MUSIC PUBLISHING 101

Mar 20

a comprehensive guide to everything about music publishing

Whenever a songwriter/producer writes a song there are royalties associated with the composition that can be collected

In this situation, a music publisher’s goal is to exploit/maximize income from their music catalog (usually songs from various writers, producers, etc.). On the other hand, a songwriter’s goal is to write/finish as many songs as they can to be licensed over their publishing agreement term.
To keep things simple, music publishing mainly includes the composition rather than the master recording
- ex. Sony is a label but has Sony Music Publishing as their publishing entity
  - The label collects the distribution/master recording royalties while the publishing entity collects the composition royalties
There can be multiple master recordings but only one composition

Mechanicals - when your song is physically/digitally played (ex. CD sales, Spotify streaming)

Public Performance - when your song is played publically (ex. streaming and live venues)
- Writer’s share - your publisher should NEVER touch this, this is sent directly by your PRO
- Publisher’s share - your publisher’s % for the work they do, generally kept 100% by the publisher unless you have some sort of co-publishing deal
Sync Licensing - when your song is “synced” with visuals to form a new work (ex. movies, TV, commercials, etc.)
- Find sync libraries vetted by music producers here

Non-exclusive - you can work with as many non-exclusive publishers for your catalog

Song by song - only specific songs are kept/exploited by the label
Exclusive - you are locked into a term + options where everything you make is kept by the publisher
Buyout - you sell off your publishing rights to a publisher (ex. Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, etc.)
Administrative - the publishing company, for a set %, will administer your catalog (ex. Tunecore Publishing, Songtrust, CD Baby Pro)
- It is pretty common for smaller labels who need a major label for their connections
- Sign up for Songtrust here
  - I’ve been with them for 6 years, and haven’t run into an issue with collections/registrations since
Co-publishing - not very common but you have a publishing entity and an admin publisher that helps registration for a smaller fee (usually smaller than an administrative deal)

reach out to writers already signed with deals/companies
ex. Jarod is signed to WMG, hit him up and send him tracks or offer him an opportunity in exchange for working on something in the future
People LOVE favors/opportunities - they hate people that ask for things

ask for advice and virtual coffee chat
- treat this as a networking opportunity not a “give me a chance” sort of deal
- if everything goes well, worth messaging them in the future to ask how things are going/if they’d be interested in working
This is exactly what I did during Covid —> met an amazing topliner/A&R —> mentored for 1-2 years —> offered publishing deal in 2023 and signed in August

a little less common but if you have a big song or placement with an artist that explodes, you might have a chance to meet with a publishing company to discuss a possible signing
- if this is the case, it is most likely to be a one-song deal

every major or indie label will have a demo portal where you can submit your music to
unless you have a direct connection to an ANR AND permission to send your music, it’s best to go through the normal submission process

keep it short and simple
- who you are, current projects/accolades, what you have planned for the future, and audience (metrics are key)
- ex. Michael, working on projects with ARTIST 1, 2, 3**,** landed a #3 in Japan, planning on releasing a title single with X, currently has 20K on Tiktok, 1K on Instagram, 400,000 monthly on Spotify

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