How long to wait for publisher to place songs

We have been with our publishing administrator for almost 2 years, and although they seem to collect royalties well (I’m not sure how you can really tell), they have not placed any of our songs, although their creative director says he tries to place them.  We are thinking that we should maybe find another administrator.  How can you tell if another administrator will have better success?

Toby,

My name is Marc-Alan Barnette. I teach songwriting and the practical application to the music industry in Nashville.
Understand that publishers are now under pressures they have never been under before.The primary thing they are running into is the “inside cut” where the artists are writing a majority of their own material, or the producers, their labels, publishing companies, or friends in their inner circle are most likely to realistically get opportunities for songs. It is very rare to even get appointments any more. Which is why the hit writers and others are most likely to be writing with artists early on in their career.

So waiting two, three or several years is very typical. You have to make your own decisions on a publisher and it may mean you should move on. But the choices are very slim in this day and age. Most have gone to “pitch services” which are fee for service song pluggers. It is now sometimes up to eight years to get songs recorded. Songs like “I’ve Had Moments” , “These Are My People” (8 years)  “Back Where I Come From (21 years), are becoming more typical than exceptions. With the advent of downloading it is just incredbily hard to get songs in the pipeline in the first place.

My suggestion would be to keep a communication open with your publisher, always bring new songs in and try to write with as many artists as you can.Having a one on one relationship with someone is a much better shot than pitching songs “AT” an artist that they have no connection with.

Good luck and keep a broad view of perspective when it comes to this Business.

MAB

When you ‘signed’ with the publisher there should have been a ‘reversion clause,’ specifying when the song ‘reverts’ back to you, ending the ‘contract’ between you and the publisher, and enabling you to seek another publisher, if so desired.

If there is no reversion clause, your signature assigns them a share of your Publishing Royalties forever, unless you convince them to end the deal and withdraw their claim. If they never succeed in getting it published but you do, they still own that share of the Pub. Royalties you assigned to them by the contract. If a third publisher is involved (you being the first; the old publisher the second), the third publisher’s share comes from your share. They’ll need to know that you have a contract with the old publisher before you negotiate your contract with the new one.

All the links at the top of the page are worth exploring. There are some articles on publishing. John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting, may be a good education too. http://www.johnbraheny.com for a pdf download.

Most songwriters start with the ‘art’ of creating songs. They develop some skill at creating songs, at least in their own opinion. Then they start thinking maybe they’ve created something worth money, and, generally at that point, realize they don’t know anything about the commercial aspects of it, publishing, contracts, reversion clauses, marketing, royalties. So it’s time to go to school on that. As they say in show biz, “Break a leg!”