VYRALUNIVERSITY

Music Publishing 101

WHAT IS MUSIC PUBLISHING? WHAT DO THEY DO? BASICS OF PUBLISHING

AGREEMENTS
We will define what We will explain the
music publishing is different things that We will describe the
and some of the common music publishers do different types of
terms used in the for songwriters and publishing agreements
music publishing explain how they help and how they work.
busisiness. your songwriting
career.

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 Vyral University: Music Publishing 101
VYRAL MUSIC
Music Publishing 101
IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS THE SONG...
And then came the music publisher. Maybe the most important entity in the entire music business, music
publishing is the one area of the industry that has been the least understood by songwriters and artists.
So what exactly does a music publisher
do? Publishers are responsible for collecting all
money owed from the use of the songs in their
catalog, and to find opportunities through
licensing and recordings to generate income
from their catalog. In simpler terms. a music
publisher helps you pitch your music to other
artists, helps you place your songs in TV and
film, and also aids in helping you get a record
deal. Once one or many of these have been
accomplished, the publisher then assumes the
role of collection agent. They make sure that all
money earned from the use of a song is
collected, and that your songs are protected
from unlawful use or infringement. So how do
music publishers get paid for their work” Simple.
By taking a percentage of ownership from every
song that they include in their catalog. But why
would you want to give up part of the ownership
A Publisher...
•Collects Royalties
•Licenses Songs
•Helps Protect Your
Music
•Sets up co-writes
•Helps get a record
deal
•Register’s
copyrights
•Is your best
friend in the biz!
of your song to a music publisher. Well, there
have been many debates about this in recent
history. I for one believe that a music publisher is
Publisher’s
a valuable asset to any songwriter or artist, if Share
only for the simple fact that they open doors
that would otherwise be closed. But even hit
songwriters and artists have publishers, and its
50% 50%
Writer’s
not like they don’t have enough open doors
Share
available to them. Well this brings up the other
reason i believe a music publisher to be a great
asset to you. They help you take care of the
publishing aspect, so that you can concentrate
on what you do best, creating great art. There is Music Publishing Fact:
a way to do it yourself, and i suggest that even if Songs are typically split up into
you find a great publisher, that you never stop two parts. A writer’s share (50%),
and a publisher’s share (50%). A
self-promoting. But there will come a time when
usual publishing agreement assigns
you will be thankful that you do not have to deal the publisher’s share to the
with the day-to-day hassle of publishing, and publishing company in exchange for
their services to the artist.
this is where the music publisher can help!
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A Quick History of Music Publishing
Music publishing has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. It arose around
the time that published music (sheet music) became available for purchase. At the time, the only
music that was printed was created by the Catholic church. The monks would sit down and write out
the sacred chants for each day of the year.
King Henry VIII passed a law which required all copies of printed matter to be sent to him, and in
return, offered protection to the printers in the form of licenses. The king used this to generate
revenue, and in exchange the music printers gained access to the distribution networks developed
by the church. In 1662, England passed the licensing act of 1662, which required the printer of every
book to print a “certificate of the licensor” which was basically a statement that assured the reader
that this work contained no writing “contrary to the christian faith, or the doctrine or discipline of the
church of England?
In the United States, music was not initially protected under the first federal copyright law. Not
until 1831 was music recognized as protected under the law. This term was 28 years plus a 14-year
renewal period.
The final major step in the foundation of music publishing is known as the Berne Convention. In
1886, counties from around the world met in Berne, Germany to establish an international agreement
between its members in regards to copyright law.
Before recorded music was invented, songwriters had only one source of income, sheet music.
The original role of the publisher was to do simply that; publish the writer’s music in the form of
sheet music and then distribute that music to earn money.

NOTE:
Copyright law provides the holder with the right to collect revenue from
all rights, including performance and phonographic (recordings).

And Why Should You Care?

Well its not that you should care, but i find that the more you understand about the history of
something, the less likely you are to repeat the mistakes, and the more likely you are to understand
the broad picture.
It’s not imperative that you remember the names of these laws, or that you know the dates of
these events. The important thing is that you see where we came from. We are, as musicians,
continuously fighting for better laws, and more protection of our artistry. And as my history teacher
once said, you can’t change the future, unless you understand the past.

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 Common Terms Used In Music Publishing
HIT WRITERS
Copyright - The exclusive rights granted by law to the original
creator of the song
Staff Writer - A songwriter who writes exclusively for a music
publisher in exchange for a weekly advance and a share of the
royalties
Pitch - A term used to describe to process by which a song is
played for recording artists or those seeking new material in order
to get that person to choose that particular song.
Song Plugger - The person(s) responsible for pitching the
DIANE WARREN
songs in a publisher’s catalog and securing placements so that
those songs can earn money for the publisher/writer.
Cut - A cut is a song that has been chosen to be recorded by
an artist for an upcoming release.
Royalties - This is used to refer to the money earned by a
song.
Exploit - To seek revenue for a song.
PRO - An acronym used to refer to a Performance Rights
Organization, which is responsible for collecting all performance
royalties generated from the use of a song registered to that PRO.
Phono Record - Any material on which sounds can be Jeffery Steele
recorded (i.e. CD, Cassette, MP3)
Sound Recording - Used to refer to the recorded performance
of a song.
Mechanical License - the authorization form a publisher or
writer to record and distribute a song recording.
Blanket License - A license that is issued by a PRO that
grants the use of any song in their catalog for public performance.
Synch License - A license granted by a publisher authorizing
the use of a particular song with visual images.

