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In
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Songwriting: Its All About Ownership
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The Benefits of Getting A Publishing Deal
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When Should A Songwriter Do A Publishing Deal?
How
Important Is Music Publishing
I would like
to start off by simply saying that music publishing is where the money is really
made in the music business. It is the most important part of any song or album
that you may hear or purchase. Music publishing allows a songwriter to receive
compensation potentially for the songwriter’s lifetime.
As long as a song is played on the radio, television, movie, or any other public
medium, the songwriter will continue to receive compensation. I will explain
how a songwriter protects their music, the benefits of getting a publishing
deal, when it is the best time to go after and secure a deal and what type of
publishing deal to secure.
Songwriting
Is All About Ownership
When two songwriters go into the studio and complete a song, it is imperative
that both parties agree to their share of the song (ownership split) in that
new body of work. Songwriting can be compared to ownership of a property. Each
song encompasses a total ownership percentage of 100%. The music (or track)
is considered 50% ownership, and the melody and lyrics embody the other 50%
ownership. If you are a music producer and you complete the track yourself,
then you own 50% of the song.
However, if you work with another producer on the track, then you must split
that 50% up amongst the people claiming ownership or co-production on the music.
Therefore, you would have 25% ownership, and your partner or co-producer owns
25%, as long as you two do an equal amount of work on the track, and I will
further explain that later. The melody and lyrics of the song are broken down
in the same manner, with respect to the remaining 50%. If you write and there
are two other writers working on a song with you, yet, you come up with the
majority of the song (i.e. the melody, hook and lyrics for the bridge) then
you actually own more of that song then the other two helping you to complete
it.
It is then up to the songwriters’ involved on how the percentages should
be broken up. With all this said, it is extremely important that everyone claiming
ownership on the song complete a document with the writer’s splits on
the song (i.e. split sheet) and sign it at the end of each session when the
demo or song is completed. The longer it takes for a songwriter to sign off
on the split sheet, the more unclear / controversial becomes the agreed upon
ownership percentages. Finally, once the song is complete a songwriter needs
to get their song copyrighted to protect their rights.
The
Benefits of Getting A Publishing Deal
One
of the many benefits of getting a publishing deal is that every time you complete
a song and turn it in to your publisher, they will immediately get the song
copyrighted and start working to protect your ownership percentage in that particular
song. Publishing companies are beneficial to songwriters in many ways. In addition
to protecting your ownership rights, they will exploit the song to the public
so that the song can be heard. If the song is heard, that means the songwriter
is getting paid a royalty from their publishing company by way of a performance
royalty or mechanical royalty.
The performance royalties are tracked by a performance rights organization that the songwriter chooses. There are three performance rights organizations available in the United States (ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) and each songwriter should research each company and determine which one is best for them. The copyright department at the publishing company tracks the mechanical royalties. The publishing company will receive all the money that is to be collected for the composition, and pay it out to the songwriter in their royalty payments, which is typically once every nine months. In essence, the publishing company is assisting in the placement of the composition to a national recording artist and then exploiting it to other outlets (i.e. movies, soundtracks, cell phone ring tones, commercials, television shows, etc.).
Trust me, a publishing company is out to help you make as much money as possible. The more money a songwriter makes, the more money the publishing company is making. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. When a songwriter signs a publishing deal, the advance is simply an investment in the songwriter. The publishing company plans on not only making that money back, but also compensating everyone involved. It is difficult and time consuming for a creative songwriter to write the song, exploit the song, and track all of the money being made on the song. This takes away from the creative aspect of songwriting, and will ultimately start affecting the songs being written.The type
of publishing deal usually given out is a worldwide co-publishing deal, where
the money is split 75/25 amongst the songwriter and publisher, however the ownership
of the composition is split 50/50 between the two parties. This money gets paid
out AFTER the publishing company has recouped any monies that they have advanced
and spent on the songwriter. In addition to the advance that a songwriter receives
from their publisher, there may also be a clause in the contract where the songwriter
can travel and the publishing company covers these costs. This money spent will
be recouped before payments will begin for each composition.
Publishing companies may also pay for a songwriter’s studio time, and
that money is 100% recoupable against the songwriter’s account. There
are several things that a publishing company will agree to pay for in advance,
and each writer’s deal should outline what will be covered, as well as
how it will be paid back. The finer points of the deal must be understood by
the songwriter, however an attorney, preferably an entertainment attorney who
understands what should be asked for and received in the deal, must negotiate
them for the songwriter. The better the deal, the more money you will receive
as a songwriter.
For example,
a producer who has outstanding beats but does not have any placements represents
nothing but potential, and the advance typically would not be as high as a producer
who had really good beats, but has songs placed and released on artists on major
record companies. The producer with the “good beats” already has
money “in the pipeline,” and can justify a publisher giving him
more money than the producer with “outstanding beats” simply because
he has potential. The producer’s potential would be realized after the
deal is done by the exploitation work of the publisher and producer together.
I’ve done “potential” deals, and I’ve done deals where
a songwriter or a producer had a lot of money “in the pipeline”
already, and they simply needed help collecting the money and taking their career
to the next level. Personally, I think that a songwriter should wait until they
have something to show for their work. This is when a songwriter will get more
money, and the deal will be structured better for them. If a songwriter doesn’t
have any placements and just possess hot songs or hot tracks, I’m going
to ask myself, “If your music is so hot, then why hasn’t an artist
on a major label recorded to any of your material yet?”
Music Publishing is not based on hype, it is based on the numbers and the facts.
Ultimately, a publishing company is similar to a bank. If you are loaned or
advanced a certain amount of money, the bank wants to make to make that money
back as soon as possible, with a return on their investment. Wait until your
discography represents some quality placements and releases, therefore you will
have something valuable enough to be well compensated for, before giving up
half of your work.