Transcript Music Business Handbook and Career Guide

Chapter 5
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Start Thinking . . .
1. Once a song is written, what’s the next step? How does
it get from the writer to the customer?
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Chapter Goals
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Acquire an understanding of how music publishing companies
are structured and how they function today.
Learn how a publisher selects, then promotes, new material.
Gain an understanding of the essential elements of a
songwriter publishing contract.
Identify a publisher’s potential income sources.
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Music Publishing
• Heart of music publishing industry
 no longer “print” business
 now marketing and administration of rights
 key to success is how well publishers exploit music and
generate royalties
• “Keep your publishing!”
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Major Companies
• Wide range of musical styles in catalogs
• Origins in
 Hollywood
 Broadway
 Tin Pan Alley
• Offer full line of services
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Major Companies
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Recording Company Affiliates
• Full line publishers
• Often operate independently of record label
• Acquire extensive catalogs
• Publishing/recording deals can be good for new artists
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Independent Publishers
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Not associated with multinational publisher or label
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Many are members of AIMP
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Some independents
 administrative duties only (for a fee)
 little or no exploitation
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Other independents
 old-style publishing and songplugging
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Independent Publishers
[Insert Figure 5.2]
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Independent Publishers
• Artist-owned companies
 keep all publishing income
 generally publish only their compositions
 not involved in print publishing
 negotiate subpublishing deals abroad
• Writer-owned companies
 control copyrights and get songs published
 control promotion
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Educational Publishing
• Limit catalog to music intended for students and schools
 choirs, marching bands, concert bands
• Biggest sellers = piano + guitar
• Bench packs
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Specialty Publishers
• Limited to one genre of music, e.g., Christian
• Country music = largest independent publishers
• Most specialty publishers are small
• Prosper from sales + print business
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Concert Music
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Classical music:
 opera, symphony, ballet, recital, choral, religious music
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Special editions for school orchestras and choirs
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Income = rental + licensing of scores, instrumental, vocal parts
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Maintain catalogs of older European music
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Publish works of 20th-century serious composers
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Some publishers are subsidized
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Types of Publishers
Print Licensees
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Few music publishers print; they license to print companies
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Print firm
 bears full cost
 pays licensor royalty on sales (often 20% of wholesale)
o = selling agent
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Major publishers
 may bear full cost
 print firm receives distribution fee (20% of sales)
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Subpublishing
Subpublishing Agreements
• Major publishers have branch offices in foreign countries
 exploit American catalogs
 acquire compositions in foreign territories
• Independents seek subpublishers
 foreign independents
 affiliates of multinational companies
 The Harry Fox Agency
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Subpublishing
Subpublishing Agreements
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Royalty splits
 80/20 or 90/10
 advances paid based on projected success
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3-year deals
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local PROs collect royalties
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collection deal versus subpublishing deal
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Subpublishing
At-Source Deals vs. Receipts-Based Deals
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Multinational companies offer at-source deals
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At-source deal
 shares calculated on income earned in territory
before deductions by subpublisher
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Receipts-based deal
 shares calculated on income earned in territory
after deductions by subpublisher
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Agreements for multiple territories
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Royalty Department
• Managed by accountant or finance person
• Handles
 receipts
 disbursements
 inquiries
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Copyright Department
1.
Conducts title searches
2.
Registers claims of copyright
3.
Records transfers of copyright ownership
4.
Forms a liaison with The Harry Fox Agency to issue and administer
mechanical licenses
5.
Keeps records of subsisting copyrights and their pending expiration and
termination dates
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Legal and Business Affairs
• Lawyers must be expert in:
 copyright law
 music publishing
 tax law
 artist management
 recording industry
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Print Publishing Operations
• Editing for print publications
 correct errors in notation
 rewrite portions to make musical sense
 notation software changed print publications
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Print Publishing Operations
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The print production line:
1.
