Welcome to Sugo Music Group's Music Publishing FAQs, where songwriters, composers, publishers, and music rights holders can find clear answers to common questions about music publishing. Explore our music publishing FAQs to learn how music publishing works, understand publishing administration and song ownership, register musical compositions, collect publishing royalties, work with PROs and The MLC, and manage music publishing rights in the United States and worldwide.
What is music publishing and how does it work?
Music publishing involves the ownership, administration, licensing, and monetization of musical compositions, including the underlying music and lyrics of a song. A musical composition is legally distinct from the sound recording, or master, that contains a recorded performance of the composition.
Songwriters and composers may administer their own compositions or work with music publishers and publishing administrators to register their works, manage ownership information, license certain uses, and collect applicable publishing royalties. Depending on how a composition is used, it may generate performance, mechanical, synchronization, and other publishing revenue.
Effective music publishing administration helps ensure that compositions are properly registered and that the applicable rights holders can be identified when their music is performed, streamed, reproduced, licensed, or otherwise used.
What is the difference between music publishing and music distribution?
Music publishing primarily concerns the musical composition—the underlying music and lyrics—while music distribution primarily concerns the sound recording, or master. These are separate copyrighted works and can have different owners, administrators, licenses, and revenue streams.
A music distributor delivers sound recordings and their metadata to streaming services and other digital platforms and generally collects revenue associated with exploitation of those master recordings. Music publishers and publishing administrators manage rights and revenue associated with musical compositions through registrations, licensing, royalty collection, and other publishing activities.
An artist who writes and records their own music may therefore have both master rights and publishing rights and may require different administration for each.
For additional information, review Sugo Music Group's Music Distribution Guide.
Do I need a music publisher if I write my own songs?
Not necessarily. Songwriters can administer their own musical compositions if they have retained the necessary rights and are prepared to handle registrations, ownership information, licensing, royalty collection, and other publishing responsibilities. Self-administered songwriters may register their works directly with Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), mechanical licensing organizations, and other applicable collection societies and rights organizations.
However, music publishing can involve multiple royalty types, organizations, licensing systems, and territories. A music publisher or publishing administrator can help manage these responsibilities on behalf of the songwriter, including registering compositions, maintaining song and ownership information, administering applicable rights, collecting publishing revenue, and pursuing licensing opportunities where appropriate.
Whether a songwriter should self-administer or work with a publishing partner depends on the songwriter's catalog, rights, experience, available resources, and publishing objectives.
Do I keep ownership of my songs when I use a music publisher?
It depends on the type of publishing agreement. Some traditional publishing agreements may involve an assignment or transfer of some or all copyright ownership, while publishing administration agreements can allow songwriters and other rights holders to retain ownership of their compositions while authorizing an administrator to manage specified publishing rights and services.
Under Sugo Music Group's publishing administration agreement, writers retain ownership of their musical compositions and retain 100% of their Writer's Share while authorizing Sugo to administer the compositions covered by the agreement.
Because publishing agreements vary, songwriters should review ownership, administration rights, revenue sharing, term, territory, licensing authority, and termination provisions before entering into an agreement.
For additional information, review Sugo Music Group's Music Publishing Agreement.
What does a music publishing administrator do?
A music publishing administrator helps manage the business and administrative rights associated with musical compositions on behalf of songwriters, composers, publishers, and other composition rights holders.
Publishing administration may include registering compositions with Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), mechanical licensing organizations, collection societies, and other applicable music-rights organizations; maintaining songwriter, publisher, ownership, and song information; administering licenses; monitoring royalty activity; collecting publishing revenue; and distributing the applicable proceeds to rights holders.
A publishing administrator can also help coordinate rights administration across multiple organizations and territories, reducing the administrative burden on songwriters while helping ensure that compositions are properly registered and represented.
What royalties does a music publisher collect?
Musical compositions can generate several types of publishing royalties and licensing revenue depending on how the music is used. These can include public performance royalties, mechanical royalties, synchronization licensing revenue, and other publishing income when applicable. Music publishers have traditionally participated in administering these different rights and licenses.
Performance royalties may be generated when compositions are publicly performed or transmitted through uses such as radio, television, live venues, streaming services, and other eligible services. Mechanical royalties can arise from reproductions and distributions of compositions, including physical recordings, permanent downloads, and eligible interactive streams. Synchronization revenue can be generated when a composition is licensed for use with visual media such as film, television, advertising, video games, or online video.
The organizations responsible for licensing, collecting, and paying these revenues vary according to the type of royalty, use, territory, and applicable agreements.
For additional information, review Sugo Music Group's Music Royalties Guide.
What is the difference between a PRO and a music publisher?
A Performance Rights Organization (PRO) and a music publisher perform different functions. PROs such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and other performing-rights societies primarily license and administer certain public-performance rights and collect applicable performance royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, and publishers.
A music publisher or publishing administrator can have broader responsibilities, including registering and administering musical compositions, managing ownership and rights information, collecting multiple types of publishing revenue, administering licenses, and coordinating with PROs, mechanical licensing organizations, collection societies, and other music-rights organizations.
Joining a PRO therefore does not necessarily provide complete publishing administration. A songwriter may need registrations and relationships with other organizations depending on the rights and royalties being administered.
What is the difference between the writer's share and the publisher's share?
In the context of public-performance royalties, the terms writer's share and publisher's share generally describe the portions allocated to the songwriter or composer and to the publisher or publishing interest.
The writer's share is generally paid to the songwriter or composer according to the applicable PRO or collection society rules. The publisher's share is associated with the publishing rights in the composition and may be collected by a publisher, publishing administrator, or eligible self-administered songwriter depending on ownership, registrations, agreements, and the rules of the applicable organization.
These terms should not be interpreted to mean that every type of publishing revenue is always divided in exactly the same way. Mechanical, synchronization, and other publishing income may be administered and divided according to different licensing arrangements, ownership interests, collection rules, and contractual terms.
Do I need to register my songs with a PRO and The MLC?
For U.S. songwriters entitled to both applicable performance and digital mechanical royalties, registrations with a PRO and The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) can serve different purposes.
PROs administer certain public-performance rights and royalties. The MLC administers the U.S. blanket mechanical license for eligible interactive streaming and download services and distributes applicable digital audio mechanical royalties to music publishers, administrators, and self-administered songwriters. Registering a work with one organization does not automatically replace registrations required by another. The MLC specifically allows publishers, administrators, and self-administered songwriters to register musical works and their applicable ownership information.
Songwriters who work with a music publisher or publishing administrator should understand which registrations and collections are being handled on their behalf before making duplicate or conflicting registrations.
How are music publishing royalties collected internationally?
Music publishing royalties can be generated in many countries when compositions are performed, streamed, reproduced, broadcast, licensed, or otherwise used. Depending on the territory and type of use, these revenues may be administered through local Performance Rights Organizations, collective management organizations, mechanical licensing organizations, music publishers, subpublishers, digital services, and other licensing or collection entities.
International publishing administration can therefore involve registrations and relationships across multiple territories and organizations. Accurate song titles, songwriter and publisher information, ownership shares, identifiers, and other publishing data are important because these details help organizations identify compositions, match reported uses, and direct royalties to the appropriate rights holders.
A worldwide music publisher or publishing administrator can help coordinate these registrations, licensing relationships, and royalty collections across territories, reducing the need for songwriters and rights holders to administer each market independently.
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