SoundExchange registration is free, but registration alone does not finish the job. SoundExchange tells creators to claim their recordings after opening an account because claims establish the rights attached to reported royalties (SoundExchange registration).
Before the steps, separate the rights.
The composition is the music and lyrics. The recording, or master, is the recorded performance. A performance royalty pays for public performance of the composition. A mechanical royalty pays for reproduction and distribution of that composition. A digital-performance royalty can pay for certain digital audio transmissions of the recording.
The composition’s writer share and publisher share are not SoundExchange shares. SoundExchange administers a recording-side statutory license, and federal law divides its royalties among the recording owner, featured artists, and nonfeatured performers (17 U.S.C. § 114).
If you write and self-release your music, you may hold several roles at once. This walkthrough is for the SoundExchange roles only.
Step 1: Work out which recording-side role you hold
SoundExchange’s statutory allocation is:
- 50% for the sound-recording copyright owner;
- 45% for the featured recording artist or artists;
- 2.5% through the appointed fund for nonfeatured musicians; and
- 2.5% through the appointed fund for nonfeatured vocalists (17 U.S.C. § 114).
A self-releasing artist commonly needs the first two roles: copyright owner and featured artist. A label-owned recording may put the label in the owner role and the named act in the performer role. Nonfeatured session performers follow the separate fund routes set out in the statute.
Write your role beside every recording before you open the portal. If ownership is unclear, check the signed recording, label, producer, or assignment agreement rather than choosing the role that seems most favorable.
This registration does not decide ownership. It records a claim, so the supporting documents still matter.
Step 2: Gather the names, codes, and account information first
Have these items ready:
- your legal name and any artist or group names;
- current mailing and contact details;
- the payee and tax information requested for your account;
- recording titles and release-artist names;
- the unique code for each recording, called an ISRC;
- the name of the recording owner; and
- your role on each recording.
An ISRC identifies one specific recording and stays with that recording. The U.S. ISRC Agency says the code is permanent and recording-specific, and U.S. prefixes begin with US, QM, QZ, or QT (U.S. ISRC Agency).
Do not substitute a composition code for a recording code. An ISWC identifies a composition; an ISRC identifies a recording. The sync glossary gives you a plain-language reference for both sides.
If you cannot find an ISRC, check the metadata supplied to your distributor or label. SoundExchange also says a copyright owner who cannot find a recording can submit it to the SoundExchange ISRC database (SoundExchange registration).
Step 3: Start from SoundExchange’s live registration page
Use the official SoundExchange registration page and follow its link to the registration portal. SoundExchange describes registration as free, simple, and fast (SoundExchange registration).
Starting from the live page matters because portal screens and button labels can change. The function you need is stable: create the account for the payee and role you identified.
Enter legal and payment details exactly. An artist name helps identify recordings, but the account also needs the real person or entity that will receive payment.
If you are both a featured artist and a recording owner, make sure the account setup reflects both capacities. They correspond to different pieces of the statutory allocation, not two spellings of one claim (17 U.S.C. § 114).
Step 4: Review the details that let SoundExchange pay you
After signing up, review the account record. SoundExchange specifically tells users to keep their name, address, and tax information current so payment can arrive on time (SoundExchange registration).
Check:
- legal name or entity name;
- artist-name variations;
- mailing address;
- email and phone details;
- payment method; and
- requested tax information.
This article cannot tell you how to complete tax fields for your circumstances. Use the portal instructions and ask a qualified tax professional if the account presents a question specific to you.
Step 5: Search for every recording
Registration identifies the person or company. A claim connects that account to a recording.
SoundExchange says creators need to claim recordings and calls those claims crucial when royalties are reported (SoundExchange registration). Use its Search & Claim function for each title.
Search more than one way:
- exact recording title;
- title without punctuation or featured-artist text;
- release artist or group name;
- legal performer name; and
- ISRC.
One composition can have several recordings. A studio master, live version, remix, and acoustic version may each carry a different ISRC because each is a different recorded performance. Claim the recording you actually own or performed on.
SoundExchange says its Direct service is available on the web and through a mobile app, and it allows registered creators to claim recordings, review payment details, and manage a catalog (SoundExchange registration).
Step 6: Claim as performer and owner where both are true
The Search & Claim tool supports claims “as a performer” and “as a copyright owner” (SoundExchange registration).
For each result, ask two separate questions:
- Did I perform as a featured artist on this recording?
- Do I own the recording copyright?
If both answers are yes, make both claims. If only one is yes, claim only that role. A songwriter credit by itself does not prove either recording-side role because writing belongs to the composition.
One name across every credit still means separate claims, because each role answers a different rights question.
This distinction is easy to miss when the same name appears everywhere. On a self-written release, “writer,” “featured artist,” and “master owner” may all describe you, but each label answers a different rights question.
Step 7: Submit missing recordings through the recording database
If you are the copyright owner and a recording does not appear, SoundExchange says you can submit it to its ISRC database (SoundExchange registration).
Prepare the exact title, artist, ISRC, owner, and release information. Consistent metadata gives the database a better chance of matching future usage reports to the correct recording.
Do not create a new ISRC merely because you cannot find the existing record. The U.S. ISRC Agency says an ISRC is permanent for the recording it identifies (U.S. ISRC Agency). Locate the code already assigned to that master whenever possible.
Step 8: Check group members and collaborator directions
SoundExchange says its unclaimed-royalty records can include a group in which four of five featured performers are receiving royalties while the fifth is unregistered (SoundExchange for artists, labels, and producers).
Each eligible featured performer should therefore check their own status. One member’s completed account does not prove every member has been matched.
Producers, mixers, and engineers have a separate issue. Title III of the Music Modernization Act created a process allowing SoundExchange to honor qualifying letters of direction for a portion of featured-artist royalties (U.S. Copyright Office). That is not the same as claiming to be the recording owner or featured artist.
Step 9: Review the catalog after registration
SoundExchange Direct lets registered creators track the catalog and review royalty-payment details (SoundExchange for artists, labels, and producers).
Set a simple review routine around events you control:
- after a new release;
- after an ownership transfer;
- after a legal-name or address change;
- after adding or leaving a featured group; and
- after receiving a statement with a missing or unfamiliar recording.
The goal is not to keep staring at the account. It is to keep the person, recording, role, and payment record aligned.
Step 10: Keep composition registrations separate
SoundExchange does not complete the composition side.
For U.S. digital mechanicals under the blanket license, The MLC collects royalties from digital music providers and pays songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers (The MLC). Composition performance royalties follow the relevant performing-rights system. Writer share and publisher share belong there, not inside your SoundExchange claim.
For sync, a buyer needs the recording and composition cleared. If you are preparing the same catalog for licensing, the six intake checks show where ownership records, split sheets, samples, and deliverables can stop a usable track.
Registration is complete when the recordings are claimed
The short version is:
- identify your role;
- gather ISRCs and payee details;
- register through SoundExchange;
- update account and tax information;
- search for each recording;
- claim as performer, owner, or both;
- submit missing owner recordings; and
- review the catalog after changes.
If you want a second checklist for the same songs, run the free one-stop self-audit. It shows whether the recording and composition records are complete enough for a sync buyer to clear the song.