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8.
piece of music accepted for publication
title of ownership confirmed
claim to copyright registered
arranger scores piano-voice version
printer prints the music
printer ships and/or drop ships copies of music
promotion/advertising department generate sales
publisher pays author royalties based on sales volume
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Distribution
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Most publishers sublicense and merely receive royalties
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Print trail:
 publisher print publisher rack jobber 
retailer customer
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Online sales
 online aggregators
 music retailers’ websites
 publisher’s website
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Creative Department
1.
Discover and sign new writers
2.
Maintain good working relationships with writers under contract
3.
Persuade artists and producers to record the writer’s music
4.
Secure synch licenses for film, TV, and commercials; negotiate favorable
rates when licensing uses of the copyrights
5.
Search out ancillary uses of those copyrights
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Administration
Creative Department
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Sources for new material:
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writers currently or recently hot on the charts
recommendations from the field
writer already under contract
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Acceptance criteria
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Catalog acquisitions
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Contracts With Writers
• Refer to pages 72–76 of the text for a sample contract.
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Split Publishing, Copublishing
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Sharing of publishing income, not responsibilities
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Administration can be difficult
 PROs split performance royalties
 HFA splits mechanical royalties and synchronization fees
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Contract needed for sharing synchronization fees
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A single song may have multiple authors and multiple publishers
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Cut ins
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Copyright Protection: Sampling
• Sampling:
1. the process by which the amplitude and frequency of
2.
some sound waves are measured and reproduced
digital copying of portions of existing recordings for use in
other recordings
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Permission for sampling must be obtained
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Sampling = lucrative subsector of music industry
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Promotion, Advertising
Popular Music
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Main concern of publisher = getting music recorded and broadcast
Song casting
Cover records
Digital promotion
Synchronization
promotion
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Promotion, Advertising
Educational Field
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Promotion of music intended for student and school
use:
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2.
3.
4.
direct mail campaigns
ads in music education journals
reading clinics
Internet
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Promotion, Advertising
Classical Field
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Remind customers of great music of the past
Rentals of scores and parts for performance and recording
Performance fees for dramatic
musical works
Ads placed in music journals
Overlap with educational field
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Income Sources
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Table 5.2 Publisher’s Potential Income Sources
Type of Music Use
Who Pays the Publisher
Broadcast performance
Publisher’s PRO (from broadcasters)
Nonbroadcast performances
Publisher’s PRO (from venues)
Mechanical royalties
Recording company
Sheet music sales
Publisher’s print music licensee
Synchronization of music
Movie, video, or game producers
Special permissions licenses
Publisher’s licensee
Jukeboxes
Publisher’s PRO
Dramatic (or grand rights)
Producer of the dramatic performance
Foreign rights
Subpublishers; reciprocating PROs
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Income Sources
[Insert Figure 5.3]
Source: Warner Music Group Corp Annual Report, New York, 2011.
Note: Not all publishers classify revenue sources the same way.
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Trade Associations
National Music Publishers’ Association
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Performs services through The Harry Fox Agency
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Provides leadership for the music publishing/songwriting
community
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Helps to formulate policy regarding
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protection of copyrights in an age of advancing technology
payment of royalties for electronic delivery of music throughout
the world
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Trade Associations
The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.
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Established in 1927 as an information source,
clearinghouse, and monitoring service for licensing
musical copyrights
1. mechanical licensing
2. royalty collection and distribution
3. royalty compliance
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
Trade Associations
Association of Independent Music Publishers
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Formed in 1977 to educate and inform local music
publishers about industry trends and practices
Members include:
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publishers affiliated with record labels, motion picture and
TV companies
individuals from entertainment community
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners
For Further Thought . . .
1. If the heart of the music industry is no longer about the print
business, but about exploiting rights, what avenues for
income are available to publishers?
2. What are the different types of publishers, and how do they
differ in focus?
3. What are the implications of the shift in publishing revenues
away from mechanical royalties in favor of performance fees
and synch licenses?
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 10th Ed.
© 2013 Sherwood Publishing Partners