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The Business of Songwriting

The Business of Songwriting

EBOOK GUIDE The business of songwriting.

"A wonderful, forthright guide to the ins and outs of what publishing actually is, from a functional and realistic viewpoint, focused on what (and those who don't even know they are songwriters yet) have questions about and should know."

-Jeremy Peters, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and .

It is our goal at Songtrust to increase transparency and

awareness about how songwriters support themselves. Songtrust

provides this education along with publishing administration service for

types of figures--songwriters, labels, managers,

lawyers, publishers, distributors, etc. We have designed this ebook

to give you an overview of the business of songwriting.

Note that terms in bold are defined in the glossary. Enjoy!

- with us through social media-

Table Of Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………….…………...4 2. & Ownership……………………………………….…………...7 Co-Writing 3. Organizations (PROs)……………….…….……12 Affiliating and Registering Your Samples 4. Royalties and Licensing………….……………………………….…...…..16 Performance Mechanical Print Sync Fees 5. Publishing Deals…………………..…………………………….….………..23 Administration Agreement Co-Publishing Agreement Work-for-Hire Exclusive Agreement Creating Your Own Publishing Company 6. Songtrust………………………………………………………..………….…..32 What is Songtrust? 7. Resources……………………………………………………………….….…..35 Collecting Master Royalties Distribution Synchronization Promotion Songwriting Tools Education 8. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...41 9. Glossary……………………………………………………………………..…..44 Terms Societies & Organizations

Introduction

Introduction

Anyone who creates original music is a songwriter and can collect songwriting royalties. Artists of every genre; , members, film/television writers, DJs, and any owner of an original1 composition or is due royalties when their music is used around the world. Unfortunately, making money from songwriting is not as straight-forward as your average nine-to-five. However, there is now ample opportunity to earn money from songwriting. With the advent of Songtrust, along with several other new music- tech startups, the modern day songwriter can take advantage of a myriad of outlets and revenue streams for their songs. It is important for songwriters to know their options in order to curate their personal and professional approach.

As a songwriter, you are the publisher and owner of your songs. Music publishing refers to the business of making money as the copyright holder of the music you write2. Copyright law protects songwriters by giving them exclusive rights to grant or deny the reproduction, distribution, or performance

1 you make it, you . also collect royalties from cover songs, , and public domain songs. Further, we will discuss what happens with Samples later in the guide. 2 quite contrary to the popular belief that music publishing is the business of publishing .

of their work. When you write original music and register the correctly and comprehensively, you are able to start collecting royalties on that music, provided that others are streaming, downloading, performing, or synchronizing, that music.

For many songwriters, publishing royalties can be their most consistent and dependable sources of income. Advances in digital music distribution and streaming services have made it possible for independent musicians to make their music available to a vast audience via many different payment models. “Discovery” no longer depends upon an established music publishing company pitching music to exclusive connections. It is now possible for a songwriter to maintain 100% ownership, publish their own music, and collect global royalties for that music.

This guide will go into detail about you can make money as a songwriter and . We will discuss Streaming/Sales,

Synchronization, Performance, and more. Enjoy.

Copyright & Ownership Copyright & Ownership

Copyright ownership is divided into two parts; the sound recording and the underlying composition. Both parts collect royalties. The sound recording represents the master recording of a song. Labels and Distributors collect sound recording royalties. The underlying composition, a bit less tangible, represents the structure, , melody, etc. This composition copyright belongs to the songwriter(s) of the song, and their respective publishers. of a composition as being embedded within recordings. Publishers and writers collect composition royalties.

A common misconception is that doesn’t own their work until they’ve filed a formal copyright. However, the moment you decide that the song you have been creating is finished and exists in some tangible form (such as a or recorded demo), you automatically own a copyright for that

composition and 100% of the publishing. It is your intellectual property. Under some circumstances, you may file a formal copyright to be safe. As a songwriter, you are the publisher, until you have a publisher. Your 100% ownership is divided into two pieces: the writer’s share (50%) and the publisher’s share (50%).3

If you decide to sign a publishing deal, the publisher will only take a cut of the publisher’s share and take a percentage of ownership. If you decide to simply sign a publishing administration deal, where a company like Songtrust registers your songs and collects global royalties on your behalf, you collect all of your money minus a small commission for administrative/business expenses and time spent on your behalf.

3 Sometimes these shares will be considered to be 100% each, adding up to a total 200% for the ownership of the composition, but for the purposes of this guide, we’ll stick to 50% per share, equaling 100% for the song as a whole

It is very important to use a publishing administrator like Songtrust because independent songwriters are unable to collect mechanical royalties without a publishing entity. Songtrust acts as that publishing entity and collects your mechanical royalties. Without Songtrust acting as a publisher on your behalf, you miss out on 85% of the royalties you should get from streaming.

Co-Writing

It is common for songwriters to work on songs together. Your co- writer(s) could be a fellow songwriter, your band members, a producer or arranger who works on the song, or even a friend who gives you a great title idea. Each songwriter owns their own percentage of the song and the publishing rights. He or she is entitled to publishing royalties based on that ownership. These percentages, known as splits, must be negotiated by the songwriters. Examples of Splits

It is very important in a co-writing situation to decide on the splits as soon as all writers agree that the song is finished. Otherwise, you may find

yourself in somewhat of a “he said she said” situation, and negotiations will get messy. It’s also important that all co-writers are in agreement about when the song was actually finished. When you bring the song to a recording session, will the producer or session musicians who arrange parts for the song receive writing credit? You may or may not want that, but you’ll want it to be clear before the session, either way. A good way to set this in stone is to get it in writing, perhaps in the form of a split sheet, and even to register the song with the US Copyright Office. While having a physical copyright isn’t completely necessary (as intellectual property is copyrighted as soon as it is created), it can be helpful if you are ever involved in a lawsuit regarding the use of your intellectual property. Another way to lock down your splits is to register the song with a Performing Rights Organization or a PRO, which we’ll discuss in the next section.

Once a song becomes a joint work, meaning you’ve agreed that you are all co-writers and therefore co-owners of the song and copyright, the work becomes a unitary whole. This means there is no “separate but equal” concept involving the differentiation between the music and lyrics. If you’ve decided to split a song 50/50 between two writers because one wrote the lyrics and the other wrote the music, both writers now own 50% of both the music and the lyrics. For example, if the song gets a sync (we’ll discuss this concept more later) in a film but only the version is used, both writers will still receive 50% of the royalties and sync fees.