BOB DYLAN
*See The Music Business Dictionary for a complete list

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Different Types of Publishing Agreements
There are many different publishing agreements between songwriters and music publishers. Most
of them are dependent on the size and structure of the publishing company, and the success of the
songwriter involved in the agreement. There are however some standard agreements that you will
encounter as a songwriter/artist. Here is a brief overview of the different types of songwriter
agreements.

Staff Writer Agreement

This is an exclusive agreement where the songwriter assigns all songs written during a specified
term to the publisher. The publisher pays the songwriter an advance, (either weekly or monthly)
which is recoupable from the earnings of the songs under the agreement.

Single Song Agreement

This is an agreement for one song between a publisher and a songwriter. Usually done between
publishers and new or unknown songwriters, it basically gives the songwriter the opportunity to use
the services and resources from the publishing company for that song. In exchange, the publisher
receives a percentage of the royalties. There are rarely any advances to the songwriter in this type of
agreement.

Co Publishing Agreement

Under a co-publishing agreement, A songwriter retains the ownership of his songs which are
usually placed under a self-operated publishing company owned by the writer. The standard co-
publishing deal give the writer his 50% writer’s share plus 25% of the publishing share. These
agreements are made between writer’s with large catalogs or between two publishing companies
who wish to partner and combine resources or leverage an opportunity.

Administration Agreement

In an administration agreement, a songwriter gives the publisher the right to administer (or
license his/her songs) in exchange for a small percentage of the royalty income. Many administration
deals are done when a songwriter is looking for more opportunities for their songs, or as a means to
aid in the collection of royalties for a particular song.

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Basics of the Staff Writer Agreement
The basic staff writer agreement is a 50/50 split. Sometimes you will hear the term writer’s share
and publisher’s share. This refers to the half of the song that is owned by each. Also, i have
encountered many people using a 200% system to describe the ownership of a song, where there is
a 100% writer’s share, and 100% publisher’s share. I would advise you to not use this system when
you are referring to your songs, because you could make a very bad mistake when negotiating a
contract that you believe is based on a 200% system when it is actually based on 100%.
For example, I sign a single song publishing agreement that gives 25% to the publisher. If i am working on the 200% system, i
assume that i am giving away 12.5 percent of my song to the publisher, when in actuality, i just gave away 1/4 of my song unknowingly.

Most staff writing agreements provide the songwriter with a monthly advance. This advance is
given to the songwriter in order to allow them to be able to write songs for the publisher full time.
Notice that i use the term advance instead of the word salary. The reason for this is that all money
paid to the songwriter can and will be recouped by the publishing company before any money is
paid to the artist from their royalty earnings. What this means for you is that you will not earn any
money from your songs until all advances are paid back to the publisher. However, the advance is
only recoupable through royalty earnings.
NOTE:
You should not ever be required to pay back an advance with anything
other than your royalties, and any contract that states otherwise should be
viewed at with extreme caution.

The publishing company also provides you with money to record demos, which are used to
“pitch” your music. These costs will most likely be recoupable as well. Your demos are the single
most important element in your songwriting/artist career. Most demos done today are produced to a
quality that sometimes matches or exceeds some final recordings.

Songwriters under a staff agreement are usually required to submit a certain number of songs
each year. This is usually referred to as the delivery requirement, and is typically between 10 to 15
songs per year. 1 song is counted based on the percentage that your publisher gets for each song.
So if you co-write a song with one other writer, your publisher will count this as 1/2 of a song,
because they are only getting half of the publishing which is split between you and your co-writer.

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Basics of the Single Song Agreement

A single song agreement is the most basic of all the publishing agreements. Usually this
agreement is used when a songwriter has a particular song that interests a publisher, but the
publisher does not wish to commit to a long term staff writing agreement.

A single song agreement gives the publisher the right to pitch the song for a specified term,
(usually 1-2 years). If the publisher successfully places the song, then they receive a percentage of
the earnings of that song. Usually the percentage is 25%, but can be the entire 50% of the
publisher’s share depending on the type of agreement. In the event that nothing happens within the
allotted time frame, the songwriter is released from the contract and retains full ownership of the
song once again.

Most single song agreements are used by publishing companies as a way to “test” out a
prospective writer. They can enter into these agreements with little or no risk. Many single-song
agreements turn into staff writing deals for the songwriter if the publishing company is able to place
the song.

Another type of single song agreement happens when a writer has already successfully placed a
song on their own, and that song becomes a hit. The songwriter might wish to enter into a single
song contract in exchange for an advance on the future earnings of the song. This is typically done
when a writer is in need of immediate money, and the song has shown that it will earn that money
over a period of time.

