Categories of Songwriters 

There are three categories of songwriters:

1.                  A songwriter who is a performing member in a band;

2.                  A songwriter who is a solo artist;

3.                  A songwriter who composes the written lyrics or written music for performing artists/bands.

Publishing can be big business for a successful songwriter.  Opportunities exist in TV, film, new media as well as the traditional methods of commercially exploiting a written song such as from its use on a sound recording.  The Internet has certainly opened the gateway for more possibilities to emerge and so publishing will certainly find its way into new and exciting markets.

  The Role of the Publisher 

(a)    Respond to requests from people who would like to use the music you have created (e.g. in a television commercial).  The Publisher will need to issue a licence to bestow this legal right inn the first place. A ‘licence’ is a technical term meaning a formal written permission which enables the other person to legitimately use the songwriter’s protected work(s) within the terms set out in the licence.  Failure to attain the written consent from the Publisher will amount to a breach of copyright.

(b)   Constantly look for new ways of exploiting the written work of the songwriter (e.g. in popular console games or online).  The Publisher will have a positive obligation to use its reasonable endeavours to satisfy this objective.

(c)    Collect the revenue generated from the use and licensing of the works on behalf of the songwriter.  As a matter of procedure, the Publisher will have registered the songwriter’s works with various collecting societies from different countries to handle the income collection process.

Publishing companies with significant clout and presence in foreign territories, such as EMI Publishing, will sub-publish so that their artist’s songs are competently handled and controlled there.

       Categories of Publishing Deals 

(a)        Administration

A songwriter who lacks the ability to collect income generated by the exploitation of his would-be money-spinning catalogue of songs in the way that a Publisher could adequately manage, would opt for this kind of deal. 

The administrator, in consideration for a 10-15% fee from the gross income, will take on the responsibility of administering the song(s) for the songwriter and these works will be registered with the necessary collection societies.  This role will also involve the issuing of licences to people asking to use the songs for their commercial purposes and drafting accounts to detail the songwriter’s earnings.

(b)        Sub-Publishing

In an exclusive publishing deal (see below) the artist will assign his rights in his songs to the Publisher whereas if a sub-publishing deal is chosen, the artist will instead licence his rights (not necessarily all) to the Publisher and so retains ownership.

A sub-publisher can achieve a fee of 15-20% of the gross earnings or up to 25% in situations where the sub-publisher has agreed to give the artist a sizeable advance.

(c)        Exclusive Publishing Contract

Perhaps the most valuable prize for an artist wanting a major deal, an exclusive publishing contract will express an intention on the part of the Publisher that it will do its best to back the artist in terms of funding and generating popularity for that individual in the entertainment industry in return for acquiring the right to exercise full control of all songs created to date for the duration of the contract.

The artist can expect to find standard clauses in this type of agreement governing exclusivity, duration, territory, assignment (of copyrights in all existing materials), minimum commitment, royalties, advances, accounting and so on.

  Words from the Wise 

• Artists should be mindful not to agree to anything without taking sound advice from either a music industry professional with many years of experience in their field or a qualified solicitor with expertise in music law and practice. 

• Sign every page of a contract to confirm you have read and understand (seek advice if in doubt) the effect of each clause on the page.  This will prevent the other party inserting extra pages after you have signed to make it seem as though you have agreed to these new provisions as well.

• Never use the same lawyer or a lawyer with any degree of connection to the Publisher.  The advice you take must be unbiased and completely independent to reflect your best interests alone.  Reject any advice given to you by the Publisher’s lawyer.  The fact that this lawyer is advising a person connected to a proposed arrangement involving his own client itself constitutes a conflict of interest so seek your own.

For more specialist advice...visit www.madc.uk.com