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Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) Performing Rights Organizations (PROs)

A Performing Rights Organization or PRO is a society responsible for collecting income on behalf of songwriters and music publishers when a song is publically performed. Restaurants, bars, clubs, radio stations, television networks, venues, streaming services, and any other entity that uses music in a public manner is required to pay licenses in order to play that music. They pay these license fees to the PROs, who in turn, pay out to the songwriters and publishers in the form of performance royalties.

In the , songwriters can affiliate and register their songs with one of three PROs: ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. The differences between the three are subtle, and are outlined in the Glossary under Societies and Organizations. Territories around the world each have their own Performing

Rights Organization that collects performance royalties for writers in that territory (we’ve listed these organizations in the glossary section). PROs in the US collect performances royalties from public performances of within the US. If your music is being used outside of the US, you are owed royalties from those countries’ PROs. The best way to register your songs with foreign societies is through Songtrust. Songtrust has direct deals (read: no extra fees) that cover 120+ territories. This is the most expansive (and least expensive) publishing administration deal that currently exists.

Affiliating and Registering Your Songs

When you affiliate with a PRO, you will receive an IPI number. This stands for Interested Parties Information. This number identifies you as a songwriter and connects you with your songs to ensure that you’re receiving all royalties owed to you. You can also affiliate yourself as a publisher with your PRO. This process and its benefits are outlined below.

After you’ve affiliated with a PRO, the next step is to register your songs. This is where you tell the PRO the name of each song, who wrote it, and who has administrative control of the publishing. Below are some important things to remember remember in order to properly register your songs.

1. List any and all performers (artists) of the song. 2. List any and all writers and/or publishers with their correct shares. 3. List any alternate titles (.e., if your song is called “2 ,” list “ For You” as an alternate title). 4. Be sure your writer/publisher account has up-to-date contact information.

5. If you perform your songs live, report these using the various programs from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC to collect your live performance royalties. Songtrust also allows you to register live performances in other countries.

Once you’ve successfully registered your song, you’ll receive an ISWC. This stands for International Standard Work Code. An ISWC is a song’s identifier, which allows it to be tracked and royalties to be mapped to it.

Royalties & Licensing Royalties and Licensing

A royalty is a percentage of profit entitled to a creator or owner for the use of their intellectual property. Simply put, any public use or sale of your music will accrue royalties. PROs and collection societies issue licenses, track4 usage of music, and pay out royalties. Royalty rates differ greatly across platforms and venues and continue to be negotiated. Further, it is an enormous undertaking to track and monetize the use of music throughout the world. The process involves massive datasets and many codes and identifiers. As a result, registration and monetization often takes months to complete. Below are the different types of royalties, and the mediums by which they are generated:

Performance Royalties

Performance has a broad meaning in the world of music. Essentially, it means the broadcast of a song in a public place. This means that any time your song is played at a concert, in a restaurant, at a sports game, in an elevator, etc., you are owed performance royalties. That includes if you perform your music publicly. Establishments and other businesses that use music pay license fees to the PROs in order to use their music.

4 with the help of tracking services

Performance royalties can be generated from: TV (This is not to be confused with the fee involved in the actual placement of your songs in TV, film or commercials) Radio Live venues Restaurants Bars Elevator music services Supermarkets Clothing stores Gyms Sampling Jukebox Online interactive streaming (e.g. Spotify)

Internet radio/non-interactive streaming (e.g. Pandora)

Mechanical Royalties

Mechanical royalties have to do with the mechanical reproduction of a song, such as in the form of physical copies (CDs, vinyl, if your song is in a TV show or film) or digital copies (mp3s, streams). The statutory rate for these types of reproductions is $0.091 per song and is known as a “compulsory license,” as established by the Copyright Act. Rates for streaming are completely negotiated by the mechanical collection societies (such as HFA in the US) and the Digital Service Providers (DSPs) who use the music.

Media that generate mechanical royalties are:

Record sales Online interactive streaming (e.g. Spotify) Internet radio/non-interactive streaming (e.g. Pandora) Collaborative listening (e.g. Turntable) Ringtones/ringbacks Recorded cover songs Film Karaoke recordings

Greeting cards

Toys/accessories

Print Royalties

As a copyright owner, you have the exclusive right to authorize others to display copyrights sheet music, or lyric reprints.

This includes the following: Lyric reprints tabs

Music sheet books

Sync Licensing Fees

When you license your song to be synchronized with visual media (such as in a TV show or movie), you are entitled to a sync licensing fee. This is negotiated between the copyright owner (on both the publishing and master sides) and the entity using the music. Sometimes songwriters/artists will agree to license their music in exchange for the exposure of having their music in the project. This is up to the copyright owners to decide.

Visual media with which music can be synchronized: TV shows Advertisements (Web & TV) Films & trailers Video games Smartphone apps

DVDs / Blu-Rays

YouTube videos

Derivative Works

1. Cover: If another artist makes a cover of the songwriter’s original song, the songwriters will get paid through mechanical licenses. 2. Derivative Works: A derivative work is a new work that includes aspects of a preexisting copyrighted work. Ex: A big band of the song “Happy Birthday” would count as a derivative work. The original copyright owner can make money through licenses.

Sampling

A sample is a piece of a recording from a song that you don’t own used in your own song. You can do this legally with permission from both the sound recording owner, and the publisher(s) of the composition, as well as by paying a licensing fee to both sides, and sometimes by giving the writers of the song you sampled writing credit on your song.

The answer to the question ‘How much are songwriters paid?’ is complex. PROs have different music licensing rates for different venues. They get very specific and complicated. For example, there are different licensing rates when one’s music is played at a polo match than there are at a roller skating rink, different licensing rates between a university and a theme park, and different licensing rates between using music on a jukebox and using music in a private club.

Nevertheless, if you are able to get your music played in a combination of these outlets, you can begin to build a revenue stream.

For a better idea of how much money songwriters make, check out these visuals provided by Information is Beautiful. Also take a at the raw data from those infographics to see how rates differ for the writer’s share across platforms. 5

5 This data is from 2015. Rates and policies often change

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Publishing Deals Publishing Deals

When you’ve reached a certain degree of success independently as a songwriter, you may want to seek out representation in the form of a publishing deal. A publishing deal is essentially an agreement with a publishing company to provide administrative (and sometimes creative) support for your catalog, to you time to focus on what you do best: write. There are many different types of publishing deals, but we’ll outline four of the most common below.

Administration Agreement

In an admin deal, you--the songwriter--keep 100% ownership of your copyright and give away 10-25% of your publisher’s share in the form of an administrative fee for a term of usually 1-3 years. Publishing administrators do not own or control any percentage of your copyright at any point during or after the term of the agreement. Administration agreements ordinarily do not include any

creative services and focus solely on administrative duties such as properly registering your songs with collection societies around the world as well as collecting royalties on your behalf. Admin deals can occasionally include an advance, which must be recouped in the same way as in a co-publishing deal.

