MUSIC PUBLISHING

 

Music publishing refers to the management and exploitation of a songwriter's or composer's musical compositions. It can also be described as the business of promotion and monetization of musical compositions. The primary focus is on securing royalties for the use of a song and ensuring the creator is compensated whenever their work is used.

 

Roles of Music Publishers

  • Administration: Handling the paperwork, registering songs with performing rights organizations (PROs), and collecting royalties.
  • Licensing: Securing licenses for the use of the music in various formats, such as films, TV shows, commercials, and cover versions.
  • Promotion: Promoting songs to be recorded by artists,used in media, or perfomed live.
  • Publishing Deals:
    • Traditional Publishing Deal: The publisher typically takes 50% of the income and provides services such as licensing, royalty collection, and song promotion.
    • Co-Publishing Deal: The songwriter retains a portion of the publishing rights, often resulting in a split like 75% for the songwriter and 25% for the publisher.
    • Administration Deal: The publisher only handles the administrative tasks, and the songwriter retains full ownership, usually giving up only 10-20% of the income.

Music Distribution

  • Definition: Music distribution is the process of getting your music into the marketplace, particularly to digital platforms (like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music) or physical stores.
  • Roles of Music Distributors:
    • Digital Distribution: Ensures your music is available on streaming platforms and digital stores.
    • Physical Distribution: Manages the distribution of physical formats like vinyl and CDs to retail outlets.
    • Marketing and Promotion: Some distributors offer promotional services to help increase the reach of your music, though this is more common with larger, full-service distributors.
  • Distribution Models:
    • Direct-to-Consumer: Artists can sell music directly to fans via their websites or platforms like Bandcamp.
    • Distributor Services: Companies like DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby offer digital distribution for independent artists, typically charging a fee or taking a percentage of revenue.
    • Label Distribution Deals: Larger distributors, often tied to record labels, provide broader services, including marketing and physical distribution, but usually require a more significant cut of revenue.
  • Income from Distribution:
    • Sales Revenue: Money earned from selling physical or digital copies of music.
    • Streaming Revenue: Earnings from plays on streaming platforms, usually a fraction of a cent per stream.

Key Differences

  1. Function:
    • Publishing: Focuses on the rights and royalties associated with the composition of music.
    • Distribution: Deals with the delivery and availability of the recorded music to the public.
  2. Revenue Streams:
    • Publishing: Involves various royalty streams, including performance, mechanical, and sync royalties.
    • Distribution: Primarily involves sales and streaming revenue.
  3. Ownership and Rights:
    • Publishing: Often involves negotiating rights and splits between the publisher and songwriter.
    • Distribution: Primarily concerned with the rights to distribute recordings and may or may not involve rights ownership.
  4. Business Relationships:
    • Publishing: Typically involves contracts between songwriters/composers and publishers.
    • Distribution: Involves agreements between artists/labels and distributors.

Conclusion: Understanding the roles and differences between music publishing and distribution is crucial for any artist or songwriter aiming to maximize their income and control over their work. Publishing deals with the song itself and the rights attached to it, while distribution focuses on getting the recorded music out to the public.