How Publishing Your Own Music Can Double Your Income From Just One Song
Norman MacLeod asked:
Not all of us songwriters do it for fun, or to tell an important story, or to get famous; some of us do it to make a living – for money. So it makes sense to maximize the profits we make.
Songwriters who want to make the most out of their work can easily double their earnings by forming their own Publishing House, or ‘Company’. I want to take a minute here to tell you a quick, true story…
I have a pal in England. I can’t give you his name, and you’ll understand why in a minute.
Remember ‘Blondie’? (Who wouldn’t!) About the same time Blondie was HOT in the UK, my pal had just started as a qualified Lawyer with a Law firm in London. He was also a bass player with a couple of pals at the weekend, in a Punk Band. (’Punk Lawyer’… is that an oxymoron? Not sure…) This was about ‘79, so Punk was in decline.
Anyway, he’d written this 3 chord trick on G, C and D7. His band couldn’t do it – it was too ‘Pop’. He gave it to a local band, with a Girl Lead Singer, (that’s the only clue I can give you!) and they put it in their act. It was a sensation. They sent it to a UK Label and the Label jumped at the chance.
He got called into the Label’s swanky, West End Offices. They told him that they were signing the band and they offered him a ‘Single Song Contract’, and that their Publishing Division would take over the Publishing. He said, ‘No, I have my own publishing company and I’ll take care of that…’ (He was a lawyer, remember?)
The Label wailed, cajoled, sweet talked and threatened, but he refused to sign. And at this point, he actually HADN’T done anything to ‘Publish’ the song – but he knew the Law.
Cut a long story short – instead of giving away 50% to the Label’s Publishing Division, he kept that 50%.
The song went worldwide # 1. You’d know it, but I promised my buddy I wouldn’t reveal his name, or the song, or the band.
His songwriter’s share was some £1,450,000 UK pounds. And so was his Publisher’s share. He netted, in a year, about £2.9 million. He STILL gets royalty cheques, every year, of 5 to 6 figures.
He quit his job, never wrote another hit, and he still gigs with his Blues Band on the weekends. (Too old for Punk).
Only his closest friends know he’s a millionaire. Drives an old Volvo coz his gear fits in the back…
End of Story… So what’s the Point IN that Story?
The Point is This (And it’s a Biggie)
My friend had qualified as a Lawyer just a short while before his meeting. As part of his studies, he’d looked at Music Publishing – probably because he was a ‘weekend rocker’ and he had been writing songs during his University years – mostly while jamming with the other guys in the band.
If he HADN’T been a Lawyer, he’d have probably signed the contract as offered – and he would certainly have signed away an estimated extra 4 million plus in earnings over the years.
Any Songwriter having his or her own Publishing Company puts them a rung further up the ladder when it comes to negotiations.
And by NOT negotiating your contracts with a Music Publisher or a Record label, you could be signing away huge amounts of money for the rest of your natural life – and possibly many years of your children’s lives.
Any businessperson, in any business – not just the Music Business – will tell you it’s a lot easier to negotiate from a ‘Position of Power’ – like when you already have your Publishing Contract signed – with your OWN Publishing Company.
Digital Publishing.
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Not all of us songwriters do it for fun, or to tell an important story, or to get famous; some of us do it to make a living – for money. So it makes sense to maximize the profits we make.
Songwriters who want to make the most out of their work can easily double their earnings by forming their own Publishing House, or ‘Company’. I want to take a minute here to tell you a quick, true story…
I have a pal in England. I can’t give you his name, and you’ll understand why in a minute.
Remember ‘Blondie’? (Who wouldn’t!) About the same time Blondie was HOT in the UK, my pal had just started as a qualified Lawyer with a Law firm in London. He was also a bass player with a couple of pals at the weekend, in a Punk Band. (’Punk Lawyer’… is that an oxymoron? Not sure…) This was about ‘79, so Punk was in decline.
Anyway, he’d written this 3 chord trick on G, C and D7. His band couldn’t do it – it was too ‘Pop’. He gave it to a local band, with a Girl Lead Singer, (that’s the only clue I can give you!) and they put it in their act. It was a sensation. They sent it to a UK Label and the Label jumped at the chance.
He got called into the Label’s swanky, West End Offices. They told him that they were signing the band and they offered him a ‘Single Song Contract’, and that their Publishing Division would take over the Publishing. He said, ‘No, I have my own publishing company and I’ll take care of that…’ (He was a lawyer, remember?)
The Label wailed, cajoled, sweet talked and threatened, but he refused to sign. And at this point, he actually HADN’T done anything to ‘Publish’ the song – but he knew the Law.
Cut a long story short – instead of giving away 50% to the Label’s Publishing Division, he kept that 50%.
The song went worldwide # 1. You’d know it, but I promised my buddy I wouldn’t reveal his name, or the song, or the band.
His songwriter’s share was some £1,450,000 UK pounds. And so was his Publisher’s share. He netted, in a year, about £2.9 million. He STILL gets royalty cheques, every year, of 5 to 6 figures.
He quit his job, never wrote another hit, and he still gigs with his Blues Band on the weekends. (Too old for Punk).
Only his closest friends know he’s a millionaire. Drives an old Volvo coz his gear fits in the back…
End of Story… So what’s the Point IN that Story?
The Point is This (And it’s a Biggie)
My friend had qualified as a Lawyer just a short while before his meeting. As part of his studies, he’d looked at Music Publishing – probably because he was a ‘weekend rocker’ and he had been writing songs during his University years – mostly while jamming with the other guys in the band.
If he HADN’T been a Lawyer, he’d have probably signed the contract as offered – and he would certainly have signed away an estimated extra 4 million plus in earnings over the years.
Any Songwriter having his or her own Publishing Company puts them a rung further up the ladder when it comes to negotiations.
And by NOT negotiating your contracts with a Music Publisher or a Record label, you could be signing away huge amounts of money for the rest of your natural life – and possibly many years of your children’s lives.
Any businessperson, in any business – not just the Music Business – will tell you it’s a lot easier to negotiate from a ‘Position of Power’ – like when you already have your Publishing Contract signed – with your OWN Publishing Company.
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