Why Music Publishing is Essential for Artists: How to Protect Songs and Earn Royalties

Understanding Music Publishing and Its Importance

Music publishing is the foundation of how songwriters, artists, and composers earn revenue from their songs. Whether through streaming, radio play, television, or sync licensing, music publishers ensure that creators collect the publishing royalties they are owed. Without proper publishing administration, many artists miss out on significant income.

Publishing royalties come from multiple sources, including performance rights, mechanical royalties, and sync fees. Music publishers help artists navigate these revenue streams, ensuring they receive every cent they are entitled to. If you're an artist or songwriter looking to establish your own publishing company, understanding the business aspects of publishing is crucial.

The Two Core Copyrights in Music

Music copyrights are divided into two main categories:

• Composition Rights: The rights to the written music, including lyrics and melodies.
• Master Recording Rights: The rights to a specific sound recording of a song.

Each generates its own stream of royalties. If a song is played on YouTube or a streaming playlist, the master rights generate royalties for the recording owner, while the composition rights generate publishing royalties for the songwriter and music publisher. This distinction is crucial for artists aiming to collect all the income they are owed.

What Are the Three Main Types of Music Publishing Royalties?

1. Performance Royalties

Whenever a song is publicly performed on radio, television, in a club, or even in a live concert, performance royalties are generated. These royalties are collected by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) like BMI, ASCAP, and global equivalents. Music publishers ensure that songwriters and composers receive these royalties worldwide.

2. Mechanical Royalties

Mechanical royalties originate from the reproduction and distribution of songs. This includes digital downloads, streaming, and printed music sales. Organizations like the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) help collect these royalties, but a dedicated publishing company ensures that every payment is accounted for.

3. Sync Licensing Fees

Sync licensing occurs when a song is licensed for use in media such as films, television shows, video games, or advertisements. Music publishers negotiate these deals and collect the licensing fees, providing an additional revenue stream for artists and songwriters.

Cover Song Royalties: Do Artists Earn When Others Cover Their Songs?

Yes! When an artist covers another songwriter’s song, the original songwriter continues to earn publishing royalties. For example, when Luke Combs covered Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, Chapman collected significant publishing royalties from digital streams, radio play, and other sources.

If you are a songwriter and someone covers your song, you are still entitled to mechanical and performance royalties. This highlights the importance of having a music publisher to ensure these royalties are properly collected on your behalf.

Why Every Artist Needs a Music Publisher

Many artists assume that distributing their music through platforms like TuneCore or DistroKid covers all their revenue streams. However, these distributors primarily handle master royalties, not publishing royalties. Without a dedicated music publisher, songwriters risk missing out on significant revenue from sync licensing, performance rights, and mechanical royalties.

A well-established music publishing administrator like KOSIGN ensures that every aspect of your publishing is managed effectively. With direct global collection capabilities and real-time transparency, KOSIGN helps artists collect every royalty they are owed without unnecessary middlemen.

The Role of a Music Publisher

Music publishers serve as a bridge between songwriters and the various sources of publishing royalties. Their primary responsibilities include:

• Licensing and Negotiations: Ensuring fair compensation from streaming services, television networks, and other media.
• Global Song Registration: Registering compositions with PROs and collection societies worldwide.
• Royalty Collection: Tracking and collecting revenue from thousands of sources across different territories.

What Is a Publishing Administration Deal?

A publishing administration deal allows songwriters to retain 100% ownership of their compositions while a publishing administrator manages royalty collection, licensing, and global rights. This is an attractive option for artists who want full control over their publishing catalog while ensuring their earnings are properly collected.

Types of Publishing Deals:

1. Full Publishing Deal: The publisher owns the rights and manages all aspects of the song’s revenue.
2. Co-Publishing Deal: The songwriter retains partial ownership while working with a publisher.
3. Administration Deal: The songwriter retains full ownership, while a publishing administrator collects royalties on their behalf.

Why is KOSIGN the world’s best publishing admin?

KOSIGN redefines publishing administration by making the world’s most trusted publishing platform — the same one used by the world’s top artists and songwriters — more flexible and streamlined than ever before. KOSIGN artists retain 100% ownership and control of their music while KOSIGN handles every aspect of their global publishing administration.

KOSIGN’s services, powered by Kobalt’s best-in-class admin platform and support team, include:

How KOSIGN Empowers Artists

KOSIGN, powered by Kobalt, provides a flexible and transparent music publishing administration platform. Unlike traditional publishers, KOSIGN offers:

• Direct Digital Collections: Faster, more accurate royalty payments — collecting digital publishing royalties directly from streaming services in the vast majority of territories.
• Global Registration and Collection: Ensuring compositions are registered and royalties are collected worldwide.
• Flexible Terms: A rolling agreement that allows artists to maintain full control over their publishing catalog.

