SoundExchange pays out two halves of every digital performance royalty: 50% goes to the rightsholder (the master owner) and 45% goes to the featured artist, with the remaining 5% split between non-featured musicians and vocalists via the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund. To collect the featured artist share inside SoundExchange, every featured performer needs to be registered as an artist/performer on your SXDirect account.
If your SXDirect account already exists but a featured artist or performer hasn't been added yet, this guide walks through how to do it.
Video: SoundExchange's official SXDirect tutorial playlist on YouTube. (Replace with a Mogul-recorded walkthrough once available.)
Rightsholder vs. Featured Artist — Quick Refresher
Rightsholder — the entity that owns the master recording (a label, an LLC, an individual). Receives the master/rightsholder share.
Featured artist — the recording artist whose name is most prominently associated with the track. Receives the featured-artist share, regardless of who owns the master.
A solo artist who self-releases will typically be both a rightsholder and a featured artist on the same account. Each role has its own profile and its own tax form. Need a refresher on how artists are credited on a release? See Track vs. Release Level Artists.
Before You Start
Have these handy before you begin:
Performer's legal name (and stage/professional name if different)
Tax ID — SSN or ITIN for individuals, EIN for loan-out companies, or foreign tax ID
Date of birth (for individuals)
Mailing address
ISNI if available — helps SoundExchange match airplay to the correct artist (look it up at isni.org)
Letter of direction or appointment letter if you're registering on behalf of an artist you manage
Adding a Featured Artist / Performer
Step 1: Log in to SXDirect
Sign in at https://sxdirect.soundexchange.com/login/ with the same credentials you use for your rightsholder account.
Step 2: Open the Artists / Performers area
From the top navigation, click My Account (or your Registrant name) and select Artists & Performers (sometimes labeled Manage Artists or Performer Profiles).
[Screenshot placeholder: Artists & Performers menu]
Step 3: Click 'Add Artist' or 'Add Performer'
In the upper-right of the page, choose Add Artist (or + New Performer). You'll be taken into the new performer form.
Step 4: Choose the performer role
SXDirect lets you register the performer as a Featured Artist, Non-Featured Vocalist, or Non-Featured Musician. For featured-artist royalties (the 45% share), select Featured Artist.
Step 5: Fill in artist details
Complete the required fields. The most important:
Stage / professional name — the name credited on releases (e.g., "Tom Misch")
Legal name — the name on government ID
Date of birth and country of citizenship
ISNI if you have one (highly recommended for accurate matching)
Mailing address & contact email
Aliases — any other names this artist has been credited under (P.K.A.s, side-project names, prior stage names). Adding aliases helps SoundExchange match airplay that may have been logged under variant spellings.
[Screenshot placeholder: New Featured Artist form]
Step 6: Complete tax forms for the performer
Each featured artist needs their own digital W-9 (U.S.) or W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E (non-U.S.) on file. SXDirect will walk you through it inline. For non-U.S. performers, treaty-country claims can reduce withholding to as low as 0% — double-check the country and treaty article fields.
Step 7: Add payment details
Set up direct deposit (ACH or international wire) for the performer. If multiple featured artists share an account, each one can have its own payment destination.
Step 8: Upload supporting documents (if registering on behalf of an artist)
If you're a manager, business manager, or label adding an artist who isn't the account holder, upload the Letter of Direction or Appointment Letter giving you authority to collect on the artist's behalf. SoundExchange will not activate the performer without this document.
Step 9: Review and submit
Confirm everything, then click Submit. SoundExchange typically activates new featured artists within 3–10 business days. You'll get a confirmation email when the performer is approved.
After Approval: Linking Recordings
Once the featured artist is active, any new recording you submit can list them as the featured artist for the 45% share. Existing recordings can be updated through My Catalog → Associated Recordings or via the bulk upload tool. See How to Bulk Upload Your Music to SoundExchange for the upload workflow.
Tips & Common Issues
Add every alias. Featured-artist royalties are matched on artist name + recording metadata. If a station logged a song under "DJ Example" but the SXDirect profile is "DJ X." with no alias, that royalty may sit in unallocated funds.
Track vs. release level credit matters. A featured artist who appears only at the track level (e.g., a guest vocalist on one song) still needs to be added to claim that recording's share. See Track vs. Release Level Artists.
One artist, multiple accounts. An artist can only collect their featured-artist share from one SXDirect account at a time. If they previously registered themselves and you're now claiming on their behalf, the prior account must be closed or transfer authority.
Need help? Reach SoundExchange member services at [email protected] · (202) 640-5858.
Related Articles
Tracking Your Business
As featured-artist royalties start flowing, Mogul automatically pulls SoundExchange statements and reconciles them with the rest of your income — publishing, distribution, sync, and beyond. Learn how Mogul helps artists and teams keep every royalty stream accounted for.