The short answer
Every song has two copyrights: the recording and the composition. Publishing is the business of the composition. Register as a writer with a performing rights organisation, register each song, and use a publishing administrator for the collection you cannot do yourself. Unregistered songs usually earn royalties that nobody can pay to you.
Recording rights and publishing rights
When you write and record a song you create two separate assets. The sound recording, or master, is the audio file your distributor delivers to stores, and the income it earns reaches you through your distribution statement. The composition is the melody and lyrics underneath, and its income travels through a completely different set of pipes: collecting societies, mechanical agencies and publishers.
A distributor usually handles only the recording side. Unless it also offers publishing administration, it does not register your songs with societies or collect composition royalties. Many independent artists assume one statement covers everything and never see the second stream.
The three kinds of publishing income
Composition income comes mainly from three sources, and each one is collected by a different organisation. Understanding which is which tells you who to register with.
Each payment is usually split into a writer share and a publisher share. Societies pay the writer share directly to the writer. The publisher share goes to a publisher; if you have none, you can often register as your own publisher so that share reaches you too, though the rules vary by society.
- Performance royalties: radio, television, venues and the public performance part of streaming, collected by performing rights organisations
- Mechanical royalties: streams, downloads and physical copies, collected by mechanical societies and, in the United States, The MLC
- Synchronisation fees: films, series, advertising and games, negotiated directly with the production
Registering with a performing rights organisation
A performing rights organisation, or PRO, licenses the public performance of songs and pays its members. You join one as a writer, usually your home country's society if it exists and accepts you, and you can usually belong to only one at a time. Once a member, you register every song with its title, the writers, their shares and the publisher if any; the society assigns an ISWC code that identifies the composition worldwide.
Co-writers register the same song with their own societies, and the shares must add up and match between registrations. In several Arab countries a national society exists; in others, including some Gulf states, there is no fully functioning one yet, so writers there usually join a foreign society that accepts non-residents or work through a publishing administrator. This varies by country and changes over time, so check before you decide.
What a publishing administrator does
A publishing administrator is a service that registers your songs with societies and mechanical collectives around the world, including The MLC, claims the income those bodies hold for you, and pays it through in return for a share of what it collects, set out in its agreement. It does not take ownership of your copyright and does not pitch your songs; it is a collection service.
A traditional publishing deal is different: the publisher usually takes a share of ownership, often with an advance, and works to place the songs. For most independent writers whose music is streamed in several countries, an administrator is the practical first step, and it can sit alongside your own PRO membership.
Why unregistered songs lose money
Societies and mechanical collectives receive usage reports from radio, venues and streaming services. They match each use against their database of registered works. When nothing matches, the money goes into an unmatched pool. After a holding period, usually a few years, most societies distribute that pool to other members by market share or treat it as expired, and it cannot be recovered afterwards.
Spelling mismatches lose money the same way: a title or writer name entered differently at the distributor, the PRO and the administrator can stop a match. Keep one spelling everywhere. At Mazufa Records the distribution terms are simple: no upload fee, no subscription, no per-release fee; the revenue share is set out in your written agreement. Publishing is a separate income stream that is yours to set up, and your metadata on release is the first step.
Questions people ask
My distributor pays me for streams. Is that not everything?
No. The distributor pays recording income. The same streams also generate performance and mechanical royalties for the composition, which are paid to whoever registered the song with the societies. If nobody did, they sit unclaimed.
I write and record my own songs. Do I still need a PRO?
Yes. Writing and recording are separate rights with separate payments. Join a PRO as a writer, register each song, and where the society allows it register as your own publisher so both shares reach you.
There is no collecting society in my country. What can I do?
Usually you can join a foreign society that accepts non-resident writers, or appoint a publishing administrator that registers your songs worldwide. Which option works depends on your country and your catalogue, so ask before your first release.