Publishing administrators like Songtrust have relationships with performance and mechanical collection societies around the world that make royalty collection much simpler than it would be for a single songwriter to do on their own, and this leaves you time to focus on writing as well as to work on pushing your songs creatively.

Co-Publishing Agreement

As the songwriter partaking in a co-publishing agreement, you typically give away 50% ownership of your publisher’s share to the publisher with which you sign (hence the name "co-publishing"). In doing so, you retain 100% of your writer’s share and 50% of your publisher’s share, therefore you will receive 75% of your total publishing royalties. The term of these agreements is typically one year, though the publishing company can exercise options to renew the deal if certain stipulations of the contract are met. Within the term, you, the songwriter, will have certain obligations, such as submitting a minimum number of songs that are commercially satisfactory. If you have co-written any of the songs being submitted, only the percentage that you have written will count towards satisfying the minimum amount of songs agreed upon in the contract (i.e., if you write 50% of two songs, it will count as one full song towards your minimum requirement). Sometimes the agreement will also require that a number of your songs are recorded and released by an artist on a label.

Because the publisher takes partial ownership over the works, they have much more of an incentive to exploit your compositions and generate royalties from them. They will do this in a number of ways: pitching your songs to music supervisors for synchronization in television, film, and advertising, as well as to labels to be recorded and released by major artists, and by setting you up on co-writes with artists and other songwriters. In addition to this creative work, your publisher will also be doing all of the necessary administrative duties, such as registering your songs with PROs and collecting royalties on your behalf.

Though you retain ownership of 50% of the publisher’s share in this deal, you are often giving away 100% creative control over the song itself. This means you will have little in how the song is used (aside from what is agreed upon in terms set by the initial contract, i.e., not allowing your compositions to be used for political campaigns or in inappropriate content). This control will often be granted to the publisher in perpetuity, meaning the publishing company will retain rights to your compositions written under your deal with them, even after your deal is over. There are certain laws in place that allow you to have your rights reverted back to you a number of years after the termination of your deal (normally 35-40 years).

One of the most enticing aspects of a co-publishing deal is the advance. Publishing companies will customarily offer you a sum of $25,000-$250,000 upon signing the contract. This can be alluring for a songwriter, because it means you can quit your day job and focus all of your energy on writing. But it’s important to know that this advance must be recouped in full by the publisher before you are paid out any royalties from your compositions. Typically, the publisher will collect their 25% (50% of the publisher’s share), and set your 75% (100% writer’s share and 50% publisher’s share) against your

advance until it is paid back entirely. It is only then that you will begin to be paid 75% of all future income your songs generate.

Work-for-Hire

In a work-for-hire agreement, for a flat fee, you give up all ownership and administration rights for your works for the life of the copyright. This means that you are not entitled to any publishing royalties earned by the composition in the future, and you do not even need to be credited as the . These agreements are most common in film and advertising when the film studio or production company wishes to own and control all aspects of the production.

Exclusive Songwriter Agreement

Under an exclusive songwriter agreement or “staff writer” contract, the songwriter generally assigns the entire publisher’s share of any songs written

during the term of the agreement to a publishing company. In exchange, the publisher provides the songwriter with an advance paid out on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis like a salary, and must be recouped in the same way as in a co-publishing or administration deal. These salary-like advance payments are the draw of this type of deal, as a songwriter can feel a bit more financially secure. The publisher will also perform administrative and creative duties for the writer’s catalog within the agreement. This type of deal is usually offered to writers who have already demonstrated a good deal of success so that the publisher is confident that they will receive a return on their investment.

Creating Your Own Publishing Company

Songwriters have quite a few different options when signing a publishing deal. But as an independent songwriter you are already your own publisher, and there are major benefits to exploiting that opportunity as well. So whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been around the songwriting block a few times, know that you can of your own publishing.

You can register a publishing company with a PRO in basically the same way you register as a writer. That publishing company will serve as a separate business entity and your publisher’s share will be distributed to that entity. Both checks will come to you, just as they would if you were solely registered as a songwriter, but the publisher’s share will be made out to your publishing entity. Note: If you’re affiliated with ASCAP, you must register as a separate publishing entity in order to collect both your writer’s share and your publisher’s share. If you’re affiliated with BMI, you will receive two separate checks--one for your writer’s share and one for your publisher’s share--whether you’ve registered a publishing entity or not. The benefits of creating this publishing entity are similar to those of creating an LLC or incorporating a personal business--it allows you to earn income, pay taxes, and do business in general as an entity, rather than an individual, and protect yourself and your personal assets from becoming personally liable for business debts.

Creating your own publishing entity will not prohibit you from signing a co- publishing or admin deal in the future. In that case, your publisher would just send a letter of direction to your PRO, notifying them that they will be taking administrative control of your catalog on your behalf. Below are some steps to creating your own publishing company:

1) Decide on a name. You will need a unique name so that royalty payments don’t get improperly assigned. When you go through your affiliation process (see step 2), you will be required to submit a few potential names.

2) Affiliate with a Performing Rights Organization.

Apply to affiliate as a publisher with ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. If you are publishing your own music, you will need to affiliate with a performing rights organization as a songwriter first. Affiliate as a publisher with the same society you are affiliated with as a writer. If you will be publishing music from other writers, you should affiliate with all of the organizations with which your writers are affiliated. Approval to become a writer or publisher affiliate takes several weeks and there is typically a fee involved to apply.

3) Register in your area for a fictitious business name or “DBA” name. DBA stands for “Doing Business As.” These forms can be found at the Secretary of State’s office website for your local state. There are fees involved in obtaining a DBA.

The publisher will also perform administrative and creative duties for the writer’s catalog within the agreement.

You will use this account to collect royalties earned from your publishing company.

4) Register your company’s songs with your PRO.

5) Get a publishing administrator to handle local and international registration and royalty collection. In order to collect royalties globally (i.e., outside the US or wherever your local PRO is located), you will need to become affiliated and register your songs with local performing rights organizations. To do this however, you will need to go through a laundry list (much longer and pricier than ) of paperwork and legal work. Instead, you can join a publishing administration service such as

Songtrust to handle administrative work for you.

Songtrust Songtrust

Songtrust, a Billboard Magazine Top 10 Music Start-Up, provides a technology platform for royalty collection services to independent songwriters and music business professionals. Our industry-leading online solutions help songwriters, artists, managers, labels, distributors, and publishers simplify music rights management, including the administration of music publishing assets, performing rights, and digital licensing.

