SoundExchange Letter of Direction for Producers
A SoundExchange Letter of Direction lets a featured artist direct part of that artist's sound-recording performance royalty allocation to a named producer, mixer, engineer, or eligible creative participant. Align the agreement, artist registrant, payee, recordings, percentage, effective date, retroactivity, repertoire chart, signatures, eligibility, submission, acceptance, and statements. It does not replace producer points, publishing, master ownership, or other neighbouring rights.
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Context
Studio · Business
What this guide is helping you understand.
Decision
SoundExchange letter of direction
The practical choice or setup step to get right.
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Action
What to check before you move the release forward.
Studio · Business
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Read this as a working sequence for SoundExchange letter of direction, then use the article below to make the tradeoffs concrete.
Key takeaways
- Put the LOD duty, recordings, percentage, effective date, timing, cooperation, and remedies in the producer agreement.
- Use SoundExchange's current form, signature rules, payee information, and repertoire chart.
- Confirm the featured artist is the direct registrant or has the required authorized signatory.
- Label retroactivity explicitly and limit expectations to available royalties under current rules.
- Reconcile accepted LOD payments separately from producer points, publishing, master-owner, and other neighbouring-rights income.
How should an LOD move from contract duty to payment?
SoundExchange LOD workflow
Eight states from signed deal to reconciled statement
- 01
State 1
Contract
Quote the LOD duty, featured artist, creative participant, percentage, tracks, effective date, retroactivity, timing, and remedies.
- 02
State 2
Verify
Confirm artist direct-registration status, authorized signatory, legal names, group members, payee, company ownership, and contact data.
- 03
State 3
Map repertoire
List recording title, artist, ISRC, version, release, percentage, effective date, and any track-specific variation.
- 04
State 4
Execute
Use the current packet, complete every required field, obtain required signatures and dates, and preserve the clean copy.
- 05
State 5
Submit
Send through the current SoundExchange route, record timestamp, confirmation, owner, status, and follow-up date.
- 06
State 6
Correct
Resolve rejected signatures, authority, company, repertoire, percentage, duplicate, effective-date, or registration issues.
- 07
State 7
Accept
Record accepted status, payment start, retroactive limit, track coverage, later changes, and any unresolved item.
- 08
State 8
Reconcile
Match statements, recording, period, artist allocation, percentage, payment, withholding, dispute, amendment, and termination.
Which payment path is outside the LOD?
| LOD can direct | Separate path | |
|---|---|---|
| Featured artist | Named featured artist's SoundExchange performer allocation for listed recordings | Another featured artist needs applicable direction under current rules |
| Creative participant | Producer, mixer, engineer, remixer, or other eligible participant named as payee | Non-featured performer funds and union payments follow their own systems |
| Contract royalty | Nothing unless separately reflected by the producer agreement | Producer points, label or artist royalty, statements, records, and audit |
| Master owner | Not the SoundExchange copyright-owner allocation by virtue of the featured-artist LOD | Sound-recording owner registration, ownership, or separate direction |
| Composition | No writer or publisher share | Split sheet, PRO, publishing, mechanical, and composition registration |
| Other territories | Only SoundExchange program scope and listed repertoire | Canadian and foreign neighbouring-rights collectives, mandates, and repertoire |
The producer agreement does not implement the LOD
The agreement can require cooperation, but SoundExchange pays under its accepted current form and program rules. Preserve both documents and resolve any mismatch in artist, payee, repertoire, percentage, effective date, or signatures.
Which sources govern SoundExchange Letters of Direction?
Frequently asked questions
What is a SoundExchange Letter of Direction?+
It is a SoundExchange document through which a featured artist directs a portion of that featured artist's sound-recording performance royalties to a creative participant such as a producer, mixer, engineer, or remixer. It applies under SoundExchange's current program to the named parties, recordings, percentage, and effective date. It is separate from the sound-recording-owner allocation and other contract or publishing income.
Who signs a SoundExchange LOD?+
SoundExchange's current materials require the featured performer or performers, or the authorized signatory on file, plus the creative-participant payee information and required repertoire materials. Group and signature rules can affect who must execute. Verify the latest packet, artist registration, legal names, authority, company-payee eligibility, signature dates, and recording schedule instead of relying on the producer agreement alone.
Can a SoundExchange LOD be retroactive?+
SoundExchange says an LOD is not retroactive unless the form specifically indicates retroactive application. Retroactivity is limited to available SoundExchange royalties for the listed tracks. The agreement and form should align on effective dates, track-specific differences, available periods, prior payments, corrections, disputes, and expectations. Do not book an unsupported historical receivable as guaranteed income.
Does an LOD give the producer the same percentage of every royalty?+
No. A SoundExchange LOD redirects the specified portion of the named featured artist's SoundExchange performer allocation for listed recordings. It does not automatically apply to another featured artist, the sound-recording-owner allocation, label or distributor income, producer contract points, composition royalties, sync, sales, interactive streams, or Canadian neighbouring rights. Each payment path needs its own agreement and registration.
What if the producer agreement promises an LOD but none was filed?+
Record the contractual duty, responsible artist or signatory, recordings, percentage, effective date, deadline, cooperation terms, notices, and available remedy. Confirm current SoundExchange forms and registrant status, then request execution or correction through the contract process. A producer cannot assume SoundExchange will pay without a valid submission. Escalate breach, signature, authority, or royalty disputes to qualified counsel.
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