MUSIC BUSINESS RESOURCES FROM CMU
The Music Publishing Sector
The music publishing sector is the strand of the wider music industry focused on the management and monetisation of song rights, working with songwriters and composers to create and exploit songs and compositions.
COLLECTING SOCIETIES
For many songwriters, the first business partner in the music publishing sector is actually their local song rights collecting society – aka collective management organisation (CMO) or performing rights organisation (PRO).
Collective licensing is employed much more prolifically with song rights compared to recording rights, and songwriters often actually assign (so transfer ownership) elements of their song copyrights to their society.
In publishing, a distinction is made between different elements of the copyright, specifically performing rights – when music is performed, broadcast or made available online – and mechanical rights – when music is copied and distributed.
In some countries there are separate collecting societies representing the performing rights and the mechanical rights in songs. That is the case in the UK, where PRS represents performing rights and MCPS mechanical rights.
That said, the two UK societies work very closely together, with PRS actually administrating any licences issued by MCPS.
MUSIC PUBLISHERS
Many songwriters also work with music publishers.
Among other things a publisher might:
> seek opportunities for the songwriter to collaborate with other music-makers.
> pitch the writer and their music to labels, and TV, movie, game or ad producers.
> oversee all of the administration involved in monetising song rights.
> advance the writer money to be recouped from future royalties.
Some music publishers also negotiate direct deals with streaming services rather than relying on the collective licensing system in that domain.
PUBLISHING DEALS
Publishers will usually take control – and possibly ownership – of those elements of a writer’s song copyrights not already assigned to a collecting society. Under the UK system that’s the mechanical rights, and rental and adaptation controls.
They will also have a contractural right to collect the publisher’s share of any money generated by the writer’s collecting society. Any other money the publisher generates from the song rights will also be shared with the writer.
ADMINISTRATING SONG RIGHTS
One key feature of songs – compared to other creative works – is the high frequency with which any one song may be used by a third party.
Successful songs will be performed and/or recorded by countless artists and musicians, including amateur performers, potentially all over the world.
This is both an opportunity and a challenge. The songwriter and their publisher will be due payment for most of those usages, but tracking all those disparate and diverse uses is a major administrative task. In theory collective licensing helps, but that too requires a lot of data and admin management.
Some smaller publishers outsource that administration work to a larger publisher or to a company that specifically provides rights admin services.
Songwriters that decide not to sign with a publisher – or are early in their career and not yet ready for a full publishing deal – might also hire the services of a rights admin company or work with a music publisher but only on administration.
CO-OWNERSHIP OF SONG RIGHTS
Another challenge with song rights is co-ownership. When songwriters collaborate they share the resulting copyright. Each writer may then be working with a different collecting society and music publisher.
When a co-owned song is used, income needs to be shared out between the co-owners. In those scenarios where collective licensing does not apply, the user of music will also need to secure a separate licence from each co-owner.
PRODUCTION MUSIC
One last important component of the music publishing sector is production music. This is music that is composed and recorded to be used in audio-visual productions – but not specific audio-visual productions.
Production music companies have libraries of such music ready for TV, movie, gaming and advertising companies to use as an alternative to commissioning something original or licensing a commercially released track.
Although these are libraries of recordings, production music nevertheless tends to sit within the music publishing sector.
MAJORS + INDIES
All three of the major music rights groups are involved in music publishing: Universal Music Publishing, Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.
There are then many independent music publishers – and providers of music publishing and rights administration services – including bigger players like BMG/Concord, Kobalt/Primary Wave, Peermusic, Wixen, Bucks, Sentric and others.
The collecting societies are also more powerful on the songs side of the business.
MUSIC PUBLISHING REVENUES
The music publishing sector makes money whenever the record industry makes money, including when recorded music is streamed, downloaded, sold on discs, broadcast, played in public, or synchronised into TV shows, movies, games or ads.
But songwriters and publishers also earn when music is performed live, and from selling – or otherwise monetising – sheet music and lyrics (which is why we call this part of the industry music publishing).
CMU RESOURCES
| The Music Copyright Explained guide from CMU and the UK’s Intellectual Property Office provides a comprehensive beginner’s guide to how music copyright works – including the song rights. |
EXTERNAL LINKS
MPA is the trade body for the UK music publishing sector.
Ivors Academy is the organisation for songwriters and composers in the UK.
MMF is the trade body for artist, writer and producer managers in the UK.
PRS For Music is the collecting society for song rights in the UK.
This web page explains the difference between PRS and MCPS.
ICMP is the global trade group for the music publishing sector.
IMPF is the global trade group for independent publishers.
CISAC is a global grouping of songwriter collecting societies.
GESAC is a pan-European grouping of songwriter collecting societies.