Launched by Downtown Music Publishing CEO Justin Kalifowitz in 2010, Songtrust provides efficient and accountable royalty collection services in over

50 major music markets worldwide.

Before Songtrust, most songwriters were unable to collect global royalties for the performance of their music. Local PROs are unable to collect all foreign performance royalties owed to songwriters, and the royalties they can collect are subject to many fees, leaving the songwriter with a fraction of their royalties.

With Songtrust, songwriters are able to register their songs directly with collection societies across the globe and collect every penny they are owed.

Songtrust offers:

Registration with a PRO if you’re not already affiliated--skip the PRO application fee

One-stop global song registration with performance and mechanical collection societies worldwide, including ISRC data

Global royalty collection

Live setlist submission – collect your live performance royalties

Detailed royalty reports and payment by direct deposit

YouTube Claiming and Monetization Tool

Responsive and sophisticated client service

Quality educational resources about songwriting and music publishing

Songtrust is unique because of its direct relationships with collection societies throughout the world, which means you avoid the commission fees that sub- publishers and domestic PROs take. Songtrust can handle catalogs of any size, from one song to a publisher or distributor’s entire catalog. Songtrust’s tech- focused, progressive team is focused on resolving the inefficiencies within music publishing and creating fair solutions that enable independent songwriters to support themselves.

Find out more about joining Songtrust by visiting our website, or send us an email at [email protected] Learn how to navigate as a SongTrust user

Resources Resources

Collecting Master Royalties

The PROs, the Harry Fox Agency, Songtrust, and other music publishers collect royalties on behalf of compositions. If a songwriter also owns his or own masters, he or she can also collect royalties on behalf of the sound recordings.

Register your songs with SoundExchange to collect royalties generated when your recordings are broadcast publically via digital radio services, webcasts, and on cable television. If you cover songs that you didn’t write and you own the recordings, Loudr helps you license them to collect royalties.

Selling Royalties

Registering with an online service like RoyaltyExchange is another avenue from which you can monetize your music by allowing you to sell part of your royalties to a community of buyers.

Royalty Advances

Services like LyricFinancial offer financial solutions and royalty advances to nurture the development of the community. If you rely on the revenue your songs earn to make ends meet, then lyric financial can provide advances on your royalties.

Tools for Independent Artists

Distribution

Nowadays, the main function of distributors is to get your music onto streaming services like Spotify, iTunes, Prime, Google Play, Deezer, etc. Distribution companies also place your music in physical stores like Bestbuy, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and even local record stores. There are many options for independent distribution, such as CDBaby or DistroKid.

Synchronization

Synchronization is a great way to monetize your music. Below is a list of services that can help you pitch your music for synchronization in film, TV, advertising, and video games:

Sound Gizmo, part of SynchTank, a synch site for publishers

MusicClout

The SongHunters

Tune Teams

Touring & Promotion

Indie on the Move

Bandsintown

Last.

SonicBids

ReverbNation

Songkick

Broadjam

Miscellaneous

Use a music-specific website service, like Bandpage or Bandzoogle .

Enter contests and engage with a music community with sites like Indaba.

Submit your music to blogs using http SubmitHub. Use a social media content scheduler like Buffer or Tweetdeck so that you don’t have to constantly monitor your profiles. Gain insight on your growing fanbase through Google Analytics, Google

Trends, Facebook Insights, and Insights.

Use Sumall to get daily and weekly reports on your social media platforms Get your fans’ emails, and send out email campaigns with services like

GetDrip, or Fanbridge, or MailChimp Create merchandise with services like

Bandsonabudget.com, GetBandPosters.com, CustomInk Crowdfund from your fans and supporters with services like Patreon,

Kickstarter, Indigogo, or PledgeMusic

Songwriting Resources

Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting by

Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison

Berklee Online’s “Songwriting Degree Handbook” Song Arts Academy

Songwriting competitions

American Songwriter Magazine’s Lyric Writing Contest

Great American Song Contest

International Songwriting Competition

John Lennon Songwriting Contest

More

Writers-Rounds

Open Mics

Local Songwriter Groups

New York Songwriters Circle

Co-write at FindMySong.com

Education

It is important to become educated and informed about the world of music in order to engage in accurate and productive . Here are some reliable sources of information and discussion:

“ To Know About The Music Business” by Donald Passman, for a general overview of the music industry.

“Music Publishing, The Roadmap To Royalties” by Ron Sobel and Dick

Weissman

“The Plain And Simple Guide To Music Publishing” Randall D. Wixen

“Kohn On Music Licensing.” by Al and Bob Kohn. This will answer every detailed question about music publishing, the history of the business, the origin and development of PROs, copyright law, songwriter agreements, and more.

Void Academy

CDBaby’s “ Guides” and Podcast

Songtrust Blog and YouTube Channel

Conclusion Conclusion

In Donald Passman’s “Everything You Need To Know About The Music Business,” he proposes his “Theory of Technology Cycles.” The theory is that new technology, like streaming services, disrupt the industry. Existing laws and contracts aren’t built for those platforms. So, as a result, no one really understands the new economic implications. As a result, there is a “grace period” where royalty rates are quite low, even non-existent, until the budding companies can sort out their infrastructure. As deals expire or are renegotiated, artist/songwriter revenue goes up, and stabilizes. Companies like Songtrust are working hard to raise the standards of efficiency and fairness throughout the music industry. We envision a future where songwriters are paid in real-time, and all data and metadata is entirely updated and accurate. The best course of action for everyone involved is to research and discuss how the world of music works, and how it can be improved. One of the main obstacles in the music industry is simply not knowing how to get what’s yours. We encourage you to share Songtrust’s message with your fellow musicians and music industrialists. Send them this guide. Below is a checklist that every songwriter should follow:

Songwriter’s Checklist Checklist For A Songwriter

write and own songs register as a songwriter with a PRO get Publishing Admin (with songtrust) register with SoundExchange Create a Publishing Entity--if you so choose register with HFA (only if you have a publishing entity) get songs used, streamed, performed, synched, sold, etc. register your songs with BDS and Mediabase if you don’t use a distributor

Imagine a world where all songwriters were affiliated and registered, and collected all the money they deserve. Musicians could stop wondering if they are getting ripped off or shorted, and focus on creating music. With Songtrust, this is now possible. Tell your friends. Share your newfound knowledge on a social media platform of your choice. Spread the word. Below are some ways to tell others about Songtrust:

Follow us and tweet about us @songtrust ‘Like’ us on Facebook and ‘share’ our page Follow us on Linkedin, and share our page with your music connections Visit our blog and read more about music publishing and the music industry Email, call, text your songwriter/composer friends and make sure they know about Songtrust.

