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Consider Music Publishers

By Pamela Parker, Esq.

I attended a mixer hosted by the Austin Music Foundation the other night. (This is a really great group, by the way, which offers a wide variety services to musicians who are serious about building a career. It's worth checking out if you are in the central Texas area) During a conversation I was having with a songwriter, she made the comment, in passing, that of course she was planning to keep her own publishing rights because she understood she would make more money that way.

I've heard that before, and I think it is a pretty common belief among many musicians. Most large record labels require their acts to sign over the publishing rights to their songs as another way to make money - or recoup their expenses, depending on how you look at it. For most acts, little to no benefit is gained by the act in that type of arrangement.

But the truth is that a good music publishing company is well worth looking into. The publishers' job is to sell your songs. And they do have incentive to do so, because that's how they make their money. A good publisher will have lots of industry contacts to keep posted on who is looking for music. They'll also subscribe to the insider tip sheets - valuable material for someone serious about selling songs, but very expensive for an individual who is only selling their own catalogue.

Bottom line is that if you want to sell songs, you should be courting music publishers as well as the end user buyers. But choose a publisher carefully. Research and ask questions like these:

• what is your major market
• what is your marketing plan
• what is the average number of placements each month/year
• what is the retention/turnover rate of your artists
• how large is your catalogue
• how many people in your sales force
• how are your sales representative recruited
• how are sales representatives trained
• what are your genres

Ultimately, what you are looking for is a publisher that actively searches for opportunities and has a sales plan to includes all of its catalogue. Answers to these and other questions will help you find a publisher that can actually make you money.

Full post as published by After Writing on December 14, 2006 (boomark / email).