MUSIC PUBLISHING FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
Musical artists have to navigate the complex industry to achieve success. It's crucial to recognize and capitalize on every opportunity in front of you — especially financial opportunities. Many independent artists don’t know that even after they distribute their release to digital stores and platforms, they could be leaving significant money on the table. That’s where Equity Distribution's Publishing Administration services come in.
As one of the top publishing administration companies for independent artists, Equity Distribution helps artists like you maximize their profits.
We work with performing rights organizations (PROs) to collect and pay out our artists’ earned royalties from their original music, cover songs, uploaded videos, and more, making sure they receive 100% of their earnings.
Additionally, we pitch our artists’ music for sync opportunities through media, teams, and additional brand opportunities while collecting revenue and paying our artists.
DON’T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE
As an artist, you put passion and effort into your craft. Each song you produce represents hours of hard work and a significant financial investment. You deserve opportunities for your music to reach engaged listeners and fair compensation for every play. Streaming is a great source of revenue for today's musical artists, but it's only part of the picture. A significant portion of your earning potential lies in publishing.
FAQs
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Music publishing administration is a service that relieves artists of publishing responsibilities so they can focus on creating and building their audience. A publishing administrator will help you earn money from the composition by managing your copyright and income.
Your publishing administrator will register your music with a performing rights organization (PRO) or collection society that will charge any business for the right to play recordings or host performances of your music. The PRO will then distribute royalties to you, the artist, through your publishing administrator. You'll receive compensation when your music plays on the radio, at a restaurant, on a TV broadcast and more.
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A publisher is the owner of a composition’s copyright. If there is no deal in place with an outside publisher, then the songwriter(s) is the publisher. A publishing administrator is empowered by the publisher to manage their copyrights and account for the income they earn. A publishing administrator does NOT own a part of the composition but does this work in exchange for a small commission on the revenue collected.
Publishing Admin means you retain ownership of your publishing. We get paid a commission for collecting revenue
A Publishing Administrator plays the role of “distributor” to make sure your music is properly registered and collecting royalties
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No. As publishing administrator, we take no ownership of your copyrights. We collect a 15% fee on anything we collect for you. When the term is over you are free to renew, take over the administration yourself, or sign with another publisher. You always keep ownership of your publishing with EQ
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There are 200% rights to music in each song created. There’s 100% for the Master Side (the actual recording) and 100% for Publishing (the written words and composition of the song)
The Master side is accounted for in a Distribution Deal or Record Deal, but if you don’t have a publishing deal or Publishing Administration Deal, you aren’t collecting for the other 100% of the song. You’re missing out on half of your potential money.
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When your music is streamed in an interactive service like Spotify or Google Play, sold as a permanent download on iTunes or Amazon, sold in physical form, or synchronized with a moving image (as in a commercial or film sync placement), you are owed some form of income as a publisher that Performing Rights Societies do not collect for you.
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As an independent artist, royalties are one of your most substantial revenue streams. Equity Distribution will help you capitalize on a few types of royalties.
Mechanical Royalties
Mechanical royalties are those you earn for any reproduction of one of your compositions. There are a few instances where mechanical royalties will come into play.
Today, mechanical royalties from streaming services are the most prominent form you can earn. Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL and others will pay you a small amount for every stream your songs receive. Usually, the payment amounts to around $0.06 for every 100 streams.
Equity Distribution also helps artists collect mechanical royalties for downloads from online stores, primarily iTunes. Artists earn roughly 9.1 cents for every purchase of one of their songs, or $9.10 for every 100 downloads.
Performance Royalties
Your compositions are also eligible for performance royalties — compensation you earn for any public broadcast of your music.
TV and radio stations pay your PRO a blanket fee for the right to play any music registered with them. The same fee applies to bars and clubs that want to play copyrighted compositions or host cover bands that play your material.
Artist performance royalty compensation varies quarter to quarter based on the amount of money the PRO collects.
Global YouTube Publishing Royalties
Equity Distribution also collects royalties whenever one of your songs plays in a Youtube video that isn't your own. These royalties come from the video's ad revenue and the monthly subscription fees ad-free users pay. You can earn performance and mechanical royalties from YouTube in four situations:
Someone posts some or all of your song to YouTube
Your music is featured in the background of someone's video
Someone covers your song in a video
Someone films a performance of your music and posts it on their channel
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We can’t collect or synch your music without full splits for each song
A signed split agreement is the best way to get synchs and collection
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We collect your Publishing Revenue.
We pitch your music for synchs with leagues, teams, and other brand partners we work with
IMPORTANT: We will need FULL song information in order to collect and pitch you for synchs
KEY TERMS - PUBLISHING AND COMPOSITION
Publishing ensures you receive revenue for the composition, which is the overall musical work. It's a matter of monetization and promotion. The publisher seeks opportunities for a song to be performed and played. As an independent artist who composes your own music, you are the publisher, so the responsibility of maximizing your composition's earning potential is in your hands.
A song's composition refers to the parts that form its whole — those being the melody, notable harmonies, drum patterns, and — in some cases but not all — the lyrics. Basically, the composition describes the details that make the song distinguishable. The composition is different from the master, which is the particular expression of the composition. For example, a master is a specific recording of the song, where the composition is the general song's existence. The ownership of a song's composition is yours the moment you write it.
APPLY FOR MUSIC PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATOR SERVICES
Equity Distribution supports independent artists who make music that fans love and businesses use to their advantage. Your music is valuable, and you deserve your fair share for its use. Our music publishing administration services will empower you to create, knowing you'll earn royalties on top of your distribution revenue. We invite you to apply for publishing administration from Equity Distribution today!