Thank you for reading Songtrust’s guide to the business of songwriting. Keep in touch at @songtrust.com

P.S – Here is a discount code for 20% off of -time sign-up fee: “EBOOK2016”

Glossary Glossary

Terms

Perform To perform music means to “recite, render, [or] play...it, either directly or by means of a device or process.” (12 U.S.C Sec. 101) (Kohn, 2010)

Performance Right The exclusive right to perform or authorize the performance of music “publicly.”

(House of Rep. Report No. 93-1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. (1976) at p. 63.,Kohn)

Public Performance To perform music publicly means (1) to “perform...it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of family and its social acquaintances is gathered” or (2) “to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance….of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or different times.” (12 U.S.C Sec. 101) Performances in semi-public places, such as clubs, lodges, factories, camps, and schools are considered public performances (Kohn, 2010).

Music Publishing Music publishing generates the largest source of income for songwriters and composers (Sobel, Weissman, 2008). It is the business of acquiring, protecting, and promoting song copyrights and collecting the royalties that these copyrights generate. Think of a song as intellectual property (it’s an original piece of art!), and

music publishing as the business that makes sure that songwriters get paid a fair compensation when their intellectual property is used by companies. Those companies could be record labels (mechanical royalties), radio stations, bars, and restaurants (performance royalties), or film studios and advertising agencies (sync license fees), and many more. Note that music publishing pays royalties only to the writer of a song, not to performers (so Bob Dylan, not Jimi Hendrix, gets the music publishing royalties for ‘’).

Administrator Responsible for supervising finances and copyright matters for a song or catalog. An administrator’s primary role is to protect song copyrights, collect royalties, issue licenses and insure that songwriters are paid accordingly. All major publishers and most independents handle administration for the catalogs they own and control internally. Smaller publishers and many individual songwriters who don’t want to sell their copyrights sign deals with companies that focus exclusively on providing administration services without taking an ownership interest.

Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) An act passed by Congress that made it legal for consumers to copy records at home for private, non-commercial without of committing copyright infringement. This act also imposed a tax on digital audio recorders and digital audiotapes, a portion of which would be paid as royalties to the record industry

Black Box Royalties Unclaimed royalties for which a publisher or writer is named but cannot be traced by a collection society. Writers who are owed royalties but cannot be found are often referred to as “lost” writers. Many US songwriters who sell their music internationally, but are not signed to a publishing company with representation abroad, often become “lost” writers and lose their mechanical royalties. See Foreign

Mechanicals for more.

Blanket License A type of license issued by a performing rights society allowing a music user to play or perform all compositions controlled by all publishers represented by that society. The user will generally pay a yearly fee that allows them to use all licensed songs without limit. Blanket licenses are typically issued to nightclubs, TV networks and radio stations. Music publishers sometimes enter into “blanket licenses” with specific outlets with respect to their catalogs. For example, a publisher might give a television production company a “blanket license” to utilize in their catalog (or a limited list of songs) for a previously agreed upon rate. This would be in lieu of securing an individual sync license for each use.

Catalog

A collection of works controlled by a songwriter or publisher.

Controlled Composition A song that is written, co-written or owned by the artist on whose it . See below for more about controlled composition clauses and how they affect artist contracts.

Controlled Composition Clause A clause in some artist contracts that limits how much record labels will pay for songs written, co-written, or owned (and therefore “controlled”) by the artist on whose album it appears. The record company will generally pay the publisher of the controlled composition a reduced rate, which tends to vary from 50 – 75 percent of the statutory rate. For example, if Gaga writes a song that is recorded and released on her next album, her will typically pay her publisher only 50 – 75 percent of the statutory rate she would normally be owed as a songwriter. However, this is usually limited to physical sales. all digital downloads are paid at the full mechanical rate, irrespective of whether a writer is controlled or not. See below for more about statutory rates.

Compulsory License An exception to copyright law that grants permission to anyone wishing to use your work, whether or not you want to grant the license. Compulsory licenses must be be issued for use in cable television rebroadcast, on Public Broadcasting System (PBS), in jukeboxes, for digital performance of records and as phonorecords and digital recordings. The latter are referred to as compulsory mechanical licenses. See below for more about compulsory mechanical licenses.

Compulsory Mechanical License An exception to copyright law that grants permission to anyone wishing to re-record a song that has already been commercially released. For instance, if you (or anyone else) wanted to re-record a version of “Light My ” (or any other song that has been commercially released), you would not need explicit permission from the Doors’ publisher, so long as they were paid at least the statutory rate (the royalty rate as defined by copyright laws) of 9.1¢ per song for each copy sold. See below for more about statutory rates.

Copyright Rights granted by law to the creator of an original work. The creator of such a work (like a songwriter, author, or artist) is entitled to the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work (whether it’s a piece of music, a book, an image, etc.). Under United States Copyright Law, as soon as you make a tangible copy of something, you have a copyright. Simply put, if you sing a song , you have no copyright. But once you write it down or record it, your work is copyrighted.

6 Exclusive Rights of a Copyright Owner:

1. To reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords (physical or digital format); 2. To prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;

3. To distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending; 4. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly; 5. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and 6. In the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) The CRB consists of three US judges who are responsible for setting statutory royalty rates for compulsory licenses. This is the board that periodically sets the statutory mechanical royalty rate, which is currently 9.1¢ per track or 1.75¢ for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater.

Cross Collateralization A common clause in recording contracts that allows a party to recoup an advance against royalties from other sources or contracts. For example, if your label also owns your publishing rights, it could keep your publishing royalties until you recoup your recording advance.

Cue Sheet A document usually created by the production company of an audio-visual work (film, TV show, etc.) that lists all music used within the program and accompanying information. The production company of a TV show, film or other audiovisual work using music should send a cue sheet to the relevant PROs. These PROs then use the information provided on cue sheets to properly collect and allocate royalties. A cue

sheet should contain song title, writer and publisher information, song duration and use type.

Derivative Work A work based on a pre-existing work. This can be a translation, dramatization, fictionalization, art reproduction, abridged or condensed version, or any other transformation or adaptation of a work. Under U.S. Copyright Law, the only person who can grant the rights for a derivative work to be created is the holder of the copyright for the original work. For example, Kanye West’s Stronger, which samples ’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, is considered to be a derivative work because it is based on a pre-existing song.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) A federal anti-piracy law that makes it illegal to create and/or use technology that allows people to bypass measures intended to restrict access to copyrighted material. The DMCA also criminalizes the distribution of copyright-protected material, and targets music, film, and software piracy in particular.

