With so much music on every platform songwriters now have the ability to publish their own songs. The days of getting signed by a major record label are over and today’s major record companies own most of the songwriter’s rights leaving the artist(s) with a fraction of their true earnings.
Why not become your own publisher? If it is early in your songwriting career, you could benefit greatly from having a publishing company that offers you support and actively promotes your work. The big large mainstream publishing companies definitely have the connections a new songwriter needs, but you may need to be more proactive to make sure your work is heard.
Benefits of Self Publishing
When you sign an agreement with a big time music publisher, you often give away the rights to your copyright in exchange for the services they’ll provide – collecting royalties and help arranging synchronization deals.
However, if you are your own music publisher, you have complete creative control of where and how your songs are used and you retain 100 percent of the interest in all your works.
Own Your Royalties
In keeping 100% of the publishing on your songs, you’ll be able to collect all royalties owed to you from public performance, digital (internet radio and on-demand streaming), synchronization (TV, film, and video games), mechanical royalties (sales of physical recordings and downloads).
Then there are the small grass roots indie publishing companies, who handle all of their own administration work. Music publishing can be very complex, and the work of licensing and royalty management is time-consuming. For a songwriter, these factors can be obstacles. Do you have the knowledge to be effective as your own publisher, and if you do, do you have the time to really make it work?
Be Your Own Administrative Outlet
Sometimes many factors depends on your style of music. Some genres tend to be “busier” in terms of publishing than others. If your publishing workload is generally light, then you may be able to manage your own song administration, either by yourself or by hiring someone to handle the paperwork for you.
So, what’s the bottom line? Music publishers can help you tap into some very lucrative income streams and help you manage some difficult jobs. Although you as a songwriter can certainly handle your own publishing and thereby keep all of your profits, a good publishing company can potentially take your career to the next level. Publishing deals can indeed be a very good thing, but make sure you understand what to expect from the company and that they are bringing something new to the table that you can’t create for yourself.
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