Publishing is where the real money is in music — and most artists don't understand it. Here's the plain-English guide to publishing rights and revenue.
TL;DR
Publishing covers the songwriting side of music — separate from the recording. If you wrote the song, you own publishing rights and are owed money every time it's played, streamed, or performed. Register with PRS for Music and consider a publishing administrator to collect globally.
The Difference Between Master Rights and Publishing Rights
Every piece of recorded music generates two sets of rights: the master recording rights (who owns the actual recording) and the publishing rights (who wrote the song). These are legally distinct and generate separate revenue streams. Most artists think about the master side because that's what their distributor handles. But the publishing side often generates more money long-term.
If you wrote the song and recorded it yourself, you own both the master and the publishing. If a label owns your masters but you wrote the songs, you still own the publishing. If you co-wrote with someone, you share the publishing. Understanding this separation is fundamental to understanding your income.
Publishing rights generate money through performance royalties (radio, TV, streaming, live venues), mechanical royalties (physical and digital reproduction), sync fees (film, TV, adverts), and print royalties (sheet music). The publishing side of a hit song can generate income for decades — long after the initial recording revenue has tailed off.
What a Music Publisher Actually Does
A traditional music publisher does three things: registers and administers your songs globally, actively pitches your songs for sync placements and covers, and provides creative development through co-writing sessions and songwriting camps. In exchange, they typically take 15-25% of your publishing income.
A publishing administrator does the first part — registration and collection — without the creative services. They ensure your songs are registered with collection societies worldwide and that all owed royalties are collected. They typically take 10-20% for this service. Sentric Music, Songtrust, and TuneCore Publishing are popular admin options for independent artists.
Self-publishing through PRS for Music is the free option. You register your songs directly, PRS collects performance and mechanical royalties in the UK, and they have reciprocal agreements with collection societies worldwide. The trade-off is that global collection is less comprehensive than having a dedicated administrator, and nobody is actively pitching your songs.
How Publishing Splits Work
Publishing is traditionally divided into two halves: the 'writer's share' (50%) and the 'publisher's share' (50%). If you self-publish, you keep both halves — 100%. If you sign with a publisher, they typically take a portion of the publisher's share, and sometimes a portion of the writer's share too.
Co-writing splits should be agreed in writing before or immediately after a writing session. The most common approach is equal splits — if three people wrote the song, each gets 33.3%. But any split is valid if all parties agree. Never assume splits are equal; always have the conversation explicitly.
Be aware that some production agreements include publishing claims. If a producer helps write your song (contributing to the melody, lyrics, or chord progression), they may reasonably expect a publishing share. If a producer only mixed or engineered (without creative songwriting input), they shouldn't receive publishing. The distinction between production work and songwriting is crucial.
Sync Licensing: Publishing's Most Lucrative Revenue Stream
When your song is used in a film, TV show, advert, or video game, two sync fees are paid: one for the master recording (to whoever owns the master) and one for the publishing (to whoever owns the songwriting). If you own both, you receive both fees. A single sync placement in a major TV advert can generate £10,000-100,000 or more.
Sync supervisors look for songs that are emotionally resonant, well-produced, and legally clear. 'Legally clear' means one person or entity controls both the master and publishing rights and can grant a licence quickly. Independent artists who own everything have a genuine advantage here — they can clear sync requests in hours rather than the weeks it takes labels and publishers to coordinate.
To be sync-ready: ensure your music is well-produced and mastered, register with a sync library or agent, have clean metadata and credits, own or control both master and publishing rights, and ideally have instrumental versions available. Sync supervisors work on tight deadlines and will choose the easiest-to-license option that fits creatively.
The Global Publishing Puzzle
Music doesn't respect borders, and neither do royalties. When your song is streamed by a listener in Japan, performed at a venue in Brazil, or broadcast on radio in Germany, publishing royalties are generated in each territory. Collecting these royalties requires registration with (or representation by) collection societies in each country.
This is where having a publishing administrator earns their commission. Sentric, for example, registers your songs with collection societies in over 200 territories and chases payments that would otherwise go uncollected. For artists with international audiences, the global collection alone can justify the admin commission.
At minimum, UK artists should register with PRS for Music (performance and mechanical royalties in the UK) and ensure their distributor passes correct ISRC and ISWC codes to streaming platforms. These codes are how your recordings and compositions are identified in the royalty chain — without them, payments can't reach you.
The publishing landscape is evolving rapidly as streaming becomes the dominant consumption method. New legislation in the EU and UK is attempting to improve transparency and payment speed. But the fundamental advice remains: register your songs, understand your rights, and actively manage your publishing. Passive artists leave money on the table.