What is music publishing?
Music publishing is the process of managing and protecting the in on behalf of .
This includes:
Helping their songwriters develop and build their careers
new musical works with
Pitching, promoting, and marketing their songwriters' musical works
musical works for use in films, TV shows, and commercials
Collecting , for example from
Remember, when we say musical work, this refers to the written music and lyrics, not the . They each have different rights, administered separately.
It is important to understand the different rights protected by and how they apply to musical works and sound recordings; visit our Music Creators’ Rights topic to learn more.
What does a music publisher do?
sign contracts with songwriters that allow publishers to exploit the songwriters' musical works and provide services to the songwriters. These contracts sometimes also provide financial support in the form of on future royalties.
Music publishers will then help develop a songwriter's career, taking care of , promoting and registering their musical works, and ensuring they are properly and paid.
Music publishers collaborate with many areas of the music industry ecosystem, from , to , and CMOs. They also work with the wider entertainment industry, managing with audio and video streaming platforms, movie and TV studios, and anyone wanting to use their songwriters' musical works.
Music publishers often offer support during the creation process, among other things, by arranging collaborations with other songwriters for so-called and helping to the creative work of their songwriters to other creators, record labels, and advertising agencies. This is usually done by the publisher's representatives.
For example, a music publisher might pitch a musical work written by one of their songwriters to an signed to a record label. If the artist decides to record it, this will benefit the songwriter, who would typically receive the agreed royalties and a songwriter credit.
If the songwriter also has a some parts of this work may be done together and in consultation with the publisher.
What’s the difference between a music publisher and a CMO?
Music publishers can work very closely with CMOs; both have a role in administering rights and licensing, but they are not the same.
As described above, music publishers, in addition to managing and protecting rights, play an active role in the growth and success of their songwriters' careers. If you work with a music publisher, they will likely handle most of this for you.
CMOs, on the other hand, administer rights and collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers when their musical works are used, but they don't play the same role in developing a songwriter's career as music publishers do.
Learn more on our CMOs page.
What’s the difference between a major and an independent publisher?
All music publishers have largely the same role, with the main difference between a major and independent music publisher being in the company's market share.
A major music publisher is typically a company that owns and controls a significant share of the global music publishing market.
An independent music publisher is usually a company that has around 5 percent or less of the global market share.
You can view more publishing companies on the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) and The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) websites.
Video credit: Tiffany Orvet, Daniel Sundström, Eric Ivar Persson, David Wells, Tobias Leo Nordquist, Ponny Höijer, William Engström, Parapix