Music publishing can be very complicated to wrap your head around, especially as an emerging artist. While it can seem like a hard nut to crack, music publishing can be one of the most lucrative revenue streams for artists. That’s why we had artist liaison Marlon Perrin from Sentric Music join us for a live webinar to talk us through everything music publishing, and different ways artists can claim publishing royalties. 

What is music publishing   

Music publishing is the creation of copyrights and IP (intellectual property) of your songs, not your recordings.   

Music publishers work on behalf of song writers and composers to: 

• administrate your songs and royalties 
• exploit your works to gain more exposure 
• to manage the artists song writing IP 

How does a publisher work? 

A publisher will enter an agreement with you where: 

• You will sign over a percentage of your works/royalties collected  
• Some will offer an advance or service which is technically a loan 
• They will administrate worldwide depending on their agreement of where you’re getting your royalties from and make sure you are paid 

Publishers can take from 5-25% of royalties depending on the contract and service. 

When should you get a publisher: 

• When you are stuck on the administration  
• When you have a catalogue 
• When you are not getting the correct amount of pay for your work 

What is a PRO Performing Right Organisation? 

A PRO is responsible for collecting performing royalties on behalf of composers and songwriters in each territory. 

Unlike music publishers, PROs license and collect royalties for millions of songs, which protects the value of music.  PROs group copyrights together to negotiate and licence to digital services, broadcasters, and live venues. 

It’s also important to note that PROs don’t collect mechanical royalties. 

UK-based PROs 

PRS for Music collects and distributes royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers, for the use of their musical compositions and lyrics. 

Royalties come from wherever your work has been exploited including sales, streaming, downloads, and adverts. 

PPL (Phonograthite performance limited) collects and distributes royalties on behalf of performers and record companies for the use of their recorded music.  

PPL licenses radio stations, TV broadcasters and certain digital media services to play recorded music in the UK.  The music licensing royalties collected are then distributed to the performers and recording rightsholders PPL represents, based on the use of their music. 

Different types of royalties – Mechanical and Performance 

Performance rights are anything collected through the likes of PRS or the performance of the song. 

Mechanical rights are song writing and rights of the song. 

Both mechanical and performance royalties are generated when your music is streamed, so it’s important to keep on top of your digital publishing income especially if you have steady streaming numbers.   

Don’t miss out on that mula!  

Synchronisation 

Sync is the placement of your song in a TV show, movie, video game, apps or ad campaign.  Bear in mind, tracks can only get synced once the master and publishing copyrights are cleared.  

If you get a successful sync placement, the majority of revenue will come through backend royalties, which are paid out by PROs. 

FUN FACT: When registering your music to be synced, if you own your masters and publishing, you become known as a One Stop, which is attractive to music supervisors and sync agents as there is no middle man. 

Conclusion 

Now that you have an idea about music publishing, why not delve in deeper and listen to our webinar with Marlon Perrin.   

Want to sign up to Sentric Music? 

Sentric music is a British independent music publisher that specialises in emerging songwriters and artists helping them to retain the copyrights to their songs.   

Sentric Music is all about putting the power back in artists hands by ensuring that artists can access a global publishing deal without ever having to give up the ownership of their copyrights.   

On top of that, they also help artists get their music registered so that it’s ready to get synced on TV, Radio and other platforms. 

Find out more about Sentric Music here >