Get Ya' Money Right: The Truth About Publishing
What up Playa? By now you should be getting the big picture.
There ain't no business like show business. But here's the
problem, you keep putting on the show, but you ain't handling
the business. If you are like many of the young artist coming-up
in the game, you probably don't have a strong grasp on the Music
Industries many rules and regulations. You might have read an
article here or there, or even picked up a book or two about the
music business, but chances are that unless you're a lawyer you
probably didn't understand it. Relax, I got your back. Look at
me as sort of your music business guardian angel, here to help
you add a little business to your show. Let's face it, the music
business is a well-oiled machine designed to do one thing, and
that is make money. Throughout your career you will notice that
at every corner you turn there is someone who is waiting to
benefit from your talent and success. Regardless to how large
you may become, you will never be able to completely eliminate
the middleman. Go ahead and screw up your face if you want, but
if you think you can cross out the middleman then you need to
close your eyes and go back to La-La-Land, 'cause homie your
still dreaming. Even when you become a Hip Hop mogul like
Russell Simmons or P-Diddy, you still have answer to someone
else, and they are usually making more money then you are.
Alright, here is where I will stop myself because I am known for
going off on a tangent about the many, many economic
inequalities of the music business. So with no further delay,
let's talk about getting paid...
Get Your Money Right
Now that we have established other people are going to be making
money off of your talents, lets focus on how you can begin to
get your beak wet too. During the week I get a million and one
emails with questions about the music business. The one question
that comes up the most is, "what is Publishing and what does it
have to do with me?" Publishing is quite a difficult topic; so I
will explain it as simple as humanly possible. Sit down class
and pay attention.
Publishing is money earned from the songs that you have written.
This money comes from two separates sources.
Source #1: Mechanical Royalties-This is the money that record
companies pay to the publisher for songs that have been
mechanically recorded(pressed-up) on record or CD.
Source #2: Public Performance Income-Better known as performing
rights, this allow others to use your music in different mediums
such as; radio, t.v., movies, etc.
Pump the brakes, Playa! Your not entitled to all of the money,
just a portion of it. Let me explain. All money made from music
publishing is simple known as Publishing Royalties. Publishing
royalties are broken down into two separate shares; publishers
share and writers share. Think of the shares as a pie with two
halves; the publishers side represents 50% of the pie and the
writers share represents 50% of the pie, and together they
represent 100% of Music Publishing Income.
The publisher is the party that collects both shares and then
pays the writer's share to the writer or writers of the song.
The Publisher is the one who owns or controls the copyright of
the song. This means that they have the rights to do with it as
they please, such as licensing(renting) it out for movies, or
sheet music. Also, granting permission to other singers to
re-record it. At some point, you as a songwriter are going to
have to deal with a Publisher on some level, whether you decide
to self-publish or not. The main advantage to self-publishing is
that your are the sole controller of your copyrights, but unless
you have the time, energy, and resources to do what a publisher
does, you better learn to play "Let's Make A Deal."
What a Publisher can do for you the Songwriter
* Copyright your songs so your butt is covered around the world.
* Make sure your songs are used in every imaginable medium, such
as: radio, video games, downloadable ring-tones, movies, etc.
* Hook up manufacturing and distribution deals for music books
and sheet music of your songs.
* Register your songs with collections agencies like BMI, ASCAP,
SEASAC, and the Harry Fox Agency.
* Protect you from copyright infringers trying to steal your
material by sampling, file-sharing, and bootlegging.
* Develop and Promote you as a writer.
* Negotiating licensing deals on your behalf
Your best bet is to set-up a co-publishing agreement with a
large publisher; this way you will ensure that things will be
done correctly, without you losing your mind in the process.
There are far too many types of publishing agreements to get
into detail, but you have to always agree to the deal you can
live with. Think long-term and your money will grow, think
short-term and the next song you write may be one for Food
Stamps.