Music Publishing & Licensing An evaluation and survey of MDIA 3307
Music Publishing & LicensingAn evaluation and survey of MDIA 3307
My place in the Industry
Currently ’s social media marketing
advisor Friend and general advisor to local band
Fathers of the Revolution General patron of house shows Co-founder of WIMI: women in music
industry A networking group that holds mentoring
sessions with professionals in the industry
Currently (continued) Visual artist
Album art for Evan Sites’ latest single Gig posters for various artists
The Future Artist Manager
While it poses some difficult work, it’d be a very rewarding position where I could use a very hands-on approach and my natural nurturing personality
Marketing Something I’ve always enjoyed A focus on social media marketing and
lots of visual marketing tactics
The Future (continued) Working for an independent label
Smaller labels have smaller staffs, meaning each person is involved in more aspects of a label’s day to day work and many needs
Publishing Synch licensing
A interesting and engaging mix of creativity, business skills, and people skills
Publisher / administrator Working hard for artists to best exploit their
copyrights would be very rewarding
What I’ve learned about music publishing
Publishing has many facets Not just one revenue stream Made up of many parts
Publishers Mechanical royalties, Performance
royalties Performance Rights Organizations Synchronization licenses Sundry licenses Ect.
Types of Publishing Deals Administrative Deals
Writer(s) retain copyrights, publisher hires administrator who oversees the daily work
Work-for-hire Writer writes song for a company that then
retains the rights to the song Co-Publishing
Usually a 50/50 split Sub-publishing
Deals with foreign administrator
Mechanical Royalties Royalties paid for physical reproductions of
songs The rate for mechanicals is statutory. The current rate for mechanicals is 9.1¢ Mechanical Royalties also apply to covers of
an artist’s songs Once permission for a song has been given
once, the mechanical license becomes compulsory
Harry Fox Agency administers mechanical licenses
Performance Royalties Performance Royalties are earned when
a song is performed, whether it is by the author, the artist it was written for, or a cover
Blanket licenses Performance royalties are collected by
performance rights organizations (PROs)
PROs There are three PROs ASCAP, SESAC and BMI SESAC is invite only
Synchronization Licenses Synch licenses are for synching audio to
moving picture, like putting music in a film
There is no set rate for synch licenses Subjective, specialized deals
Sundry Licenses Sundry licenses cover music used in
advertisements, karaoke, samples and toys, ect.
For example: Money in Advertising Rates for a 12 month campaign
Regional: $75,000 - $125,000 National: $175,000 - $500,000
Exposure Can reinvigorate old artists (Nick Drake & VW) Can popularize new artists (Yael Naim & Apple)
New Terms & Concepts
Administration Deals Ownership is retained by writer Admin gets a percentage of money that
comes in through publishing What I’d recommend to artists, because
good publishers have connections they don’t
Most Favored Nations All people get the same deal If a film is willing to pay a high amount
for one song, they have to pay that amount for all songs
Controlled Composition A three-quarter rate, this allows a label
to only give a writer 75% of the statutory rate for mechanical royalties
A way for labels to nickel and dime writers
If I was managing an artist, I’d make sure to look out for this
What area of the Industry do I find exciting?
Sync Licensing Marries the creative side with the
business side, while emphasizing relationships
Even if you’re only in charge of obtaining the necessary permissions and not choosing the music, you’re still an important part of making a scene complete
Areas of Publishing Revenue I Can Take Advantage Of In The Future
Administrator If I was an administrator I could receive
a percentage of the money coming in, agreed upon with the copyright holder
Pitching songs I would receive a portion of money from
a sync license deal if I pitched a song and got it placed in a film, ad or tv show
PRO – operating expenses PROs take a portion of performance
royalty income for operating expenses If I worked for a PRO, I would get paid
from the money taken for operating expenses
How has my viewpoint of the industry changed?
This course built upon a foundation The Business of Selling Music course gave a a solid
foundation This course built upon that foundation
We went much more in depth on concepts Taking this in conjunction with the SXSW trip really
helped me grasp concepts discussed at panels and in mentor sessions
I feel confident and informed about issues within the industry When Thomas Golubic asked us if we knew about
something at breakfast, we all nodded enthusiastically – because this class taught us.