DPD Digital Phonorecord Delivery. DPD is the technical term for the digital download of a sound recording. For example, an iTunes download is a DPD.

DRM Digital Rights Management. A term for the practice of restricting or controlling how digital content is used on electronic devices. For example, a download that can only be on a set number of devices has DRM.

Fair Use An exception and limitation to the exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder of a creative work. If something falls under the doctrine of Fair Use, someone can use the copyrighted material in a limited way without acquiring permission from the rightsholder. Commentary, search engines, criticism, news reporting, research,

teaching, library archiving and scholarship may be considered Fair Use in certain situations.

First Use An element of copyright law that grants the publisher or copyright owner control over the work’s first use. Though the custom is to charge the statutory rate, the publisher or copyright owner can decide who gets to record a copyrighted work for the first time and how much to charge them. See below for more about statutory rates.

Foreign Mechanicals Royalties paid to a publisher for the sale of copyrighted songs in foreign territories. Unlike US mechanical royalties, foreign mechanicals do not have a fixed penny rate, but usually are paid as a percentage of the wholesale price (generally between 6 and 12%, depending on the territory.) Foreign mechanicals are collected by local societies such as GEMA in Germany and SACEM in France. If a US songwriter does not collect their foreign mechanicals within a set period of time (generally 6 – 18 months, depending on the territory) then the society will usually distribute those royalties to local publishers as “black box” income.

Infringement The unlicensed use of works under copyright. Infringement occurs when someone other than the rightsholder violates one of the rights holder’s exclusive rights. In music publishing, the 6 exclusive rights are Reproduction, Derivation, Public Display, Public Performance, Distribution and Digital Transmission. For more information, see

6 Exclusive Rights of a Copyright.

IPI Interested Parties Information. This 9-digit number is used to uniquely identify a songwriter or publisher. IPI numbers are also referred to as CAE (Composer, Author and Publisher) numbers. The IPI database replaced the CAE database as the industry

standard in 2001, but the two are often used interchangeably. Rightsholders are assigned IPI numbers when they are granted membership to a PRO. You can find the IPI of an affiliated songwriter or publisher by performing a repertory search at ASCAP or BMI. Your IPI number is not the same as your ASCAP member ID or

BMI account number.

ISRC International Standard Recording Code. This 12-character alphanumeric code is used to uniquely identify a sound recording. One song can have multiple ISRCs if the song has been recorded, remixed or edited more than once. Publishers, collection societies and music services use ISRCs to match master recordings to underlying compositions. ISRCs are typically assigned by your label or distributor.

An ISRC looks like this: US-S1Z-99-00001

ISWC International Standard Musical Work Code. This 11-character alphanumeric code is used to uniquely identify a musical work. Each song should only have one ISWC, but arrangements, adaptations and translations should receive their own unique ISWCs. ISWCs are issued by your PRO, so if your works are already registered with your PRO, they have been assigned ISWCs.

An ISWC looks like this: T-123.456.789-Z

Independent Publishers Music publishing companies that are independent from major recorded music businesses. Examples of independent publishers include Bug Music, Downtown Music

Publishing, and .

Intellectual Property Any product of someone’s intellect that has commercial value. This includes any form of creative expression and knowledge (like symbols, names, and images), whether it is documented or undocumented. Intellectual property can be protected through

copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets laws. For example, Nike’s signature check mark logo is protected through trademark, and Coca-Cola’s secret recipe for Coke is protected through trade secrets law. Visit the World Intellectual Property

Organization’s website for more information.

Interactive Streaming An “on-demand” stream of a track that doesn’t require the listener to download the file. Interactive streams allow listeners to listen to recordings at their request, thus generating mechanical royalties. Interactive streaming services, like Spotify, pay both performance and mechanical royalties, unlike non-interactive streaming services, like

Pandora, which pay only performance royalties.

Major Publishers Major music publishing companies. Major music publishers, as opposed to independent publishers, tend to be affiliated with the major recorded music businesses. Examples of major music publishers include Warner/Chappell, EMI, Universal, and /ATV. BMG Rights Management, a venture between the buy-out firm KKR and Bertelsmann, has acquired many independent publishers and though not affiliated with a major record company, is now considered to be a “Major

Publisher.”

Master Recording A complete, original recording from which copies are made. Master recordings are usually controlled by a label, whereas the underlying compositions are usually controlled by a publisher. A master recording’s copyright is represented by the “℗ ” symbol meaning “phonogram”.

Mechanical Royalties Royalties earned through the reproduction of copyrighted works in digital and physical formats. Songwriters are paid mechanical royalties per song sold, downloaded and on certain digital formats. The standard mechanical rate for sales is

set by the US Copyright Office and is called the statutory rate. The current statutory rate (it frequently changes to reflect increases in the cost of living) is 9.1¢ per track or 1.75¢ for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater. In other words, if a label releases your song on iTunes, you can generally expect to receive 9.1¢ for every download. Certain interactive digital streaming services, like Spotify (but not Internet radio services like Pandora), must pay mechanical royalties, however these rates are calculated differently. If you self-release your music via a distribution service like CD Baby, for example, your mechanical royalties from sales are generally bundled into your artist royalty and paid to you directly. However, for sales outside of the United States, your mechanical royalties are not generally bundled with your artist royalty and often require the services of a publishing administrator to collect.

Music Supervisor The person responsible for selecting the music to be used within an audiovisual production, such as a film or TV show. The Music Supervisor may also have the responsibility of acquiring the necessary licenses for the music uses selected.

Neighbouring Rights The public performance right associated with the copyright of a master recording. Neighbouring rights, also called ‘related rights’, are similar to the public performance right associated with compositions, but they are paid to master recording owners (usually the label) and performers, rather than songwriters and publishers. In the US, neighbouring rights are only recognized for non-interactive digital transmissions, like satellite and digital radio ( XM, Pandora). Only nations that have signed and ratified the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations of 1961 (not the US) recognize neighbouring rights across a broader spectrum of uses, like terrestrial radio.

Performance Royalties Payments made to a songwriter or publisher for the public performance or broadcast of a musical work. Public performance refers to playing a , on

television, in bars and nightclubs, at concert venues, and other public places. Performance royalties are collected by performing rights organizations such as

ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

Performing Rights Organization (PRO) Societies responsible for collecting income on behalf of songwriters and music publishers when a song is publicly broadcast. Public performances can include play in television, radio, clubs, restaurants, websites, or other broadcasting systems. PROs collect fees from these establishments which they then pay to their registered songwriters. The PROs in the United States are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. See below for more about each of these PROs.

