As a musician, you might have come across terms related to music publishing. What is music publishing? How does music publishing work? What are music publishing royalties? Where to register to collect all your music royalties? Today you will get answers to all your queries in detail.

Whatever lyrics you write or whatever sounds you add to your lyrics; are entirely your creation. What if someone claims that he owns the music that you created? What if someone illegally uses your song on their video? It's completely unbearable. Isn't it? It would be best if you are given the absolute right to own your music creation. Your music rights should be valued. This is what music publishing all deals with.

Music publishing is to secure your copyrights and provide you with your royalties.

What are music publishing royalties?

Royalties refer to the money earned when the music gets sold. Thus, music publishing royalties are a way to monetize your music.  

What are the different kinds of royalties in music publishing?

• Mechanical royalties
• Performance royalties
• Sync licensing royalties
• Print music royalties

Mechanical royalties:

Mechanical royalties refer to the money earned by selling a song in the form of CDs, vinyl, downloads, or streams. It means that even a single stream of music made by anyone can be a source of income for you.

Records and cassettes were popular sources of music selling in older times.  With modernization, the real sense of mechanical royalties has changed. Record and vinyl forms are not used much. Now, the majority of contemporary mechanical royalties come from streaming services.

Songs in the vinyl form are usually sold through physical music stores. At the same time, downloads and streams are done through online streaming stores like Apple, Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, Amazon, etc.

Performance royalties:

When a song is performed, the user has to pay the publisher for using the song in his performance. As the name suggests, performance royalties refer to the artist's money through performances in

• Festivals
• Events
• Public concerts
• Tv programs
• Hotels
• Bars
• Restaurants

Sync licensing royalties:

Sync is the shortened form of the word synchronization which means when two or more things occur together. Sync licensing refers to the money earned by the publisher when the audio is used together with any video. Music sync is used in:

• Movies
• Serials
• Title songs
• Games
• Video advertisements

Print music royalties:

Print music royalties are the royalties that are earned when someone uses or prints musical notes or lyrics. Even if a single line of the song is used, the music owner will get the royalties. Similarly, if someone prints a musical line for the promotion of his product, he has to pay print royalties. Or if someone posts the lyrics of a song on his website, then again, he has to pay print royalties.

What is a music publishing deal?

Music production deals are of four main types. Each deal has different characteristics. You can learn about these deals, which will make it easier for you to decide which agreement you should sign.

Full publishing deal

Back in the day, 100% complete publication arrangements were a norm in the business. In this, the songwriter assigns the publisher all of his rights. The songwriter transfers lifetime copyright to the publisher for his musical work; the publisher will always be the owner of his share.

Co-publishing/traditional deal

Traditional or the co-publisher deal is the most commonly used one. This deal divides 50% of the revenue from a song to the publisher and offers 50% to the songwriter. This deal lasts usually for a few years- around 3 years as the publisher gets half of the claim, so the publishers are most likely to promote the song with their utmost hard work to produce the maximum revenue.

Administrative deal

The administrative deal provides 100% of the copyrights to the music owner. Thus, the royalties are gathered, copyrights are made, or the song is registered on behalf of the music owner- i.e. songwriter. No one can take the credit for owning his music. In return, the publisher will get a small percentage (10-25%) of all the revenue in a fee. This deal is helpful when the writer is famous and self-sufficient to promote his music. The publisher will only handle his administrative issues.

Work-for-hire deal

This deal takes away 100% of the rights and ownership. But how? A company or a person can hire a music writer, composer, and producer and ask them to put their skills and make the best musical composition. The company provides a handsome flat amount but takes away the ownership.

What is a Performance Rights Organization?

Performance Rights Organization (PRO) is an organization that collects royalties that are generated by a song or album and distributes the royalties to the song owner and publisher. PRO is also responsible for providing copyrights to owners and ensuring that they are not violated. 

Best Performance Rights Organizations:

• Performing Rights Society (PRS)
• Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL)

How does music publishing work?

Music publishing is not as easy as it looks. One has to follow a number of steps in order to earn his music royalties. These steps are given below:

• Choose the song that you want to publish
• Decide a PRO you want to sign with
• Look for a publisher who has published other songs to analyze their work. Or you can also choose a publishing company- PMD Digital.
• Sign an agreement with the publishing company.
• Upload your song.

What does a music publishing company do?

• Sell and promote the songs written by songwriters to musicians
• Sell the song to be used in movies, videos, games, advertisers, etc.
• Ensure to protect and license a song
• Collect and distribute royalties

Where to register to collect all your music royalties?

Now that you have learned about what are music publishing royalties, how music publishing works, and the deals you need to know about music publishing. The next big trouble to handle is where to register to collect all your music royalties. A music publishing company of course is what you can refer to in order to get a smooth transfer of your royalties.

PMD Digital is a leading agency based in the UK that offers to provide promising distribution services. Register with us and enjoy 100% ownership of your royalties.