MOST MUSIC PUBLISHERS WANT ARTISTS TO GIVE THEM OWNERSHIP OF ALL COPYRIGHTS & PUBLISHING
In case you’re not aware, the standard practice of a majority of music publishers is for artists and songwriters to A) sell their songs outright and lose all ownership and royalties, B) work for hire and lose all ownership and royalties, or C) Sign a publishing deal and transfer all of the copyrights to their songs for a period of time- in other words, give the publisher temporary and extended ownership of their song.
If you agreed to any of the options described above, you would no longer own the song. A Traditional Publishing Deal May give a Possibility of Regaining ownership, but Companies often try to block This attempt. When you no longer own your song, You no longer control the following rights:
1
Reproduce and make physical copies of the song
2
Make Derivative Works Of The Song
3
DISTRIBUTE THE SONG TO THE PUBLIC BY SALE, TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP, OR BY RENTAL OR LEASE
4
PERFORM THE SONG PUBLICLY
5
DISPLAY THE LYRICS OF A SONG
6
publicly play sound recordings of your song by audio transmission
MUSIC PUBLISHERS AREN’T EVIL FOR ASKING ARTISTS AND SONGWRITERS FOR THEIR COPYRIGHTS.
Music publishers typically work with artists and songwriters to make money by placing their songs with well-known artists and by licensing songs for movies, TV, commercials, and more. This involves a significant amount of work, finances, and connections in the entertainment industry (connections that often take years to achieve and maintain). So unless artists are well established, they often have to trade all of their song’s copyrights for these benefits. Although an artist no longer legally owns the song under this type of arrangement, they still get paid royalties as agreed upon in their publishing deal (unless the song is sold outright or if the songwriter works for hire).
Although we don’t view this practice as evil, we are not going to maintain the status quo where songwriters give up ownership of the songs they help create.
WE VIEW ARTISTS AS TRUE BUSINESS PARTNERS AND WILL NOT ASK FOR ALL OF YOUR SONG COPYRIGHTS.
We’re different in the sense that we value you as a true business partner. For far too long, creative talent have been mined for their music and artistry, but are placed at the end of the line when it’s time to reap the financial rewards of their hard work. We will never ask you to sign away all of your song copyrights. We negotiate writer and publisher splits according to the contributions each party has made to the song, creatively and financially. Thus, whether you’re just getting started or are a veteran, you won’t have to settle for a lopsided deal.
WORKING WITH US DOES NOT LOCK YOU INTO AN EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT.
Regardless if you want to use one of our songs or want to cowrite a song with us, our agreements do not contractually lock you into an exclusive contract.