Songwriting Series:
(and the dirty little secret)
By Paul Bordenkircher
Today, I am starting to fulfill my promise of 2015 as “The Year of Your Back End”. This will be a multi-part series
intended to educate you on the important concepts and policies you need to understand about the back end of the
music business--licensing, publishing and such.
We start with the difference between songwriting and publishing, and the dirty little secret between them.
Songwriting vs. Publishing
As the songwriter, you are the original creator of the work. You own and control all aspects of the work. But just
because you created a song, doesn't mean anyone's gonna hear it. You gotta get it up on iTunes, on the radio, or
anywhere else (we'll cover promotion in another blog). And just because it's a success doesn't mean you're gonna
get paid.
While a songwriter is responsible for the creative process, a publisher is responsible for the business processes.
That means registering with PROs, maintaining paperwork, collecting checks and paying out. And all told, the two
entities split the proceeds 50-50.
So knowing that, you probably think, "I'd rather be the songwriter. Sounds like more fun." But with all that
paperwork, there's an important difference between songwriting and publishing. Because the dirty little secret is
this.
The long-term benefit is in controlling song publishing. To fully understand that statement, it requires an
understanding the true function of song publishing.
The word "publishing” really has two primary definitions, and both matter for songwriting:
The creation of printed copies or phonorecords. (See my post on “Important Publishing Terms”
for definitions).
Control of exploitation of a creative work.
The first definition simply means your work has been released. If it's on iTunes, BandCamp, or even on your own
website, the work has been published. The second is probably the concept most misunderstood by songwriters in
the entire industry.