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.
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