It all comes down to royalties and copyrights. Music publishing refers to the legal rights granted to songwriters and other composition rightsholders, and the related government-mandated royalties.
These royalties must be paid whenever other artists or companies use music that you wrote and own at least part of the copyright for.
Basic copyright law protects songwriters by giving them exclusive rights to grant or deny the reproduction, distribution, or performance of their original songs. When you write original music and register the songs correctly and comprehensively with the help of a publishing administrator like Apprise Music, you may be able to start collecting from several pay sources. These include performance and mechanical royalty earnings from digital streaming, user-generated videos, live concerts, and more.
They make sure you get paid when your song is used publicly.
Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers when a song is publicly broadcasted or performed. Public performances can include plays on the radio and television, and in clubs, restaurants, concert venues, and other public spaces. PROs collect fees from these establishments and pay them out to their members.
Many territories have one or more PRO responsible for collecting performance royalties within that territory, from MACP in Malaysia to CASH in Hong Kong. When you join Apprise Music, we register your songs directly with PROs around the world and collect your royalties directly from the countries in which they were generated. This gets you paid quicker, and produces more detailed royalty statements.
If you’re not affiliated with a PRO, we can set you up with a select number of them within your account.
Please note: PROs do NOT collect mechanical royalties generated from sales and/or streams.
You must be registered with a mechanical collection society, such as The Mechanical Licensing Collective in the U.S., to monitor them properly.
Think of it as a social security number for songwriters & music publishers.
An IPI (or Interested Party Information) number is assigned to songwriters and publishers by their Performing Rights Organization (PRO) to uniquely identify them as international rights holders. It is usually between nine and 11 digits. If you are already affiliated with a PRO, you’ll need to share your IPI with Songtrust so that we can properly manage your publishing.
Ask your PRO if you can’t find your IPI number.
Please note: IPIs are sometimes referred to as CAE numbers. This stands for the French phrase Compositeur, Auteur, and Editeur (Composer, Author, and Publisher). A small number of international PROs may assign both an IPI and CAE number, although this is extremely rare.
Please note: IPIs are sometimes referred to as CAE numbers. This stands for the French phrase Compositeur, Auteur, and Editeur (Composer, Author, and Publisher). A small number of international PROs may assign both an IPI and CAE number, although this is extremely rare.
When you compose/write a song without any help, you automatically own 100% of its copyright. There is no need to register it with the Copyright Office; your work is automatically protected under copyright law the minute it is in a fixed, tangible form like a tape recording or CD.
If you work with a co-writer, producer, or team, everything is negotiable. Co-writers often split publishing 50/50 or 33/33/34, for instance. Or a producer might take anywhere from 10% to 50% as part of a deal with you.
Whatever the case may be, it’s better to get an agreement in writing early on in the process than to argue about your assumptions later.
Apprise Music has prepared a split sheet template for this very purpose.
Once you’ve reached a consensus on co-writing credits, you can register your songs and begin collecting.
They don’t own your music; they help you monetize it.
A music publishing administrator manages the rights of a songwriter in the marketplace and helps collect any royalties your songs generate. They do this by registering and licensing your songs with the proper entities, including Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), and Mechanical Rights Organizations (MROs).
Music publishing administrators do not retain any ownership or creative control over the songs they administer. The copyright holder (often the songwriter) does, while the administrator collects royalties and licensing fees on their behalf and charges a small commission fee for their services.
Apprise Publishing is a music publishing administrator. This means that we provide administrative services to independent and unpublished songwriters, including managing your catalog and collecting royalties within a global administration network.
If you affiliated yourself as a writer with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO), you may have noticed the option to affiliate as a publisher as well. A “personal publishing entity” is a name you assign to the publishing “company” you already “own” as a publisher of your works.
While they are not necessary for Songtrust users — we act as your publisher if you don’t already have one — there are a few reasons to create one, and a few key things to consider when you’re deciding whether or not one’s right for you:
Your society may charge a fee for creating and affiliating a publishing entity. For example, BMI charges $150 for an entity owned by an individual, and ASCAP charges $50. (It is worth noting that there is also a $50 charge to affiliate as a writer with ASCAP, and no charge to affiliate as a writer with BMI.)
In the U.S., you cannot collect your publisher’s share at a different society from where you are affiliated as a writer. In other words, if you are affiliated as a writer with BMI, you need to create your publishing entity at BMI as well. This is not the case in other countries. For example, if you are affiliated with PRS as a writer, you can affiliate your personal publishing entity with another society, such as BMI.
If you want to be a publisher on behalf of writers other than yourself, you will need to have your own publishing entity/entities in order to collect the publisher’s share on behalf of those writers.
Again, this is not necessary with Apprise Music, as we do this on your behalf.
Apprise Music does not affiliate publishing companies, so this is something you would need to do outside of your account. If you end up getting one, please register your songwriters with this publishing entity when you add them into your account. Or, if you secure an entity after you’ve already onboarded songs with Songtrust, let us know via our support form so we can get it connected properly to your account.
Frequently asked questions
General Publishing
questions
Dedicated music professionals at your service to develop your digital strategy. Honesty, transparency and efficiency are our core values.
