What is music publishing, and why is it important? The music industry can feel like a complex web that spins your head. Although it seems daunting, it’s important to understand how you can make an income from your music. Music publishing is just one crucial one.
Here, you’ll learn the intricacies of music publishing, why you should care about it with your music and concepts like sync placements and licensing music. You’ll have a complete guide to understanding music publishing at the end.
Let’s clarify the distinction between music composition royalties and master royalties. When you create and release a song, there are two ways you can earn money from it: through the composition and the master recording.
The master recording is the final version of your song that you export from your music software (DAW) and upload to platforms like Spotify. This digital file is considered the “master recording” from a music business perspective.
On the other hand, your fans are also experiencing another aspect when they listen to your music – the music composition itself. This includes the melodies, chords, lyrics, and overall musical content of your song.
When your fans listen to your music on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, you receive royalties twice – once for the master recording and again for the composition.
However, there are cases where you would only be paid for the composition, not the master recording. One example is when someone decides to create a cover of your song.
For instance, a singer/songwriter may hear your song, feel inspired, learn it, and then record their version with their unique interpretation. In this situation, they are not using the original master recording of your song. As a result, you, as the original songwriter, would collect royalties for the composition of their cover, while the cover artist would collect the master royalties.
I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “this is complicated…” and trust me it is. Hopefully, the rest of this article will clarify a lot of this, but we’ve made a simple graphic for you to follow as well in case you get lost.
