A Music Publisher works on behalf of songwriters or composers to collect and pay out all of the royalties they earn from their compositions. Publishers can collect a few different types of royalties from sources all over the world.
What does a publisher mean in music?
What is Music Publishing? Music publishing is the business of promotion and monetization of musical compositions: music publishers ensure that songwriters receive royalties for their compositions, and also work to generate opportunities for those compositions to be performed and reproduced.
What is the education needed to be a music publisher?
Essential Information
Required Education | No standard requirements, though a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a field related to music and/or business may be beneficial |
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Projected Job Growth | 10% increase for all producers and directors |
Who gets publishing on a song?
There is no law that says a music producer is entitled to publishing, but it is standard practice. Producers get your Publishing! An artist’s master recording royalty (which typically ranges from 12% to 18% at a major label) is the crux of why anyone signs a record deal.
How to Become A Music Publisher In South Africa
Essential Information
Music publishers are professionals in the music business that deal mostly with copyright law and acquiring finances for artists.
Songwriters may become their own music publishers, and music publishers can be companies as well as individuals. No specific education is required to become a music publisher, though the study of business, finance and marketing could be useful.
Required Education | No standard requirements, though a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a field related to music and/or business may be beneficial |
Other Requirements | Music industry internship helpful for providing hands-on experience |
Projected Job Growth | 10% increase for all producers and directors |
Mean Salary | R 1320289.29for producers and directors in the sound recording industry |
Career Information
A music publisher is a professional that works in cooperation with musicians and songwriters to market and promote songs in a variety of financial contexts. This can include attempting to gain the attention of major record labels in order to sign a musician or band or agreeing on an amount of money to be paid for commercial use of a song.
Music publishers commonly deal with the intricacies of copyright law, including both musical composition and sound recording copyrights, which apply to all recorded music.
Education Requirements
Those in music publishing should have a solid understanding of music and core competencies in music law and business accounting, as well as effective communications skills and writing abilities.
Though no postsecondary education is technically required, aspiring music publishers could benefit from a variety of programs that combine the study of business and music. At the undergraduate level, a student may enroll in a bachelor’s degree program in music business, music industry management or music.
In some cases, these programs lead directly into master’s degree options, so a student can graduate with a combined bachelor’s degree in music and Master of Business Administration in a five-year period. For individuals already holding bachelor’s degrees, some master’s degree programs focusing on music business are available as independent options.
Below are steps to Become A Music Publisher In South Africa
Step 1 // Affiliate yourself with ASCAP or BMI
Even if you only plan on publishing for your own music, you’ll need to be affiliated with ASCAP or BMI. Start setting up your company by going to either www.ascap.com or www.bmi.com to obtain/fill out an application.
If you are a songwriter and have not yet affiliated, you should affiliate with one of these societies at the same time ‐ you can’t affiliate with both.
You have to affiliate as a publisher with the same society that you affiliate with as a songwriter.
If you plan to publish other people’s songs as well as your own, and unless all of your writers are affiliated with the same society, you will need affiliations with both publishing companies. (BMI and ASCAP)
Step 2 // Legally establish yourself as a business
Once your application has been accepted, it’s time to legally establish yourself as a business as per the requirements of your state. To figure out what you need, you’ll need to visit your Secretary of State’s office and/or the County Clerk website.
Since you probably aren’t a big corporation, you’ll most likely need to file a fictitious name statement. What this does is 1) states that you are clearly doing business under a name that is not your own and it is legal to do so, and 2) lets you open a bank account and/or cash checks made out to that name if you need to.
Step 3 // Register your songs
Next, you’ll need to register the songs with the Copyright Office in the name of your new publishing company. — To do so, go to https://www.copyright.gov
Step 4 // Register the songs with the performing rights society you chose in Step 1
You only have to register the songs as the publisher or writer, not both. Whichever society you chose will have all the details necessary on their site.
How do I become a registered publisher in South Africa?
These are the steps to take when starting a publishing company or for that matter any company:
Reserve a company name with the registrar of companies.
Lodge formation documentation with Cipro – register the business entity of choice.
Open a business bank account.
Register with the local receiver of revenue.
What education do you need to be a music publisher In South Africa?
Essential Information
Required Education | No standard requirements, though a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a field related to music and/or business may be beneficial |
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Projected Job Growth (2019-2029)* | 10% increase for all producers and directors |
What skills does a music publisher need In South Africa?
A music publisher may require some of the following:
An excellent ear for music.
Thorough knowledge of musical notation.
Good judgement and understanding of what might appeal to particular audiences.
Negotiating skills and a head for business.
The ability to juggle multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
Self motivation.
What exactly does a music publisher do In South Africa?
What is Music Publishing? Music publishing is the business of promotion and monetization of musical compositions: music publishers ensure that songwriters receive royalties for their compositions, and also work to generate opportunities for those compositions to be performed and reproduced.
How does a music publisher get paid In South Africa?
Music publishers earn money through licensing fees and royalties. In terms of song ownership, a publisher usually gets a 50% stake in a track. In other words, the original copyright owner (the songwriter) assigns a portion of the copyright for a song to the publisher.
How long does a music publishing contract last In South Africa?
In most cases, this is an arrangement that lasts for the rest of your life and then some (a copyright lasts for 70 years beyond your death). Also, in most cases, that recording that the publisher split with you or loaned you money to make is entirely their property.
Is publishing music profitable In South Africa?
The music publishing business clearly remains lucrative, even when the music industry is struggling.
How does a music publishing contract work In South Africa?
This is an agreement between a writer and a music publisher where the writer grants specific rights for one or more songs to the publisher. The writer will be paid a one-time recoupable advance by the publisher. The publisher will handle the business aspects of the work and pay royalties to the songwriter.