As with many areas of the music industry, there is no one size fits all approach, and offer a range of to .
In every type of deal, a music publisher will negotiate a contract with the songwriter, specifying the details of their agreement, such as the percentage each party will receive, what countries they represent them in, and the length of the contract.
Explore our Songwriter Splits and Getting Credited and Paid pages to learn more.
Some of these types of deals include:
A Full Publishing Deal
The music publisher manages the songwriter's for a set period, providing services to the , sometimes in exchange for an paid to the songwriter.
The songwriter shares ownership of the musical works with the music publisher. The music publisher receives a percentage of the income generated by the musical works.
A Co-publishing Deal
Under a , the songwriter is , but also shares the publishing rights and royalties with a music publisher. The music publisher is usually responsible for monetizing the musical work and is entitled to a share of any income from its use.
An Administration Agreement
In this scenario, the music publisher provides only administration services to the songwriter in exchange for a percentage of the income generated. The songwriter keeps complete ownership of the musical works and generally has full control over their use.
A Sub-publishing Deal
This deal involves a music publisher licensing the rights in a musical work, in a specific country or region, with foreign music publishing partners called sub-publishers. The sub-publisher handles the administration of the musical works within that country, and the songwriter receives a percentage of the income generated.
A Production Music Library Deal
The music publisher acquires the rights in a songwriter's musical works that can be for use in film, TV, and other media. The songwriter receives a percentage of the income generated from the use of their musical works in these productions.
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