A Quick Publishing Digest

A good & concise guide here on song publishing. It briefly (but nicely ;-) explains what publishing is, if you need to start your own publishing house and how you can make money from it.

Special thanks to taxi.com for informative read.

Calvin


What is publishing?

Publishing rights are the rights to a song. If you write a song by yourself, you own the publishing (and copyright) from the moment you finish the song. You don't have to set up shop as a music publisher to own those rights - they automatically come with authorship. There are actually two halves in every publishing dollar. One of the halves is called the "Writer's Share," and that half almost always stays with the writer for life. The other half is called the "Publisher's Share'" and you own that half as well, unless you sign a publishing or co-publishing deal. You can give up some of the publishing rights you own (typically half or all of the "Publisher's Share") in exchange for a cash advance from a music publisher. The publisher will then act as a songplugger to get your song cut by an artist or placed in a movie or TV show. They don't make money unless they get the song used.

Do I need to start my own publishing company?

Typically not. You already own all of your publishing rights from the song's inception. People typically start a publishing company when they get a song "cut" and need a mechanism or company to which they can have the income flow. One word of advice, it's often a better idea to have another company administer your publishing when you have your own publishing company. That means that they will take care of all the business of collecting and disseminating the money that is generated by the song. Many small or individual publishers aren't expert enough to do that on their own.

How do I make money from publishing?

A song generates money for the writer(s) when it appears on an album, gets played on the radio, used in a TV show or movie, gets sold as sheet music, and even when it is used as a ring tone on a cell phone. When the song is part of an album or is sold as sheet music, the writer gets a mechanical royalty. When a song is used in a movie or TV show, a performance royalty is paid to the writer(s).

Source: http://www.taxi.com/faq/publishing/index.html#q1

The Evolution of Nashville

Hi all. We all know that Nashville (USA) has grown into one of the most musical cities in the world. Now, regardless of what genre of music you're into, I'd say it's vital to know the the legacy of this city. Not only because of the songwriters and artists - but also because of the infrastructure of the music industry.

A new book by Michael Kosser reveals all of the above in great depth. There doesn't seem to be a 'release date' yet, but here's a quick review.

Check it out...

New book details emergence, evolution of songwriting in Nashville


Calvin

Here's an peek...

"Rather than simply a straight history text or another volume heavy on gossip and obsessed with recounting myths and wild adventures, Kosser’s book covers events and examines issues frequently overlooked in Nashville music works. He spotlights record label executives, discusses the importance of promotional staffs, explains the significance of publishing companies and focuses on much more than simply the people in front of the microphones.

At the same time, he doesn’t ignore major musical events that happened in Nashville, from the arrival of Bob Dylan to the phenomenon of Garth Brooks. The final sections look at more recent issues involving country and pop locally, among them the rise of independent labels and the image and direction of the country sound in the 21st century."

Special thanks to nashvillecitynewspaper.com

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=12&screen=news&news_id=50624