Take Control of Your Music Publishing

Owning your publishing rights means securing a lifetime of revenue from your music. Whether you're collecting performance royalties, sync licensing fees, or mechanical royalties from printed music and digital sales, having a music publishing administrator ensures you never miss out on money owed to you.

The music industry is full of complexities, but working with an established publishing company like KOSIGN allows you to focus on your creativity while professionals handle the business aspects. From ensuring blanket licenses are correctly managed to registering your compositions in every relevant territory, KOSIGN represents the next generation of efficient publishing administration.

If you’re serious about maximizing your music revenue, consider applying to KOSIGN and take full control of your publishing career.

Glossary of Music Publishing Terms

Music Publishing: The process of managing, protecting, and monetizing musical works through licensing, royalties, and copyright administration. It ensures songwriters and composers are fairly compensated whenever their music is used or licensed.

Composition Rights: Rights that protect the original music, including lyrics, melody, and harmony. Songwriters earn publishing royalties from these rights.

Master Recording Rights: The rights to a specific recording of a song. Master royalties are paid to the owner of the recording, often the artist or record label.

Publishing Royalties: Royalties earned by the songwriter or composer for the use of their song's composition in various platforms, including streaming, radio, and live performances.

Master Royalties: Royalties earned by the owner of the master recording for the use of a specific recorded version of a song, such as streaming, downloads, and CD sales.

Performance Royalties: Royalties generated whenever a song is publicly played, such as on radio, streaming services, or live performances. These are typically collected by performing rights organizations (PROs) like ASCAP or BMI.

Mechanical Royalties: Royalties paid to songwriters whenever a song is reproduced or sold, whether through streaming, downloads, or physical sales like CDs and vinyl. Organizations like the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) and Harry Fox Agency (HFA) collect these royalties.

Sync Licensing Royalties: Royalties earned when a song is licensed for use in media, such as movies, TV shows, advertisements, or video games.

Cover Song Royalties: Royalties distributed when one artist records and releases a cover version of another artist's song. The original songwriter earns publishing royalties, while the artist performing the cover earns master royalties.

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs): Organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and AMRA that collect and distribute performance royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

KOSIGN: A global publishing administration platform powered by Kobalt that helps artists, songwriters, and producers efficiently collect royalties using innovative technology to maximize earnings and ensure transparency.

Administration Deal (Admin Deal): A type of publishing deal where the songwriter retains full ownership of their publishing rights while a music publisher helps with royalty collection and distribution.

Full Publishing Deal: A deal in which the songwriter assigns ownership of their publishing rights to a publisher who handles the promotion, licensing, and royalty collection of the song.

Co-Publishing Deal: A publishing deal where the songwriter shares ownership of the publishing rights with a publisher, who assists with promotion, licensing, and royalty collection.

Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC): An organization responsible for collecting and distributing mechanical royalties from digital streaming services.

Harry Fox Agency (HFA): A music publisher's representative in the U.S. that collects and distributes mechanical royalties for the reproduction of music in various formats.

Global Song Registration: The process of registering songs with global collection societies to ensure that songwriters and publishers receive royalties from every territory where the song is played.

Sync Licensing: The process of licensing music for use in visual media, such as TV, films, ads, and video games. Songwriters and publishers earn sync royalties whenever their music is synchronized with visuals.

Royalty Collection: The process by which music publishers track and collect royalties generated from the use of a song's composition or master recording. This can involve collecting royalties from multiple sources, including streaming services, radio, and media.

Traditional Publisher: A type of publisher that often takes ownership of a songwriter's copyright in exchange for promoting the music, licensing, and collecting royalties.

Publishing Administrator: A company or platform, such as KOSIGN, that handles the royalty collection and licensing process without taking ownership of the songwriter’s copyright.

Sync Royalties: Royalties paid when music is licensed for use in films, TV shows, video games, and commercials. These payments go to both the songwriter and the publisher.

Distributors: Companies or platforms that distribute recorded music to digital stores and streaming services, paying artists and labels for the master recording royalties.

Kobalt: The world's leading music publishing administration company (and largest independent music publisher), that helps songwriters, producers, and artists collect their royalties globally using innovative technology and direct collection methods.

amra: The world's first digital-only PRO, which Kobalt uses to license and collect directly from publishing royalties from streaming platforms in the majority of territories outside the U.S.