FAQ

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.

There is no set formula. It is up to you and your publisher to negotiate the terms of a publishing deal.

You don’t need to have a publishing company to register a song with a performing rights organization.

No, that’s part of the PRO’s function. If your songs are registered with a performing rights organization and you are receiving radio play, then the PRO will get that information automatically.

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Most offer online registration. For example, you can affiliate with BMI by logging on at http://bmi.com/join You can call your local office to get the paperwork by mail, if you prefer.

As a songwriter, you inherently own the publishing rights to your music and you retain creative control.

Yes, a new version of an old song, also called a derivative work, should be copyrighted, noting the ways it’s been altered from the previous version.

Home recording is so inexpensive to do that it shouldn’t be an obstacle for anyone. A nice home studio can be set up for under $1,000. You also might be able to work something out with a local recording studio, which are often in need of business since the home recording revolution took hold.

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.