What Every Independent Artist Should Know About Music Publishing
What Every Independent Artist Should Know About Music Publishing
There’s a moment every songwriter eventually reaches when making the music stops being the only thing they need to think about.
You wrote the song.
You recorded it.
You released it.
People are listening.
And then someone asks:
“Did you register the song?”
Or:
“Who owns the publishing?”
Or maybe:
“Did you collect your writer’s share?”
And suddenly something that started with a melody and a notebook has turned into a business conversation.
Welcome to music publishing.
For independent artists, understanding publishing isn’t about becoming obsessed with paperwork. It’s about understanding what happens to the songs you create and making sure the business surrounding those songs doesn’t become an afterthought.
Because your recording may be what people hear—but the composition is an asset, too.
First: What Is Music Publishing?
At its simplest, music publishing is the business of managing and monetizing the rights associated with a musical composition.
And a composition isn’t the same thing as the recording.
Think about it this way:
You write a song.
That song—the lyrics, melody and underlying musical composition—is one thing.
Then you record your version of that song.
That particular recording is another thing.
They’re connected, but they’re not the same asset.
That’s one of the first concepts an independent artist should understand.
You can own a recording and have rights in the underlying composition at the same time.
And if you wrote the song, you may have a songwriting interest in that composition regardless of whether you’re the performer.
The Two Pieces of the Publishing Conversation
When people talk about music publishing, you’ll often hear two terms:
Writer’s share
and
Publisher’s share.
These are not two different songs.
They’re two portions of the performance royalty framework associated with a musical composition.
This is also where things can get confusing because different performing rights organizations use different accounting frameworks.
For example, BMI generally operates on a 200% system: 100% writer and 100% publisher.
ASCAP generally expresses the performance royalty split on a 100% basis, with the standard framework dividing that into writer and publisher portions.
The important thing isn’t memorizing the number.
It’s understanding what you’re actually looking at when you see a registration or royalty statement.
100% and 200% don’t mean the song suddenly became worth twice as much.
They’re different ways of accounting for the writer and publisher portions.
We break that down in more detail in:
100 vs. 200: The Difference Between BMI and ASCAP Splits
Your Writer’s Share Is Not the Same Thing as Having a Publishing Company
This is another place where independent artists can get confused.
If you wrote a song, you have a writer’s interest in that composition.
That doesn’t automatically mean you have a separate publishing company collecting the publisher’s portion.
Those are different concepts.
An artist might:
- Write their own songs
- Own their own publishing
- Have a publishing entity
- Work with a publishing administrator
- Sign a publishing deal
- Co-write with other songwriters
- Have different arrangements for different compositions
The structure depends on the songwriter and the agreements involved.
The important part is knowing what you’ve agreed to before you start splitting things up.
Split Sheets Matter
Let’s say you walk into a studio with three other people.
Everybody contributes.
Maybe one person writes the hook.
Someone else writes verses.
Another person contributes melody.
Someone produces.
Someone else helps shape the song.
Then everybody leaves the studio saying:
“That’s fire. We’ll figure out the splits later.”
Don’t.
😂
That’s exactly when the future-you version of this conversation becomes much more complicated.
A split sheet documents the agreed songwriting ownership percentages for a song.
It can help establish who contributed as a songwriter and what percentage each person agreed to.
The exact legal effect of a split sheet can depend on the circumstances and applicable agreements, so it isn’t a substitute for appropriate legal advice.
But as a practical business habit?
Document the agreement.
Do it while everybody still remembers what happened in the room.
And No, Producing Doesn’t Automatically Mean You Own Songwriting
This one comes up constantly.
A producer can be extremely important to the creation of a recording without automatically becoming a songwriter.
Whether a producer receives a songwriting interest depends on the actual creative contribution and the agreement between the parties.
Production credits, master rights, songwriting ownership and publishing interests are separate concepts.
That’s why artists should avoid casually saying:
“Everybody who worked on the record gets publishing.”
That may not accurately describe the rights involved.
Know what each person actually contributed.
Then document the agreement.
Your PRO Is Part of the Picture
Independent songwriters also need to understand performing rights organizations, commonly called PROs.
