music publishing Flashcards
t or f: Music publishing deals with copyright in and control of music compositions (songs)…not the recordings of those music compositions.
true
t or f: Songwriters by nature are “publishers” as soon as they write their songs.
true
t or f: Music publishers are engaged by songwriters to represent their interests in their songs.
true
what is the role of the music publisher? (6)
Sell songs
Creative direction (such as finding co-writers)
Registering copyrights in the songs
Licensing (mechanical, synchronization, print)
Collection of monies (in the U.S. and through sub-publishers worldwide
Payment of writers
types of publishers
Major music publishing companies (affiliated with a major music company, like Warner Music Group’s Warner/Chappell or Sony Music’s Sony/ATV).
Major Affiliates (independent publishing companies who allow major publishing companies to administer their copyrights, like Quincy Jones Publishing, who is administered by Warner/Chappell).
True independent publishers (unaffiliated with the major publishing companies for any services)
types of publishing deals (4)
traditional (single song deal)
exclusve songwriters deal
copublishig deals
administration deals
traditional (single song)
Songwriter assigns the copyright(s) to one or more songs to a publishing company, who exploits the songs throughout the world through any channels.
The royalties are split 50/50, with the publisher paying the songwriter his or her share. The exception is royalties for sheet music, where the writer usually gets $0.08 or $0.10 per copy sold.
The publisher usually pays a nominal advance ($100-500 per song) to the writer, which is recoupable against writer royalties.
Remember that cross-collateralization may be a factor to consider.
As publishers may have thousands of songs to exploit (therefore focusing on “high potential” songs) and as there is no obligation to exploit songs, writers should have a “reversionary clause” in the contract, whereby the copyright reverts back to the writer if the song(s) (a) are not exploited or commercialized within a period of time (i.e. 12-18 months), (b) aren’t sung by a major artist, and/or (c) don’t reach certain earning levels.
Writers may want to contractually require publishers to get their consent before his or her song is allowed to be used in commercials or advertisements, so the song is protected against association with distasteful products.
exclusive songwriters deal
Publisher engages the writer’s exclusive services for a period of years, with the publisher owning the copyright to all songs written during the term of the deal. Royalty splits are usually 50/50.
As this deal usually reflects the higher value of the writer, higher advances ($25,000-500,000 per year) are paid to the writer. Advances for option years may have escalations and formulas. As always, these advances are recoupable.
The term of these deals tend to be 1 year with publisher having 2 - 4 one-year options. The exception is when the writer is also the singer, at which point the publishing deal term usually matches the recording agreement term.
These deals usually have a “delivery” requirement, whereby the writer must deliver a certain number of songs within the term.
copublishing deals
Usually two types: one where the writer and publisher agree to share the publishing and one where two or more writers signed to different publishers write a song together.
In co-publishing deals, the writer not only gets the writer’s portion of the royalties but also half of the publisher’s share. After doing the math, that means the writer gets his/her 50% of royalties plus another 25% for a total of 75% (publisher keeps the remaining 25%
In U.S. co-publishing deals, each copyright owner has a right to license or exploit the song, but only in non-exclusive fashion. Outside the U.S., you need all copyright holders to agree to a licensing.
Who administers the song in co-publishing deals? One could have 1 administrator with the other being a passive collector of royalties. One could have joint administration, where you either need full consent before licensing or where either party can issue non-exclusive licenses. There are other variations too.
administration deals
If you have enough clout, a writer can go to a publisher, not give copyright ownership, and just pay a fee for the publisher to administer the songs.
Administration fees usually range from 10-25% of gross revenue received from exploitation of the songs. This includes the writer’s and publisher’s share.
The more income the songs have generated in previous years, the lower the publisher’s percentage tends to be.
There are no advances in administration deals.
sources of publishing income (4)
mechanical rights
public perforamcne rights
synchronization rights
print rights
mechanical rights
Mechanical rights – the right of a record company to use a song in records.
public performance rights
Public performance rights – the right of “users” (i.e. restaurants, stadiums, malls, amusement parks, etc.) to perform the song in public.
synchronization rights
Synchronization rights – the right to use music in “timed synchronization” with visual images (movies, TV, commercials, home video…does not include radio commercials, as there is no visual to synch the music to (radio ads need “transcription licenses”).
print rights
Print rights – the right to print the composition in sheet music or folios.
