Function 2, Exploitation: Exploitation means selling and marketing your songs. Once you got ‘em, you gotta do something with ‘em. The exploitation function drives the entire business. Until someone gets a song on a record, or in a movie, or an advertisement… nothing happens. For that reason, we will devote much of our attention toward learning how to exploit our music…

Function 3, Administration: Ah, paperwork. This means administration: collecting split letters; registering the song with mechanical and performing rights societies and the US Copyright Office, and issuing licenses to those who want to use your music.

Function 4, Collection: With income flowing from record companies, performance societies, foreign subpublishers, and film and television companies, someone has to collect the money and distribute it to the writers. Collection is all about paying and getting paid.

Function 5, Protection: If songs are what you own, you’d better take care of them. Whether it’s from sampling, illegal downloading, or outright theft, songs need protection.

There are actually two halves in every publishing dollar. One of the halves is called the “Writer’s Share,” and that half almost always stays with the writer for life. The other half is called the “Publisher’s Share’” and you own that half as well, unless you sign a publishing or co-publishing deal. You can give up some of the publishing rights you own (typically half or all of the “Publisher’s Share”) in exchange for a cash advance from a music publisher. The publisher will then act as a songplugger to get your song cut by an artist or placed in a movie or TV show. They don’t make money unless they get the song used.

Do I need to start my own publishing company?

Typically not. You already own all of your publishing rights from the song’s inception. People typically start a publishing company when they get a song “cut” and need a mechanism or company to which they can have the income flow. One word of advice, it’s often a better idea to have another company administer your publishing when you have your own publishing company. That means that they will take care of all the business of collecting and disseminating the money that is generated by the song. Many small or individual publishers aren’t expert enough to do that on their own.

How do I make money from publishing?

A song generates money for the writer(s) when it appears on an album, gets played on the radio, used in a TV show or movie, gets sold as sheet music, and even when it is used as a ring tone on a cell phone. When the song is part of an album or is sold as sheet music, the writer gets a mechanical royalty. When a song is used in a movie or TV show, a performance royalty is paid to the writer(s).

Public performing rights

A public performance of a musical work includes the right to transmit music over the radio, free television, basic and pay cable television, the Internet, department stores, supermarkets, restaurants, stadiums, concert halls and any other public area imaginable. Public performances of music require that music publishers and songwriters be compensated for transmissions to the public or for performances in a public forum. Those who wish to transmit music must obtain a performing rights license. Yes, that’s right, THE MUSIC YOU HEAR ON THE RADIO, TELEVISION AND IN EVERY STORE YOU SHOP IN IS NOT PLAYED FOR FREE! Are you surprised? Well, there is a very simple explanation. Every time you are listening to music there are many people making money from that performance. For example, the music you hear on the radio is made possible from the millions of dollars broadcasters of the radio programs receive through agreements with advertisers. The principal way they attract the biggest amount of advertising dollars is by the ratings they receive which indicate the numbers of people who listen to each station. And why do people listen to one station over another? People listen to hear a specific genre of music. Therefore, publishers and songwriters are compensated for the use of their songs through performing rights licenses which are secured between them and the different types of broadcasters of music.

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC
Public Performing Rights are licensed in the United States by three organizations, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. These organizations, known as “performing rights societies”, monitor musical performances which emanate from the United States. Additionally, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC have reciprocal agreements with other performing rights societies all over the world. These reciprocal agreements allow performing rights societies in other countries to license and collect money on behalf of the members of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. It also allows ASCAP, BMI and SESAC to collect and license music on behalf of the members of foreign performing rights societies if the performance occurs in the United States