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Q: Everyone talks about "music publishing," but very few seem to know what it actually is! Can you sum it up for us?
A: "Music publishing" is a term that is kicked around in the music business
a lot, but very few people really know what it means. For songwriters and
people that work with them, it is a vitally important concept. At the most
basic level "music publishing" simply means putting your music out for
public consumption. The complicated part is identifying all the different
ways to put music out and the different ways you will get paid.
Try to think about all the different ways you can put one of your songs
out: CDs, radio, television, video games, ringtones, live performances,
releasing it through the Internet, putting it in a little animated hamster
doll that swings a tiny nunchuck around while it sings your song. All of those are ways that you can publish your music, and each one will yield a
different type of income or "royalty" for you.
In order to truly understand all the different types of royalties, you
should get a book like “Music, Money and Success” by Todd and Jeff Brabec. If
you don't understand it, you're just going to wind up in a situation like
the Beatles or Billy Joel or any of the thousands of other songwriters who
signed away their rights because they didn't completely understand what
they were signing.
Yet, before you start signing contracts with people, you should get your
songs protected. The two most basic things you can do are to:
1) Register your work with the Library of Congress at www.copyright.gov.
You'll want to fill out a PA form to cover the lyrics and melody of the
song and an SR form to cover your song recordings.
2) Register your songs with ASCAP – www.ascap.com. You'll need to join as both a writer and as a publisher, and then get all your titles registered.
Both of those websites have detailed directions as to how you will complete
the forms. If you have questions or problems that the instructions don't
address, there is contact info on each site that will enable you to talk to
a person. Beyond that, you should definitely get a book or take a class to
learn the intricacies of music publishing. Once you learn the ropes, you will be on your way to successfully protecting your music and your career!
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