1. Music Publishing Overview
October 2010

2. Overview of Music Publishing
Music Publishing is the business of acquiring, administering and exploiting rights in musical compositions on behalf of both the composer of the score and the writer of the lyrics
Music publishers earn revenue from licensing the right to use their songs; every time a song is used or performed, the owner of the copyright must grant permission, a license must be issued and a payment must be made:
Performing – Television, cinema, radio, music videos, Internet, concerts
Synchronization – Advertising spots, film sound tracks, musicals etc.
Mechanical – CDs, records, tapes, ring tones, and certain digital configurations
Other – Stage, paper based scores
Generally, the right to receive copyright royalties extends for the life of the writer plus between 50 and 70 years following their death, depending on jurisdiction
Royalties generated by the use of a song are split between the writer and publisher, with the music societies paying each their share
In the case of SPE, the net proceeds must be allocated to product and are subject to program participations agreements

3. Performance Royalties
Covers a wide range of uses including when a song is broadcast on radio, television, in a cinema (except in the US) or over the Internet
Royalties from television exploitation are calculated using ratings and ad sales revenue by the Performing Rights Society (PRS) (e.g. ASCAP & BMI)
Royalties from international (outside U.S.) theatrical exploitation are calculated based on the revenue generated from ticket sales
The PRS collects royalties and forwards 50% to the publisher and 50% to the writer/composer
In some select cases, a publisher may have an agreement with a composer/writer whereby the publisher pays the composure/publisher an additional royalty out of the publisher’s share

4. Synchronization Royalties (Licensing of Music)
Licensing of songs for use in television programs, advertisements, videogames, films, etc.
SPE generates such revenue when songs for which SPE is the publisher are exploited outside of the original product (e.g. a song from a TV show is used in a radio commercial, a song from a movie is used in a video game, etc.)
The publisher is paid directly by the party licensing the composition for synchronization
The publisher pays the writer/composure an agreed upon amount (typically 50%)

5. Mechanical Royalties
Each time a record is sold, the publisher gets paid
The pace of growth of mechanical royalties is driven by the growth rate of the overall recorded music market
In the US, mechanical royalties are a fixed rate of 7.6 cents per song
Internationally, royalties vary from region to region but on average, mechanical royalties are roughly 8.5% of the retail price of a record
The responsibility for collecting the monies from the record companies that ship the albums lies with third-party, non-commercial organizations known as collection societies (e.g. Harry Fox)
The collection society keeps a small fee and forwards 50% of the royalty to the publisher and 50% of the royalty to the writer/composer