Publishing is tied to royalties for songwriters. If you are a songwriter and you have a publishing deal, the "publishers" will manage your songs. They will make sure that all of the royalties to which you are entitled are being collected, and they will usually actively move to make your songs "work harder" - that is to say they will try and place your music in TV, films, advertising and so on. Your publisher is also the first port of call for any artist that wishes to do a cover version of one of your songs. In exchange, the publisher will get a cut of income generated by your songs. A few things to understand about publishing:
- You do not have to have a publishing deal to collect royalties on your songs.
- You can have a publishing deal without having a record deal, and you can have a record deal without having a publishing deal.
Like all things related to royalty collection, publishing can be quite a complex topic - one that makes the heads spin even of people who have a lot of experience in music. You can learn more about publishing and royalties in general in the articles below:
