Music publishing agreements contain a word artists should pay attention to:

Exclusive.

Publishing administration often requires an administrator to have exclusive authority over specified works during the agreement.

But not every music-rights service operates exclusively.

What does publishing administration do?

A publishing administrator can help register compositions and collect applicable songwriter and publisher royalties.

That may include income associated with:

  • Streaming
  • Performance
  • Radio
  • Mechanical uses
  • International societies
  • Other licensed uses

Administration is about the composition.

It is different from ordinary master-recording distribution.

What does exclusive mean?

Suppose you register Song A with Publishing Administrator X under an exclusive agreement.

You generally cannot appoint Publishing Administrator Y to administer the same rights to Song A during the overlapping term.

If two administrators attempt to register and claim the same rights, conflicts can result.

Exclusive doesn’t necessarily mean ownership

This is critical.

Exclusive administration does not automatically mean the administrator owns your copyright.

An administrator can have exclusive authority to administer the rights while you remain the owner.

Read the agreement.

Why do administrators want exclusivity?

Imagine three companies simultaneously trying to collect the same mechanical royalty.

Societies and services wouldn’t know who should receive it.

Exclusivity helps establish one authorised administrator for the covered rights.

What can remain non-exclusive?

Other activities may sometimes remain separate.

For example, Too Lost currently says its publishing administration is exclusive for works registered with it, while its sync licensing service is non-exclusive.

That means an artist can potentially seek sync opportunities elsewhere while the publishing administration remains exclusive.

Every agreement differs.

Questions to ask before signing

  1. Which compositions are covered?
  2. Which rights?
  3. Which countries?
  4. For how long?
  5. Is the agreement exclusive?
  6. What commission is charged?
  7. Can I remove songs?
  8. What happens after termination?
  9. Is there a post-term collection period?
  10. Who controls sync approvals?

Don’t appoint two administrators accidentally

This can happen when an artist signs up for several music services without understanding that multiple products include publishing administration.

Keep a rights spreadsheet.

For every composition list:

  • Songwriters
  • Percentages
  • PRO
  • Publisher
  • Administrator
  • Agreement term

Distribution is easy to see.

Publishing works in the background.

That makes clean administration even more important.