Printed Music Royalties Payments made to a publisher for the sale of printed sheet music, which can take the form of and/or lyrics. Printed music royalties are generally paid directly to the publisher, and can vary depending on the type of sheet music and whether it’s a physical or digital print.

Producer

A is responsible for bringing the creative product into tangible form. He or she takes care of all the administration and direction and often participates in the creative process. (Passman, 2012)

Public Domain Works that don’t have intellectual property protection are in the public domain, and can be used by anyone and for any purpose without the need of permission or the payment of a fee to the original composer. A work can be in the public domain because of its copyright or patent protection has expired, because it is a government work, or for a number of other reasons. An example of a work in the public domain is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. See above for more about intellectual property.

Rate Per Song The mechanical royalty amount owed to the publisher per song for each copy of the song that is distributed and/or downloaded. The rate per song is often based on a statutory rate set by the Copyright Statute (which is currently 9.1¢ per track or 1.75¢ for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater), but there are exceptions in which the rate per song is less than the full statutory rate. See below for more about statutory rates.

Reversion Clause A clause included in some publishing contracts stating that ownership of some or all works contained within the agreement will revert back to the songwriter after a certain period of time or if certain conditions are met, like successful placement on a major label release.

Royalties Payments made on a per-use basis. In the context of music publishing, royalties refer to the income earned through the use of a song. This can include album sales, digital downloads, streams, radio and a host of other forms through which songs earn income for songwriters and music publishers. See below for more about different kinds of royalties.

Sampling The act of taking material from a previously existing sound recording and incorporating it into an entirely new sound recording. Sampling began as a technique used by experimental composers, but became a popular production technique in 1970’s hip-hop culture and then spread to electronic music and other genres. In order to avoid copyright infringement, samples almost always require a license to use the sound recording and often require a license to use the underlying composition.

Score The music composed for an audiovisual work, such as a film or TV show. Scores are often used to create a specific mood in a way that a previously existing, licensed work cannot. Scores are often written by a composer as a “work for hire” by the production company. This means that while is the creator of the musical works, he was paid by the production company specifically to do so. Therefore, the musical works fall under the scope of his employment and are owned by the production company, not the composer.

Statutory Mechanical Royalty Rate The rate set forth by the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel for compulsory mechanical licenses. Assuming the work has been previously released to the public, this is the licensing fee the licensee can pay to sell a cover version of a song without having to obtain direct permission from the rightsholder. In the US, this rate is currently set at 9.1¢ per track or 1.75¢ for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater.

Sub-Publisher A Sub-Publisher is a company that is assigned the right to administer songs outside of a publisher’s territory. For example, an American publisher would engage the services of a sub-publisher in Germany to handle its affairs in that country.

Sync Licensing Fees Payments made to a songwriter or music publisher for permission to use a song in “sync” with visual images on a screen. More specifically, sync refers to the use of a song in television, movies, and commercials. Sync royalties are generally a one-time sum paid directly to the publisher. For example, when the CW uses ’s “” or Sebastien Tellier’s “La Ritournelle” in Gossip Girl, the publishers representing those songs are paid directly for the use of the music. In addition to the sync license fee, songwriters and publishers also benefit from Performance

Royalties when the program is aired in certain instances. See Performance

Royalties for more information.

U.S. Copyright Office The official government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. Your work is technically copyrighted once it’s in tangible form, but registering it with the U.S. copyright office is an additional way to protect your copyright. In order to file an infringement action (to recover damages or stop someone from using your copyright without your permission), your work needs to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Visit the UCO’s official website for more information.

Work For Hire A musical work prepared by an employee within the scope of his employment. Work For Hire situations are common in film, TV and advertising. Production companies often hire a composer to write works specifically for a project. Rather than the composer retaining ownership of the work and subsequently licensing its synchronization use to the production company, the company retains ownership of the copyright after its creation and compensates the composer in the form of a fee.

Sales

Sales or refer to both the physical and digital records sold.

Composition/Underlying Composition The composition refers to the actual song: music and the accompanying words. It has nothing to do with the sound recording of .

Writer’s Share When a writer has a deal with a publisher, the contract will state what percent the writer will receive from the overall income of the writer’s works.

Publisher’s Share

When a writer has a deal with a publisher, the contract will state what percent the publisher will receive from the overall income of the writer’s works.

Splits

Splits represent the percentage each songwriter owns of a specific song.

Topline

The topline of a musical work covers the vocal tune and the lyrics.

Arranger A music arranger arranges the many parts of a . Voice, harmonic structure, instrument, , , and tone balance are all taken into consideration in order to attain the intended composition.

Session Musician Session musicians or studio musicians, are instrumental and vocal performers who assist other artists with their live performances or recording sessions.

Split Sheet A split sheet is a document that states who wrote what percentage of a work. A split sheet should be created for each and every song you write, before ever shopping it to a third party to be published commercially.

Joint Work

Joint work or co-authorship refers to a work that is written by multiple songwriters.

Work

Work refers to a song or composition.

Co-Publishing Agreement A publishing agreement where a songwriter assigns a certain percentage of their

copyright to a publishing company in exchange for creative and administrative services, and usually an advance.

Administration Agreement (Admin Deal) In an admin deal, the songwriter keeps 100% ownership of the copyright and gives an administrative fee to the publisher/administrator. The administrator does usually not offer any creative services, but solely provides administrative duties.

Sound Recording (Master)

Master describes a music recording of a work.

Exclusive Songwriter Agreement (“Staff Writer” Contract) The songwriter assigns the entire publisher’s share of any songs written during the term of the agreement to a publishing company, under an exclusive songwriter agreement. In return, the songwriter receives (recoupable) advances on a regular basis.

Letter of Direction A LOD is used to notify a PRO that a publisher will be taking administrative control of a songwriter’s catalog on that songwriter’s behalf.

Synchronization Synchronization or “sync” is used to describe the overall use of music in audiovisual projects.

License Licenses are agreements for the use of music in audiovisual projects. Used in its strictest sense, a sync license refers to the use of a musical composition in an audiovisual work and a master use license refers to the use of a music recording

(master) in an audiovisual work.

Advance

The upfront amount of money you get when signing with a publishing companies.

Copyright Act The Copyright Act is a United States copyright law. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, codified the doctrine of "fair use," and for most new copyrights adopted a unitary term based on the date of the author's death rather than the prior scheme of fixed initial and renewal terms. The copyright law protects “musical works” including songs and any accompanying words as well as orchestral works, and other musical compositions. Copyright also protects recordings of musical compositions.

