The concept of Music Publishing
The concept of music publishing has eluded many, both inside and outside the industry. In Africa, for example, publishing has generally taken a back seat, with more emphasis being placed on sound recording and the record labels, until recent times. Unfortunately, the neglect of publishing has invariable also meant the neglect of royalties that accrue to publishing. Perhaps, the fact that we do not have a lot of publishing companies in Africa, nor a lot of viable and well–organised collective management organisations (CMOs), has contributed to this. Although more attention is being placed on publishing now, many people still do not fully understand the concept of music publishing.
Music publishing is all about promoting musical works to make money from them. It involves collecting and paying royalties to the rightsholders whenever third parties use the music. A whole new royalty stream can be created for artists through music publishing, further bolsters their earning capabilities. The concept of music publishing has evolved over the years; from just getting the music published in songbooks and getting royalties in a country, music publishing has become more extensive, more diverse, and international. Now publishers are tasked with monitoring and getting royalties worldwide, ensuring the musical works are recognised and exploited globally, and finding new and varied ways to promote the musical works of songwriters to earn money and gain recognition for such songwriters.
As we all know, there are typically two copyrights embedded in a song – the written song itself (musical work copyright) and the recording of the song (the sound recording). These rights are separate and distinct and often have different rightsholders responsible for them. The music publishers deal with these rights, while the record labels deal with the sound recording rights.
Generally, the musical composition precedes the sound recording, as it is the recording of the musical composition that brings about the sound recording. The role of a music publisher varies, ranging from securing various usage of the songs e.g. in commercials, registering it with relevant CMOs/PROs such as ASCAP, BMI, PRS etc., negotiating fees and issuing appropriate licenses for all uses of music, lobbying for proactive legislation which will positively affect the entertainment industry in general, registering the copyright with the relevant copyright commission etc. However, the publisher’s primary role is to ensure the continuous promotion of the song, thereby leading to exploitation and subsequently profit for the rightsholders.
They can achieve this through various means. For example, a music publisher will try to further exploit a released song by adequately administering the song to ensure optimal exploitation and/or release different versions/remixes of the song, which will be suited to other territories being targeted by the music publisher. This explains why we have different versions of certain global songs, e.g., Love Nwantiti, Nobody by DJ Neptune.
Music publishers have to be adequately furnished and well–equipped with the proper organisational structure and personnel to achieve their aims and objectives. This personnel must be skilled and competent in their areas and have good relationships with the various stakeholders in the industry such as record labels, distribution companies etc. For publishers to monetise the musical composition rights, they need to enter into agreements with the individuals who create and own them (songwriters, producers etc.).
The agreements they sign give them the rights they require to exploit these recordings adequately. Depending on the negotiations and preferences of the publishers and or the
songwriter, the agreements can be an exclusive publishing deal, where all the rights to the songwriters’ musical works are assigned to the publisher, or a single song agreement, where the publisher exclusively licenses the publishing rights to just one song. The songwriter may also sign a co–publishing deal, where both parties own the rights equally, or an administrative deal, where the publisher only administers or exploits the rights for a small percentage but owns no rights in the musical works.
A songwriter should consider different factors in determining the best agreement to sign with the publisher, as each agreement has its pros and cons, depending on several factors, including the type of publisher, strength, and power of the publishing company. Publishing has always been a lucrative business in the music industry, and for this reason, publishers worldwide pay vast sums of monies to obtain the publishing rights of catalogues. For example, early this month, Warner Chappell Music bought David Bowie’s songwriting catalogue for $250 million; Sony Corp. in 2016 paid $750 million for the Jackson estate’s share of Sony/ATV.
Artists, songwriters, and producers should ensure that they do not joke with their publishing copyright, as it can be a source of income and legacy for them over the years. The beauty of music publishing is how it is constantly appreciates. When done right, your music publishing can be earning you millions, years after you released the songs. Creatives should ensure that they get a publishing share in works they create, as this entitles them to a percentage of the work’s revenue.
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.
