Publishing vs Record Labels

Ownership vs Distribution

• What is music publishing?

• Music publishing is the business of managing and exploiting copyrights, issuing licenses, and collecting royalties. 

• What does a music publisher do?

• A publisher discovers, signs, and manages songwriters, coordinates metadata and copyright data, communicates with societies, pitches written songs to artists, and works to secure various licensing opportunities for the songs in their catalog.

• What is the difference between a song composition and a master recording?

• The song composition is created solely by songwriters and is made up of lyrics and melody.  The master recording is the final produced version of the composition, the version available for release, sale, and marketing.

• What does a record label do?

• A record label discovers, develops, funds, and promotes artists. They are constantly scouting new acts and coming together to creatively market artists.

• What is the difference between a music publisher and a record label?

• Record labels work with the artists and the final sound recordings we see on streaming platforms, known as “masters”. They collaborate with performing artists.

• Music publishers deal with the underlying compositions of songs, which include the lyrics and melody. They collaborate with songwriters.

• Can I publish my own songs?

• Yes, you can absolutely be your own publisher! Many smaller, independent artists will register their song’s copyright, upload their tracks to distributors, such as DistroKid or TuneCore, which will bring their songs to DSPs (Spotify, AppleMusic, etc.). To then collect your publishing royalties, you must register songs through PROs and The MLC.

• What happens if I don’t have a publisher?

• You are your own publisher! Some writers who don’t have a publisher will use an administrator. While publishers own either all or part of a song’s copyright, an administrator focuses on registering songs and collecting/distributing royalties for a fee.