Music publishing explained: what it is and how you get paid

Two copyrights in every song

• The sound recording (the master): the specific recording of the song. It is usually owned by the artist or label.
• The musical work (the composition): the melody and lyrics. It is owned by the songwriters and their publishers.

What a music publisher does

A publisher registers your songs with collecting societies around the world, matches usage to your works, collects the royalties and passes them on to you. Some publishers also pitch your songs for placements in film, TV and advertising. Registering properly matters: royalties that cannot be matched to a registered song often go unclaimed.

The main kinds of publishing royalty

• Performance royalties: paid when a song is performed publicly, including radio, TV, live venues and streaming. They are collected by performing rights organisations (PROs) such as PRS in the UK, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC in the US and SOCAN in Canada.
• Mechanical royalties: paid when a song is reproduced, for example in a download or an on-demand stream. In the US, The MLC collects mechanical royalties from streaming and download services.
• Synchronisation fees: paid when a song is used with moving images, such as a film, advert or video game. These are negotiated directly.
• Print royalties: paid on sheet music and lyric sales.

Publishing and recording royalties are different

Streaming a song generates money on both sides: a payment for the recording, which comes through your distributor, and a payment for the composition, which comes through publishing. If you only distribute, you collect only one of the two.

How Dark Lab Records Publishing works

Dark Lab Records Publishing Ltd has partnered directly with PROs and CMOs around the world to claim your rights and collect the corresponding royalties. You keep 100% ownership of your publishing and are paid 85% of your royalties. To get started, submit your publishing data through our form.