from noninteractive services. Artists who release music and never register with SoundExchange simply forfeit their share of those distributions.

The registration process is free. SoundExchange requires artist and label registration (which can be the same individual for independent artists), catalog registration linking sound recordings to the SoundExchange database, and bank information for payment routing. The process can take under an hour for a modestly sized catalog, and it unlocks potential quarterly income from every play on SiriusXM, Pandora, internet radio stations, and dozens of other services.

For artists working under the Mollohan Production Inc. label structure, SoundExchange registration is treated as foundational catalog infrastructure rather than optional administrative work. Joshua Mollohan's perspective on this is straightforward: digital performance income is a separate royalty stream that accrues independently of streaming subscription income, and the only barrier to collecting it is registration.

How Much Can an Independent Artist Expect?

The honest answer is that it varies significantly based on how often your recordings are played on noninteractive services. An artist whose recordings receive heavy rotation on Pandora or SiriusXM country, gospel, or R&B stations can accumulate meaningful quarterly distributions. An artist whose catalog has never been submitted to noninteractive services or playlisted by digital radio may receive minimal distributions regardless of registration.

SoundExchange's distribution formula allocates based on actual plays reported by services, not catalog size. This means registration is necessary but not sufficient. Artists who want to grow their SoundExchange income need to actively pursue placement on digital radio stations and submit their catalog to services that report to SoundExchange.

That said, registration costs nothing and creates an open channel for income that would otherwise never flow to the artist. For artists in genres with active digital radio ecosystems, including country, Christian, gospel, and R&B, where the most active noninteractive radio services operate, the potential quarterly distributions can exceed streaming income for artists below the major streaming listener thresholds.

The Difference Between SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI, and Your Distributor

This is perhaps the most practically important clarification for independent artists:

SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for sound recordings (the master recording) from noninteractive digital services.

ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect performance royalties for compositions (the underlying song) from all broadcast and performance venues, including digital radio, traditional radio, TV, and live performance spaces.

Your distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, etc.) collects interactive streaming royalties from services like Spotify and Apple Music and passes them through to you based on your agreement.

These are three separate royalty streams flowing through three separate organizations. An independent artist who releases a recording is entitled to income from all three if their catalog performs. Missing registration with any one of them means forfeiting that stream entirely.

The confusion between these systems is widespread and costly. Many independent artists treat their distributor's quarterly statement as their complete picture of streaming income. It is not. Digital radio performance royalties from SoundExchange operate on a separate accounting cycle and are entirely absent from distributor statements.

Practical Steps for Independent Artists Right Now

Registration at soundexchange.com takes about an hour for a small catalog:

1. Create a rights holder account for both your artist role and your label role (which can be the same account if you are your own label). 2. Register your catalog by adding sound recordings with their ISRC codes. ISRCs are assigned by your distributor at the time of distribution. 3. Verify your bank information for direct deposit. SoundExchange distributes quarterly. 4. Search the SoundExchange database for unregistered royalties. SoundExchange holds royalties for recordings that have received plays but whose owners have not yet registered, and these can often be claimed retroactively.

For artists with catalog predating the digital radio era who have recently begun receiving plays on Pandora, SiriusXM, or internet radio, the retroactive royalty search can surface meaningful unclaimed distributions.

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FAQ

Q: Does SoundExchange handle the same royalties as ASCAP or BMI? No. ASCAP and BMI collect performance royalties for compositions (the written song), while SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for sound recordings (the master recording). As a songwriter who also records your own material, you need to be registered with both your PRO (ASCAP or BMI) and SoundExchange.

Q: I distribute through DistroKid. Does that mean I'm already registered with SoundExchange? No. DistroKid and similar distributors handle interactive streaming royalties from services like Spotify and Apple Music. SoundExchange royalties are separate and require independent registration directly with SoundExchange.

Q: How far back can I claim retroactive royalties from SoundExchange? SoundExchange holds unregistered royalties for three years before distributing them to the broader pool. This means retroactive claims are possible for the prior three years of plays on covered services, but older unclaimed royalties may no longer be individually retrievable.

Q: Which services does SoundExchange cover? SoundExchange covers statutory digital transmissions, including SiriusXM, Pandora (internet radio), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music (when used in noninteractive radio mode), hundreds of internet radio stations and services, and cable and satellite music services. It does not cover Spotify's on-demand streaming, Apple Music on-demand, or YouTube's interactive streaming.

Q: What if my recordings were played on SiriusXM before I registered with SoundExchange? SoundExchange may hold royalties generated by your recordings even before you registered. After creating your account, use SoundExchange's "Search Your Royalties" tool to check for unclaimed distributions in their system.

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