Agreement establishes new cross-border pathway for artists, labels, and rights holders

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SoundExchange, the largest neighboring rights organization in the world, and Music Nation Copyrights Management (MusicNation), a pioneer in music rights management in the United Arab Emirates, today announced the signing of a groundbreaking reciprocal agreement to strengthen cross-border neighboring rights administration and create new revenue streams for rights holders in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The agreement builds on SoundExchange’s previously announced partnership with MusicNation to provide technology, data, and industry expertise supporting neighboring rights administration in the UAE. Together with MusicNation’s partnership with BMI, the agreement reflects MusicNation’s pivotal role in building the UAE’s premier music licensing and royalty distribution infrastructure across neighboring rights, public performance rights, and mechanical rights. MusicNation was established as a collective management organization (CMO) to ensure that local and international performing artists, record labels, songwriters, publishers, and other rights holders are fully and fairly compensated for the use of their works in the UAE and, through reciprocal arrangements, in other markets where their works are used commercially. 

Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange, said, “This groundbreaking reciprocal agreement with Music Nation will open a new revenue stream for SoundExchange artists and rights owners whose music is played in the UAE while ensuring Emirati creators are compensated when their music is played in the United States. It also enables SoundExchange to seamlessly provide these services for some of its partner CMOs around the world, who have the option of collecting UAE royalties through their existing agreements with SoundExchange.”

For MusicNation, the agreement represents another step in developing a globally connected rights management framework for the UAE. As the country’s music, entertainment, hospitality, and cultural sectors continue to expand, MusicNation is building the infrastructure needed to support trusted licensing, transparent royalty collection, and accurate distribution for creators and rights holders in the UAE and around the world.

Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairwoman of MusicNation, said, “Music is one of the most powerful expressions of identity, culture, and human artistry. As the UAE continues to develop and attract foreign investment into its creative economy, we have a responsibility to build the systems that ensure artists and rights holders are respected, and that musical IP is protected and fairly compensated to global standards. This agreement with SoundExchange represents a national and industry milestone, advancing MusicNation’s mission to create a transparent, globally connected music rights ecosystem in the UAE and strengthens the foundation for a more sustainable creative future for our region.”

Amer M. Samhoun, CEO of MusicNation, said, “This agreement marks a pivotal step in MusicNation’s international role as the UAE’s music rights infrastructure continues to expand. It gives international CMOs and rights partners confidence that they can work with MusicNation in the UAE through a transparent and efficient system, and participate in the opportunities created by one of the region’s fastest-growing creative markets.”

SoundExchange manages a worldwide network of more than 100 agreements with CMOs, covering 93% of the available global neighboring rights market. Nearly 600,000 artists and rights owners entrust SoundExchange to collect worldwide royalties on their behalf. Its agreement with MusicNation adds the UAE to that network and supports greater connection between the nation’s rights holders and the global neighboring rights ecosystem.

About MusicNation
MusicNation, a pioneer in music rights management in the UAE, licenses the rights of authors, publishers, sound recording owners and performers throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These rights are referred to as neighboring rights (for sound recordings), public performance rights (for musical compositions) and mechanical reproduction rights (also for musical compositions). With world-class partnerships and technology, MusicNation is helping implement the UAE’s vision for the protection and enforcement of musical copyrights by developing a world-class music licensing and royalty distribution infrastructure. MusicNation, with its partners BMI and SoundExchange, will help ensure that music creators and rights holders are fully and fairly compensated for the use of their work. For more information, visit https://www.wearemusicnation.ae.

About SoundExchange
SoundExchange is the largest global neighboring rights organization in the world, redefining how creators in the music industry get paid. By turning data into fast, accurate revenue for artists and rights owners, we have collected and distributed more than $13 billion in digital performance royalties to date on behalf of more than 800,000 music creators. As the sole organization designated by the U.S. government to administer the Section 114 sound recording license, SoundExchange seamlessly collects and distributes digital performance royalties from platforms like Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, and thousands more, as well as all available international performance royalties through a strong global partnership network. For more information, visit soundexchange.com.

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SOURCE SoundExchange