‘Publishing’ – as explained in the previous article– is one half of the copyrights that exists in a piece of music, the other half being ‘The Master Right’ (which we will get into on the third article).
 
 
 
As it is with a record label, an artist can decide to go independent and self-publish their own music. This way, all possible revenue generated from his/her compositions will come directly to them. Whereas if an artist signs a publishing deal with another entity, they will have to split some of the money generated from the music compositions according to the percentage agreed upon in their publishing contract. A third option is for an artist to sign an administration deal with a publisher. In this option, the publisher’s responsibilities and rights concerning the artist’s musical works are limited. The publisher in this admin-deal is entrusted with ensuring that the artist’s compositions are properly registered with the above mentioned royalty collection societies. Furthermore the publisher does not earn a percentage split from the revenue generated from the music compositions.
 
A decision on whether an artist should self-publish is a tricky one.
Let’s go through some pointers of all 3scenarios:


Scenario 1: Self-Publishing
 

• You can decide to accept or decline any usage deal for your compositions at your own discretion.
• You have the responsibility to find the platforms that may want to use and pay for your music (like TV, Film etc).
• You need to do all administrative work related to your musical works, including collecting all possible royalties generated.
• You don’t split revenue with anyone. 

 
Scenario 2: Signing with a Publisher
 

• The publisher is responsible for all administrative work.
• The publisher is responsible for exploiting your musical work on various platforms.
• The publisher has the power of attorney over your compositions, they can accept or decline deals at their discretion (unless stipulated otherwise in the contract).
• The revenue generated from your compositions is split with the publisher (as much as 50% in some cases). 

 
 
Scenario 3: Signing an Administration Deal with a Publisher
 

• The publisher is only responsible for the registration of the artist’s musical works with the relevant royalty collection societies.
• You can decide to accept or decline any usage deal for your compositions at your own discretion.
• You have the responsibility to find the platforms that may want to use and pay for your music (like TV, Film etc).
• You pay a once-off fee to the publisher.
• The publisher does not receive a percentage from any royalties generated. 

Looking at the above pointers it is clear that there is no right or wrong between self-publishing or signing a publishing deal, it all depends on what you want as an artist. Established music publishers have over years built good relationships with film & TV Studios, advertisers, brands, electronic Game Creators and many more music users. These relationships can afford them the proximity of knowing when music might be needed for usage and this makes it easier for them to exploit the music compositions and generate income from it.
 
On episode 81 of Bread4Soul CONVOS I hosted singer & songwriter Tumelo Ruele, who shared a story about how his song The Rhythm received a synchronisation deal on Marvel Studios’ block buster movie Black Panther. Without sharing much detail about the exact amount paid to him and his co-collaborators, he made mention of it being decent money. The entire deal was sourced and signed by a major publishing company (on behalf of Tumelo). Since Tumelo had signed with a publisher, he did not play any role in securing the Black Panther deal. That demonstrates the power in music publishing, especially considering that the song The Rhythm was released in 2014 and still made it to a 2018 movie. Without a publisher, perhaps this deal might not have happened. It is also worth mentioning that most established publishers will have a long list of artists (mostly established) signed to them, this can make it tricky to be noticed when opportunities become available.
 
Being self-published can also work in the artist’s favour if they’ve composed a hit song, because in this case the brand (or whoever wants to use the song) will contract the artist directly. The revenues of which will all come to the artist. A self-published artist can also enjoy the benefits of being with an established publisher by collaborating with another artist who is signed to a publisher. As an independent artist, you too will get your own share from any money generated from a deal curated by that publisher for that particular collaboration.


A basic publishing agreement will include the following:
 
What is being published - Is it a song, an album, or all artist’s future work?
Percentage Split - How much is split between Artist & Publisher from future revenues?
Advance Fees - How much will the publisher pay the artist (recoupable against earnings)?
Term - How long will the publishing contract be in effect?   

Conclusion

 
Bob Dylan, arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all time, is said to have sold most of his publishing rights to Universal Music Publishing in 2020. It is reported that the multiple Grammy winning artist received hundreds of millions of dollars for selling his publishing. At 80 years of age, Bob Dylan could have also decided to retain his copyrights and leave them to be part of his estate for his loved ones. It is law that as a writer / composer who owns the publishing of their musical works, remains the owner of those copyrights for the rest of their lives, and their heirs / beneficiaries will become owners of those rights for 50 years after their death.
 
As mentioned above with the Tumelo Ruele case study, the possibilities for your music to generate income are truly limitless and can sometimes be unexpected. Hence I regard publishing as the most important copyright an artist should understand, not only for their sole benefit but for their loved ones’ benefit as well.