Ever wonder what a Music Publisher is? The first thing to note, if we are talking about the business of music publishing, is that music publishing is a profitable business, otherwise there wouldn't be any sense for it within the industry and Songwriters will find no means of financial support.
The other thing to note is that music publishers are nothing without the work of the songwriters behind the music. You see, Music Publishers don't write songs, but rather represent and exploit the works of songwriters. This is true also in the case of instrumental music works.
The other thing to note is that music publishers are nothing without the work of the songwriters behind the music. You see, Music Publishers don't write songs, but rather represent and exploit the works of songwriters. This is true also in the case of instrumental music works.
Music Publishers want to "maximize" with each song, it's "worth" and its ROI (or return on investment) to themselves and of course, in turn, to the writers of the music. In other words, if the writer doesn't get paid, the publisher doesn't get paid.
For their song exploitation services, the publisher usually gets either partial, or total ownership of the song copyright, and a piece of the financial return for their work. Since the copyright initially belongs to the songwriter, this is known as an assignment or transfer of the copyright for a specified time frame from the writer to the publisher. The time period is known as the term of the agreement or contract between the writer and his or her publisher.
For this temporary assignment of rights, the publisher will "pitch" the song and its catalog to as many end users as possible. Every time an end user needs music and wishes to use it, it needs to ask for permission to the publisher holding the composition under its catalog of works.
This permission will yield a monetary return. Now, the business of asking and granting "music use permission" is called "licensing".
This permission will yield a monetary return. Now, the business of asking and granting "music use permission" is called "licensing".
This simply means that in order to use a song or a piece of original music, the end user needs permission from the publisher (that got the transferred right to it from the writer). So, at the end of the day, any use of music produces some type of licensing and monetary transaction.
From the song we hear on the radio, to the song we play at our corporate party, to the live cover band playing at the local club, to the song used in a TV commercial or Youtube channel, even the Spotify playlist our friend created. All of these uses need to be cleared (and paid for!!!) before they happen.
This is done directly with the songwriter OR via its publisher (depending on the situation). But, the point is of the publisher and writer, is to spread the song licensing avenues as much as possible in order to exploit its use.
From the song we hear on the radio, to the song we play at our corporate party, to the live cover band playing at the local club, to the song used in a TV commercial or Youtube channel, even the Spotify playlist our friend created. All of these uses need to be cleared (and paid for!!!) before they happen.
This is done directly with the songwriter OR via its publisher (depending on the situation). But, the point is of the publisher and writer, is to spread the song licensing avenues as much as possible in order to exploit its use.
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