Digital Service Provider (DSP) A DSP provides digital services through a variety of business models built on a networked ecosystem of consumers and other service providers with a laser focus on driving almost all interactions online and across devices. The provider applies the principles of Internet service delivery, meaning its delivery architecture is integrated, seamless, intelligent, automated, simple and in real time. Examples of DSP are

Amazon and iTunes.

Societies and Organizations

ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

Launched: 1914

Official site: ASCAP.com

Twitter: @ASCAP

Location: New York, , Miami, , , Nashville, Vitals: With a 500,000-strong membership of composers, songwriters, , and music publishers, this non-profit is, according to its website, the only American PRO

created and controlled by composers, writers, and music publishers—its Board of Directors is elected by its members. “A music creator is like a small business,” reads ASCAP’s website, “and to ensure that ASCAP members are paid promptly and fairly when their compositions are performed publicly.” Notable affiliates: , , Duke Ellington, Dave

Matthews, George Gershwin, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Marc Anthony, Henry Mancini Fee: One-time fee of $50 as a writer (free when you sign up through Songtrust) and

$50 as a publisher. Publishing Companies: In order to collect your publisher’s share of royalties as an ASCAP member, you need to have an ASCAP publishing company (Becoming a

Songtrust member will also allow you to collect your publisher’s share).

Pay Schedule: Click here for ASCAP’s writer and publisher pay schedules.

BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc.

Launched: 1939

Official site: BMI.com

Twitter: @BMI

Location: Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, London, Atlanta, Miami, Puerto Rico Vitals: Founded by radio executives as a non-profit, BMI now boasts more than 650,000 members. According to its website, “BMI is the bridge between songwriters and the businesses and organizations that play their music publicly…BMI serves as an advocate for the value of music, representing 8.5 million musical works created and owned by more than 650,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers.” Notable affiliates: , , , Eminem, , Maroon

5, Sam Cooke, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton

Fee: Free for songwriters, $150 as a publisher Publishing Companies: You do not need a publishing company to collect your publisher’s share of royalties at BMI.

Pay Schedule: BMI pays royalties quarterly. Click here for more info.

SESAC

Launched: 1930

Official site: SESAC.com

Twitter: @SESAC

Location: New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, London, Nashville Vitals: SESAC is the only PRO in the U.S. that is not open to all songwriters; instead, you must receive an invitation to join. SESAC represents over 400,000 songs on behalf of its 30,000 affiliated writers. “With an international reach and a vast repertory that spans virtually every genre of music, SESAC is the fastest growing and most technologically adept of the nation’s performing rights companies,” reads the SESAC site. Note: the SESAC abbreviation is, today, meaningless; the organization was originally founded to serve European composers underrepresented in America before branching out to become a full service PRO. Notable affiliates: Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Cassandra Wilson, Rush, MGMT,

Mumford and Sons (via PRS).

Fee: None (invitation only to join).

Pay Schedule: Click here for SESAC’s royalty distribution schedule.

Foreign Performance Rights Organizations

PRS Performing Right Society. As the foremost PRO in the UK, PRS is the UK counterpart of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. PRS partnered with MCPS (Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society), the Harry Fox Agency’s UK counterpart, in 1997 to manage both performance and mechanical rights. Their partnership is called “PRS for

Music”. Visit PRS for Music’s official website for more information.

SOCAN Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. As the foremost PRO in Canada, SOCAN is the Canadian counterpart of ASCAP, BMI and

SESAC. Visit SOCAN’s official website for more information.

Performing Rights Organizations

Name Country

ABRAMUS Brazil

ACUM Israel

AEPI Greece

AKM/AUSTRO MECHANA Germany

BUMA STEMRA

CMRRA Canada

COMPASS Singapore

ECCO Eastern Caribbean

IMRO/MCPSI Ireland

KODA Denmark

MRI United States

MUSICAUTOR Bulgaria

NCB Denmark

OSA Czech Republic

SABAM Belgium

SACEM/SDRM France

SACM

SGAE Spain

SODRAC Canada

SPA Portugal

STIM Sweden

SUISA Switzerland

TEOSTO Finland

TONO Norway

Other Societies and Organizations

Harry Fox Agency The foremost mechanical licensing, collections, and distribution agency for U.S. music publishers. The Harry Fox Agency is the biggest licensor of mechanical and digital uses of music in the United States, including CDs, digital services, records, tapes and imported phonorecords. In short, Harry Fox issues mechanical licenses on behalf of a publisher, makes sure users pay for use of these licenses, and accounts to the publisher. Harry Fox charges a percentage of total revenue for its work. Visit the Harry Fox Agency’s official website for more information. U.S. Copyright Office The official government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. Your work is technically copyrighted once it’s in tangible form, but registering it with the U.S. copyright office is an additional way to protect your copyright. In order to file an infringement action (to recover damages or stop someone from using your copyright without your permission), your work needs to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Visit the UCO’s official website for more information.

SoundExchange A performance rights organization that collects and distributes royalties from platforms like satellite radio (like Sirius XM), internet radio (like Pandora) and cable television stations (like Music Choice). SoundExchange is a non-profit PRO, and is the only American entity that collects and distributes royalties earned by artists through these platforms. SoundExchange works on behalf of record companies and artists whereas ASCAP, BMI and SESAC work on behalf of music publishers and songwriters. For example, when Pandora streams Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” SESAC accounts to Bob Dylan and his publisher for the performance of his song copyright and SoundExchange accounts to Jimi Hendrix and his record company for the performance of the specific master recording. Visit SoundExchange’s official website for more information.

RIAA Recording Industry Association of America. The trade association representing the American recorded music industry. Its members include record labels and distributors. The RIAA lists the following as its goals as: to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists, to perform research about the music industry, and to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations and policies. Visit the RIAA’s official website for more information.

NMPA National Music Publishers Association. The trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights. Visit the NMPA’s official website for more information.

AIMP The Association of Independent Music Publishers. A trade organization whose members include independent music publishers and other members of the

entertainment community. The AIMP’s mandate is to educate music publishers and other entities about current industry trends and platforms. Visit the AIMP’s official website for more information.

MCPS Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society. The foremost mechanical licensing, collections, and distribution agency for UK music publishers. MCPS is the Harry Fox Agency’s UK counterpart. MCPS partnered with PRS (Performing Right Society), ASCAP, BMI and SESAC’s UK counterpart, in 1997 to manage both performance and mechanical rights. Their partnership is called “PRS for Music”. Visit PRS for Music’s official website for more information.

CMRRA Canadian Mechanical Rights Reproduction Agency. The foremost mechanical licensing, collections, and distribution agency for Canadian music publishers. CMRRA is the Harry Fox Agency’s Canadian counterpart. Visit CMRRA’s official website for more information.

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