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Basics of the Co Publishing Agreement

A co-publishing agreement is made between a writer (his publishing company) and another
publishing company. Usually this agreement is reserved for writer’s with a successful catalog or a
track-record of producing high value songs.

In this agreement, the writer transfer’s only a portion of the publishing share to the publishing
company, (usually 25%) This means that the writer retains all of his writer’s share plus half of the
publisher’s share (i.e. 75/25)

There are a few different situations in which a co-publishing agreement occurs. The first is when
a writer has a number of hit songs with a publisher, and is getting ready to be at the end of his
contract. The writer could enter into a co-publishing agreement with his publisher for all future songs
as an incentive to re-sign with his current publisher.

Another way this occurs is when a writer owns a successful publishing company and wishes to
leverage the resources of a larger publisher. He would sign a co-publishing deal with that company
in order to generate more opportunities for placement of his songs, yet still retain the majority of the
ownership.

There are many different ways in which this can play out, but it is important to note that a co-
publishing agreement is most often made between a “HIT” writer and a publishing company of a
larger stature.

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Basics of the Administration Agreement

An administration agreement is an agreement between the writer/publisher and the publishing

company where the songwriter self-publishes the songs, and grants the publishing company
licenses of the songs for use. In this deal, the publishing company would most likely receive a small
percentage of the royalties generated (between 10% - 20%)

The publishing company basically acts as a song plugger for the artist/songwriter. They would
seek opportunities for the songs under the agreement in exchange for a percentage of any money
generated by a successful placement.

This agreement is reserved for the most successful writers and is not an agreement that one
would encounter during the early stages of their career.

Other Types of Agreements (less common)

Sub Publishing Agreement

These agreements are made between publishers in the US and publishers in foreign territories.
Usually similar to administration deals, they allow the foreign publisher access to license the songs
in their respective country in exchange for a small percentage of the revenue generated.

Collection Agreement

A collection agreement assigns the administrative duties to a publisher in exchange for a

percentage of the revenue. This is common between publishers and writers who are self-publishing
their songs, but do not have the ability or time to collect and pay their royalties properly.

Purchase Agreement

This is where a publisher will acquire a large number of songs or “catalog” for a set purchase
price.

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WHAT CAN A PUBLISHER
DO FOR ME?
Music Publishers can be your most
valuable asset as a songwriter looking to earn
money from your songs and prosper from a
career as a songwriter. There are many different
things that publishers do for songwriters.
Song Placement
The single most important aspect of a
publishing company is its ability to generate
revenue from its catalog. This is done by
pitching songs for placement either with
recording artists or for TV and Film through
synchronization licenses. A publishing company
has the connections to get your music into the
right hands, and the power to see that your
songs are placed and generate money
Song Critique
Another great aspect of a publishing
company is the feedback it gives to its writers.
Your publishing company will provide you with
perspective on your songs from a publisher’s
standpoint. This will help you to craft better
songs, and understand what people look for in a
“hit” song.
Demo Recording
Most Publishing companies either have a
studio or outsource their demo recording to a
well-respected studio in-town. Usually the
publisher will pay for any demo costs (which are
generally recoupable) and help you locate
musicians, singers, and engineers to make your
NEED MORE INFO?
For more detailed information on music
publishing i reccomend checking out our
bookstore for some great guides to
publishing!
Click Here
songs stand out and in turn give
you more opportunities for
placement.
Set Up Co-Writes
One of the aspects most
overlooked, your publishing
company will help you set up What have
co-writing opportunities with you done for me
other songwriters from their
lately?
roster, and from other
publishers. On top of that,
publishing companies will place an Protection
emphasis on setting up co-writing opportunities Your songs are the only source of income
with artists as well. you have as a songwriter. One of the benefits of
Administration working with a publisher is that the publisher will
Publishers will help you with the
work to protect your songs from unauthorized
use, including plagiarism. Since the publisher
registration of your songs with PRO’s, with the
has a vested interest in your songs, it is in the
US Copyright Office, and with the Harry Fox
best interests of the company to insure that
Agency. They will also help you in organizing
there are no unauthorized uses of the songs in
your schedule, collect and pay royalties, and in
their catalog. (which includes you!)
most cases, provide you with a solid legal and
accounting team. Recording Contracts
Advances Publishing companies often try and secure
In many staff writer deals, the publishing
record deals for their writers. This is beneficial
for you as a writer as it opens the door to many
company will provide the songwriter with a
more opportunities, and it is beneficial for the
weekly or monthly advance (which is
publisher in that if you are signed as an artist,
recoupable) so that the songwriter can
then your songs will naturally be used in the
concentrate on writing songs full time. In many
album, increasing the revenue generated by you.
cases, however, the songwriter’s stipend will not
Its simple, if it helps generate more money,
be sufficient to live off of and will require the
then the publisher has no choice but to pursue
songwriter to seek part time work on the side.
that opportunity.
Other Articles
• Performance Rights Organizations
• How Your Music Makes Money
Copyright Registration
• How to set up your own Publshing
Company
• Song Plugging 101
• How to Prepare for a meeting with a
Publisher
• How to copyright your song
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