We break down all the processes and players in the world of publishing – with the help of partners from every corner of the industry – so you can learn more about how to get properly credited and paid for your work.
The publishing industry – which represents songwriters and producers – is incredibly complex. It’s full of acronyms and different types of royalties, but learning about that business side of the industry is crucial to ensuring you’re getting properly credited and paid for your work. We want to help break down the details to make sure you’re set up for success, so you can get back to doing what you do best – creating.
From CMOs to PROs, we talked to some of our partners around the globe to get their top tips for songwriters starting out in the industry. With their help, we compiled several resources and next steps to make sure you’ve got it covered in the studio and in your earned royalties. Click the links below to hear more from each of our partners, and check out more resources for songwriters and producers on Noteable.
Advice on Songwriting Splits and Royalty Opportunities from ASCAP’s Jody Klein
This performing rights organization (PRO) is run by songwriters, composers, and publishers, which guides much of ASCAP’s work helping songwriters as they build up their bodies of work and their royalties. In this article, we detail ASCAP’s top tips for songwriters getting started.
Want to Maximize Your Royalties? Start with Your Song Metadata with BMAT
Founded in Barcelona in 2006, BMAT exists in the space between rights holders – publishers, PROs, and songwriters – and Spotify. BMAT’s technology helps to more accurately identify how many times a song is played and where royalties should be paid. More specifically, they use the metadata provided by artists and songwriters on every track to make that process as efficient as possible. In this article, the BMAT team discusses the importance of providing accurate metadata, how they’d like to continue improving the process, and the surprising ways songwriter names can impact royalty checks.
More Than Royalties: BMI on How Performing Rights Societies Help Budding Songwriters Grow
While PROs like BMI help songwriters track down royalties, there’s so much more they do to support aspiring songwriters, including hosting networking events, offering educational resources, and simply providing career guidance. We chatted with BMI’s VP of Creative, Samantha Cox, to learn how they support young songwriters who are still learning the ins and outs of the industry.
Collecting Mechanical Royalties Can Be Tricky. The MLC Is Here to Fix That
The Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018 enabled the U.S. Copyright Office to establish the MLC, a mechanical rights organization, to help modernize and facilitate the collection and payment of mechanical royalties in America – especially those coming from digital sources like Spotify. We spoke with the MLC to help you learn how mechanical royalties work with regard to streaming audio, what songwriters need to do to ensure they’re collecting these royalties, and ways the process can continue to improve.
Want to Avoid Lost Royalties? Follow These Important Tips from the MMF
There are so many moving parts involved in song registration, and songwriters are often unaware when issues are afoot and they’re missing out on the money they’re owed. Understanding how songs are correctly credited, listed, and registered can be intimidating, but without the correct process, it’s possible those funds can go astray. We spoke with Annabella Coldrick, CEO of Music Managers Forum (MMF), to discuss the vital role that song registration plays and what steps songwriters should be prioritizing to get paid.
Top Tips for Songwriters from Martin Maguire of PRS for Music
In the U.K., more than 160,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers have turned to PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music, an organization that tracks the 30 million works registered with the group and helps translate listening into payments for its members. PRS also helps educate new and current writers, as well as supporting them through initiatives like the PRS Foundation. In this article, PRS’s Head of Publisher Support and Relationships, Martin Maguire, discusses how songwriters can benefit from PRS and offers advice for songwriters just starting their careers.
SACEM’s CEO Cécile Rap-Veber Shares Her Top Tips for Songwriters
The Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers of Music (SACEM) is a collective management organization (CMO) based in France that plays an important role around the world. SACEM helps collect and distribute royalties while also providing promotion and support to the 175,800 creators and almost 7,000 publishers that the organization represents. For new or established songwriters, a CMO like SACEM provides education, guidance, and the support required to receive payment for their works. Learn more in our conversation with SACEM’s CEO.
STIM Reveals the Many Ways a Performing Rights Society Can Help Songwriters’ Careers
As a performing rights society based in Sweden, STIM works with both local and global writers to get them paid out for their work, while also providing helpful resources like their studio space in Stockholm. In this article, STIM’s artist outreach specialists discuss the importance of getting involved with a performing rights society, misconceptions surrounding rights societies, and reasons why you may want to consider joining a society outside your region.