Two different rights sit inside one piece of recorded music. The song, its melody and lyrics, belongs to the writers and their publishers. The recording of that song belongs to the performers who played on it and the producer who paid for it. Neighbouring rights are the second set.
Who they pay
- Featured performers: the artist on the label copy.
- Non-featured performers: session musicians and backing singers.
- The producer of the recording, usually the label, or the artist itself when self-released.
Where the money comes from
Radio and television broadcast, public performance in bars, shops, gyms and clubs, and some webcasting. One radio play generates two payments: one to the writers through the authors' society, one to the performers and producer through the neighbouring rights society.
What to do about it
Register with the society in the artist's own country: Sena in the Netherlands, PPL in the UK, GVL in Germany. Register every recording and list every performer on it with their contribution. A DJ playing other people's records collects nothing here. Money for unregistered performers sits unclaimed for years, then gets redistributed.