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1) Registering (and renewing pre 1978) copyrights,
2) Securing licensing agents with regard to print licenses, mechanical
licenses, compulsory licenses, purchase licenses, transcription
licenses, synchronization licenses, and performance licenses,
e.g., coming into contractual alliance with mechanical rights
agents, performance rights societies, and with foreign publishers,
3) Coming up with the appropriate contracts to assign rights in
copyright via licenses to music users, e.g.,
mechanical licenses,
synchronization licenses and print licenses…and keeping records
of any right transfers, assignments, or mortgages,
4) Obtaining record releases,
5) Collecting song incomes and royalties from
licensed agents,
e.g., royalties from
publishing, performance, mechanical, print,
synchronization, merchandising, etc.,
6) Auditing licensed agent representatives to insure they are
paying proper royalties and deducting correct amounts for administrative
service charges,
7) Accounting for royalties collected, e.g., to songwriters
and co-publishers,
8) Reporting to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC certain royalties,
independent contractor fees, salaries, commissions, interests,
rents, pensions, medical assistance programs or health, accident,
and sickness insurance programs, certain direct sales of consumer
products for resale, and other compensations paid out. Each recipient
is reported separately and the report must include the recipient's
name, address, taxpayer identification number (social security
number for sole proprietorships), and the total paid,
9) Paying the required employment and other taxes to the proper
tax agencies, and
10) Distributing the proper royalty payments, accompanied by
a royalty statement, to affiliated songwriters and co-publishers.
Some publishing deals only involve a music publisher handling
a specified portion of the above listed overall responsibilities.
For example, one limited deal is called an "administration
deal." Here, only a limited supervision of the song catalog
would be handled, e.g., copyright registration and financial accounting.
While obtaining record releases would be handled by the songwriter/artist
or label/production company. This often happens where the songwriter/artist
owns his own production company and label.
A full-time top rated music publisher will receive up to 200
unsolicited songs each week. The publisher will also receive many
other new songs from songwriters they deal with on a regular basis.
When a publisher accepts a song and a contract is signed, the song becomes a part of the publisher's catalog.
See Cross-Links: PUBLISHER,
SONGWRITER, ROYALTY, PERFORMANCE RIGHTS SOCIETY,
MECHANICAL RIGHTS SOCIETY, COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LEAD SHEET,
SONG under "Song Dex,"
"Song Shark," CONTRACT-SONGWRITER/PUBLISHER CONTRACT,
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHERS (ASCAP)
under "Publisher Information Sheet Schedules A and B,"
COPYRIGHT LAW under "Publication,"
"Exclusive Rights," "Performance Right," "Publishing
Right," "Copyright Owner," "Registration of
Copyright," and "Registration of Copyright Forms."
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The publisher's catalog is the heart of
his business. The catalog is an intangible asset and may be sold
in part or in full by the music publisher. Usually, when an entire
catalog is sold, any songwriter contracts owned by the publisher
are also included in the transfer of ownership. See Cross-links:
CONTRACT-SONGWRITER/PUBLISHER
CONTRACT clause #37.
Valuing a catalog is tricky and therefore
the purchase of a catalog may be risky. Tastes of the future buying
public is not exactly a science! Some of the considerations involved
in evaluating a catalog include the age of individual songs, i.e.,
how much longer before their copyrights expire, how many songwriters
are involved and are they entitled to compensation if their songs
are sold in the future, are there any work for hire contracts
in progress, what are the terms of any sub-publishing agreements
in existence, how much is presently being earned, who are the
artists who will potentially record the songs in the future, what
is the reputation of the current catalog administrator, and does
the catalog fit well into the catalogs of future potential buyers.
See Cross-Links: CATALOG CUTOUTS,
CATALOG ADMINISTRATION, PERFORMANCE RIGHTS REPERTORY, MUSIC PUBLISHER
under "Song File." See Cross-links: COPYRIGHT ENTRIES.
Publisher Affiliation:
The association of a publisher with
a professional organization or agency, e.g., publisher affiliation
results when a publisher joins a performance rights society. See Cross-links:
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS SOCIETY.
Publisher Registration Card:
A card filled out by a music publisher
and submitted to a performance rights society to register a work
with the society. See Cross-links: PERFORMANCE RIGHTS SOCIETY,
MUSIC PUBLISHER under
"Song File," AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHERS (ASCAP)
under "Publisher Information Sheet Schedules A and B."
Publishing Income:
Income (called royalties) received
from all publishing sources, e.g., mechanical license fees, print
license fees, performance license fees, juke box license fees,
synchronization license fees, transcription license fees, cable
television license fees, public broadcasting license fees, compulsory
license fees, purchase license fees, grand rights license fees,
advertiser use license fees, and foreign publishing license fees.
See Cross-links: MUSIC PUBLISHER,
MECHANICAL RIGHTS SOCIETY under "Harry Fox Agency,"
INCOME under "Gross Income," ROYALTY,
TAX LAW, CONTRACT-SONGWRITER/PUBLISHER CONTRACT clauses #22, #23,
#24, COPYRIGHT LAW under
"Compulsory License Fee."
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There are many kinds of publishing licenses:
1) Print license,
2) Mechanical license,
3) Compulsory license,
4) Purchase license,
5) Transcription license, and
6) Synchronization license.
Songwriter's Biography Form:
A form kept by a music publisher with
information concerning one of their contracted or affiliated songwriters.
The form contains various information to include:
1) The songwriter's name,
2) Professional name,
3) Address,
4) Address of a close relative,
5) Birth date,
6) Birthplace,
7) Citizenship,
8) Driver's license (state and number),
9) Social security number,
10) Music organization affiliates,
11) Union membership,
12) Spouse's name,
13) Children's name(s),
14) Published songs, and
15) Other publishers of the songwriter's music.
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