FAQ

Again, your song is copyrighted as soon as you finish writing it but it’s a good idea to register that copyright with the government (see “How do I copyright my songs?). Registering a song with a PRO will allow you to receive performance royalties if that song gets radio play; it does not give you protection under copyright law.

You must contact the song’s publisher or publishers to get permission to sample a song. Publisher information can usually be found in the Performing Rights Organization websites.  You’ll likely have to search within the PRO with which the song is registered.

You should register your songs as soon as you have officially registered as a songwriter. Again, most offer online works registration or you can call your local office for the paperwork.

A synchronization license for the use of a song as an accompaniment to a film or television show. The rate is usually negotiated by a music publisher.

Hopefully you are signed up with a performing rights organization like BMI (see Is a Performing Rights Organization the Same Thing as a Publisher?. PROs collect money from radio stations (and other businesses that use music) and distribute them as royalties to songwriters. You can only get paid from radio play if you are affiliated with a PRO.

There’s no one perfect answer, but you have to get the attention of the person who’s booking the festival/tour. Show them that you’re drawing big crowds at your gigs and that you’re getting a lot of radio/retail/press attention…you get the picture. State your case in terms that translate to people showing up to see the show.

In a word, “No.”  One performing rights organization (PRO) does not pay more than the others.  If one paid more than the others, then all writers would be affiliated with that society.  Over the life of a copyright, the payout on a song will be about the same from organization to organization.

We don’t shop deals for affiliates as a general practice, but if we hear something that is extraordinary, we certainly make our friends in the A&R community aware of the artist.

- J.W. Johnson, Artist Relations Executive & Songwriter101 Faculty Member

Each performing rights organization has its own fees for setting up a publishing company and many impose an annual charge or collect annual dues. BMI, for example, charges a one-time fee of $150 for individually owned publishing companies and $250 for partnerships, corporations (including sole stockholder corporations) and limited liability companies.

A publisher’s main function, whether it’s an individual or a corporation, is to exploit (get your songs recorded, performed, etc.) your songs and collect income from that exploitation. A publisher works with producers, directors, music supervisors, record companies, commercial production companies and trailer houses to negotiate fees for licensing your music for artists to record and for use in movies and on TV, in advertising and other outlets.