listen to ya boy....
writer vs publisher
two things constitute a writer. writing lyrics and writing music (i.e. making beats).
as far as song registration goes, the split is automatically 50/50 between the writer and the publisher, with each individual or collective receiving a 50% share in all monies made through the publishing of finished works. you want to register all titles that have been completed, especially if you intend to generate income with said product.
the key role of the publisher is to make sure that the product has a copyright and they're responsible for collecting royalties. "the main source of publishing income is from record sales, radio and tv broadcasts, licensing for tv commercials and films, and from sheet music."
now, if you're independent like myself, when you register a song that you've written and recorded over a beat that you've produced and you intend to be the one in charge of making sure your shit gets sold and you get paid what you're owed then you get the writer's share (50%) and the publisher's share (50%) meaning you own all your shit. these days i don't rap much but i do produce for a number of cats who also expect me to be their slick publisher as well. so say a solo artist drops on one of my tracks, we split the writer's share. i get 25% for providing the beat and they get 25% for writing the song. but here's the killer. i end up with 75% ownership of the song because in addition to my share as a writer, i also get the full publisher's share of 50%.
next lesson you should learn is that if you intend to mess with major labels, generally you're gonna have to trade half if not all of your publisher's rights in exchange for what the label can provide as far as more spins and licensing opportunities.
generally speaking, publishing is done the moment you finish writing a song. the writer retains all the rights to the song until they transfer those rights to some other entity.
dealing with ascap or bmi is a must whether you're a performing artist or a writer or a producer. you need to sign up as writer with either organization because they exist to monitor and facilitate music licensing. they pay quarterly. the song registration indicates how proceeds from the song will be split amongst the writers and publishers. basic math b.
you should want to have a publishing identity for yourself if you intend on doing music business and this is why you'll need to also establish your self as a company, whether a DBA (doing business as) or LLC (limited liability company). it's pretty self explanatory. if you'd rather have people be able to sue you directly behind some business deals, then be a sole proprietor and use your own social security number. or if you want some legal insulation to where if someone wanted to sue you based on some business, they would have to sue your LLC. thus all your personal assets will be protected, only your business would suffer. so do good business kid.
the bottom line to getting into music business is to make as much money as you can. if you believe otherwise, just stay in the bedroom making beats mane. but if you get out here in the real world or the internet, you better be promoting your registered tracks and try to drum up that cash mane!
i'm done.