Organizations such as BMI and ASCAP help license public performances of musical compositions and distribute applicable performance royalties to their affiliated writers and publishers.
That can include performances through venues, radio and other licensed uses.
But here’s an important distinction:
A PRO isn’t collecting every kind of money your song can generate.
Mechanical royalties, synchronization licensing income and other revenue streams can involve different systems, agreements and organizations.
So registering with a PRO isn’t the same thing as saying:
“I’ve registered my song everywhere it needs to be.”
It’s one piece of the larger publishing picture.
Publishing Can Go Beyond Performance Royalties
This is where music publishing gets really interesting.
A song can potentially generate income through multiple types of uses.
Depending on the situation, that can include things like:
- Public performance
- Mechanical uses
- Synchronization
- Licensing
- Other uses of the composition
Not every song will generate every type of income.
And different revenue streams have different rules.
That’s why understanding publishing isn’t simply about signing up with a PRO.
It’s about understanding where your song can go and what happens when somebody wants to use it.
What Happens When Someone Wants Your Song for TV or Film?
Let’s say somebody hears your song and wants to use it in a television show.
That’s a synchronization opportunity.
Now you’re dealing with another layer of rights.
The person licensing the song may need permission relating to the composition and the sound recording, depending on how the song is being used.
If you own both, that can make the conversation very different from a situation where the rights are split between multiple parties.
And if you co-wrote the song?
Now you may need to coordinate with the other owners of the composition.
This is one reason ownership and documentation matter long before somebody sends you an email saying:
“We’d like to license your song.”
Keep Your Metadata Clean
Publishing isn’t just contracts and royalty statements.
Your song’s information matters, too.
Make sure your credits and metadata are accurate.
That can include:
- Song title
- Songwriters
- Producer information
- Featured artists
- Writer percentages
- Publishing information
- ISRC information for the recording
- Other relevant identifiers and credits
Small errors can create bigger headaches later.
Especially when your music starts appearing across multiple platforms and systems.
Your music deserves accurate paperwork just as much as it deserves a great mix.
Don’t Wait Until You’re Making Money to Learn This
One of the biggest mistakes an independent artist can make is thinking:
“I’ll worry about publishing when I start making real money.”
By then, you may already have a catalog.
You may have collaborations.
You may have songs with multiple writers.
You may have releases across multiple platforms.
You may have missed opportunities to properly document ownership.
It is much easier to build good habits from the beginning than to reconstruct the history of a catalog years later.
You don’t need to know everything today.
But you should know enough to ask the right questions.
A Simple Publishing Checklist for Independent Artists
Before releasing a song, ask:
Did we document the songwriting splits?
Do I know who owns what?
Are the writers correctly credited?
Is the song registered with the appropriate performing rights organization?
Do I understand my writer and publisher interests?
Are the recording and composition rights being treated separately where appropriate?
Is the metadata accurate?
Do I know what happens if someone wants to license the song?
Do I have copies of the relevant agreements and registrations?
You don’t have to become a music attorney.
You just need to stop treating the business side of your songs like somebody else’s problem.
Your Songs Are Part of Your Catalog
Here’s the bigger picture.
Every song you write becomes part of your creative history.
Five songs can become a catalog.
Twenty songs can become a catalog.
A lifetime of songwriting can become an incredibly valuable body of work.
That’s why publishing matters.
Not because paperwork is exciting.
😂 It isn’t.
But because ownership is important.
The more music you create, the more important it becomes to understand what you own, what you’ve licensed, what you’ve assigned and what you’re entitled to receive.
Your catalog is part of your career.
Treat it that way.
Music First. Business Too.
At Southern Girl & Co., we believe music is always first.
But loving the music doesn’t mean ignoring the business around it.
If you’re an independent artist, learning about publishing is part of learning how to build a career.
Start with the basics.
Understand your songwriting.
Document your splits.
Learn what your PRO does.
Keep your credits clean.
Understand the difference between the composition and the recording.
Ask questions before signing agreements.
And when the situation gets complicated, get qualified legal or business advice rather than guessing.
Because you didn’t spend all that time writing the song just to lose track of what happens to it afterward.
Make the music.
Know the business.
Own your work.
