What Is Music Publishing
And How Much Should You Know?

An understanding of music publishing is essential if you want to have a successful career in songwriting. Here I will explain what publishing is, what publishers do and why they are so important to you, and some of the ways your songs can make money.

What Is Music Publishing?

It is simply the owning of the copyright of a song. When you write a song you automatically own the copyright to that song.

You don't have to register the song with the Copyright Office for it to belong to you. However, before you send the song to anybody you should register it, in case you ever need to prove authorship.

Since you own the copyright you can do whatever you like with the song. Of course you want your song to be heard by the public and earn royalties. That has become the standard definition of publishing.

You can be your own publisher. But unless you have the right connections in the music industry, you likely won't be able to get the song recorded by a major artist or placed in a motion picture.

That's why you need a professional music publisher. He or she will have the clout to get your song listened to by the right people.

But before you sign that contract, be sure to have it looked over by a music business attorney.

What Does A Publisher Do?

A music publisher is basically responsible for registering your songs, offering them to the public, and collecting royalties.

But there is a lot more to it than that.

A good publisher will actively pitch your song to record label executives, recording artists and their managers, and those in charge of choosing music for films, television programmes and commercials.

The publisher doesn't make any money until the song makes money, so once you sign a deal with a publisher it is in their best interest to plug your song.

Established publishers are aware of which artists and film projects are seeking new material, and the types of songs they are looking for. And more importantly, they have working relationships with these people.

Types Of Music Royalties.

There are two basic types of music royalties, Mechanical Royalties and Performance Royalties.

• Mechanical royalties are payments from record sales and sheet music, and are paid by record companies to the publisher. They are based on the number of units sold.
• Performance royalties are payments for the public performance of a song. This could be live shows, radio, movies or TV shows, even elevator music and the jukebox at the local diner. These are collected and distributed by the Performing Rights Organizations, or P.R.O.s.

Who Gets What.

Every publishing dollar that's generated from a song is divided into two halves, the "Writer's Share" and the "Publisher's Share".

If you sign a co-publishing deal you will be entitled not only to your 50% of that dollar (Writer's Share), but also a portion of the Publisher's Share as well.

If you agree on a "50/50 split" and your song generates $100,000 in royalties, you would receive $50,000 in Songwriter Royalties and $25,000 in Publisher Royalties, because you are splitting the publishing in half.

Learning More About The Music Business.

If you're considering a career in songwriting I urge you to learn all you can about the business side of music.

When submitting your song to a publisher, you need to make a good first impression. One wrong step can mean the difference between your song being heard or ending up in the trash.

There are so many resources available in bookstores and on the net, and the more you know the better!

Each month you'll receive tips and ideas on such topics as...

• Writing better lyrics
• Composing beautiful melodies
• Cool recording techniques
• Music publishing strategies

Each issue will be packed with practical information designed to help you write better songs, and take them to the next level.

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