As a songwriter there are many aspects of the music industry
that we need to understand to truly be successful. The first skill we need to
have is a desire and ability to write songs. The next most important skill we
need is the ability to market that song. That’s where at the publisher comes
in.
A publisher has many roles that have everything to do with
getting your songs and music on albums and airplay. As stated in the Music Publishing Overview Tutorial,
a publisher’s job is to issue license your work to others for use. In other words, you
would partner with a publisher to shop your songs and issue a license to record
labels to use the song for albums or a movie production company for a major
motion picture. In some sense you can call them a type of middleman between the
songwriter and the company that uses the song.
Publishing Deals:
There are typically 3 types of publishing deals. The first
is called a full publishing deal. In a full publishing deal the publisher you
contract with gets 100% of the publishing and administrative rights. The second
is called a co-publishing deal where that deal would be a 50/50 split between
you and the publisher you choose to work with. Choice two assumes that you have
developed and registered your own publishing company. The third is called an
administration deal, which only gives the publishing company the administration
rights to the work.
Out of the three types of deals the co-publishing deal may
be the best choice for the songwriter’s pockets. Remember publishers get paid
on all works they are contracted for which could include performance, mechanic,
and visualization royalties. As a songwriter you want to keep as much of that
in your pocket as possible. A co-publishing deal works is detailed in the
following chart.
The above chart shows you the songwriter and publisher
getting 75% of the song royalty. 25% would go to the publisher you partner
with. 100% of the publishing wrights would only be 50% of the royalty for the
song. If you sign 100% of the publishing wrights to someone else you would be
signing over 50% of you the song rights away as well. It pays to become a
publisher and keep more of your money.
Check out the following links for more information on
publishers in the music business.
I really found this article insightful. Though I am not a songwriter I manage an artist who writes original material. The videos and various publishing deals gave me things to consider within our contracts. Great post!
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