How to get your music published

a guide for bands and musicians

Contents
How to get your music published First off, what does copyright mean? Getting your work copyrighted Make a date Keep it real Stand up for your rights Now my music is copyrighted, why do I need a Publisher? Leave it to the experts Choose wisely Cutting a deal Digital or Traditional? Getting Your Release Ready Obtain a Barcode Find a Distributor CDs are still king Dont fall at the last hurdle Replay 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 10 11 11 12 13 13 14

published
If youre a musician, the sheer love of music was probably your first motivation behind wanting to create original songs. But as time went by, you no doubt realised that this love of music could also provide you with an income in the form of royalties or usage fees. However, to make money from your music, the music must first be registered with a performing rights organisation and published by a music Publisher. But music publishing isnt always easy; it's sometimes difficult to know which publishing companies are legitimate and just what you need to do to protect your intellectual property from piracy. Here are ways to ensure you get the benefits of whats rightfully yours.
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get your music

How to

copyright

First off, what does

mean?

"Copyright is the exclusive right in relation to work embodying intellectual content, and the product of the intellect, to do or to authorise others to do certain acts in relation to that work acts [which] represent the manner in which that work can be exploited for personal gain or for profit."
- Owen Dean. 1989. Handbook of South African Copyright Law, Juta & Co Ltd.

To put it more simply, and in the context of publishing, copyright is the positive right of an author or Publisher to exploit his or her creation in certain ways and, at the same time, the negative right to prevent others from doing so. In other words, if youve created something, you have the right to prevent others from using it or exploiting it. Patents, trademarks, designs and copyright are the four forms of intellectual property (the first three are sometimes known as industrial property), and copyright includes the right to protect one's intellectual property from unauthorised usage. In South Africa, the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, as amended, governs copyright.
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Getting your work

copyrighted
While in some countries there are certain requirements you have to follow in order to copyright your work, South African law states that recognition of your copyright is automatic. In other words, the copyright of your music belongs to you by reason of the fact that you created it, as long as the work is original and has been reduced to writing or some other material form. And therein lies the crux of the matter: there is no copyright protection while something is an idea in your head. No matter how brilliant or groundbreaking your work is, you have absolutely no protection for it if it doesnt physically exist. Copyright only occurs when that idea has been reproduced in some tangible, perceptible form such as a manuscript, or sheet music, or on a disc.

Make a date

In addition, you need to be able to verify the date you created it. While you may feel convinced of your copyright in a certain work, you may have some difficulty in proving your rights if someone else claims they wrote the work before you did. In that case proof of the date of creation becomes all-important, and you need to make arrangements for such a possibility.
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Keep it real
Firstly, transfer your music into a tangible form. This could mean writing the piece out onto sheet music or recording the song or musical piece onto a CD. If you cant write sheet music yourself, find someone who can do it for you or download music score software from sites like www.makemusic.com or musescore.org. Remember that the sheet music needs to be professionally and accurately written to prevent misunderstandings or ambiguity in the future. If you record the music onto a CD, understand that the reason for doing so is to place on record (excuse the pun!) the melody of the music, so avoid going to great expense or overproducing it; its the basic attributes of the music that have to come across. An option then is to lodge it with your bank or a lawyer who will register the date that it came into their possession. Alternatively, register with a music rights organisation such as SAMRO (www.samro.org.za) who can issue you with a Certificate of Notification which can be used in any dispute. Other music copyright organisations are NORM (www.norm.co.za) and RISA (www.risa.org.za).
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rights
Whether a composer or a lyric writer, the copyright on your work means that you have the exclusive right to do specific things with that work, or to authorise anyone else to do these on our behalf. These are: Reproducing the work in any manner or form; Publishing it; Performing it in public; Broadcasting it; Transmitting it in a diffusion service; Making an adaptation of it; and Treating an adaptation of it in any of these six ways.

Stand up for your

You are also entitled assign any or all of these rights to someone else, or you can retain these rights but grant licences to others to exercise them. Your copyright enables you to earn your living (at least in part) through the royalties which must be paid by those who use your music. As your copyright will last as long as you live and for a period of 50 years after your death, it will form part of your estate when you die. A special part of your copyright is your moral right, which means your right to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of any of your works, which may be prejudicial to your honour and your reputation.
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copyrighted,
Publisher?
The answer is, you dont. Many established musicians administer their own music themselves or through royalty collection houses. But these are people who are experienced in the music industry and know all the ins and outs. For those who are less experienced, or who dont have the time or inclination to get involved in the financial or legal side of the business, having a Publisher is crucial to generating income from your music. A publishing company or Record Label is responsible for marketing the music and ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially.
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Now my music is

why do I need a

experts
Music Publishers, or Record Labels, are experts in the two crucial areas of income generation regarding music: Administering royalties and marketing the music. In administering royalties, particularly performance, mechanical and synchronisation royalties, a good Record Label or Publisher will be very vigilant in ensuring that the royalties are being properly and timeously distributed, due to the fact that they receive a cut of these royalties. In particular, established labels and Publishers are very good at scrutinising and managing royalty accounts from the various collection agencies such as SAMRO and NORM. Marketing the music and getting it used for the maximum possible remuneration means opening doors for the songwriter's compositions, and also negotiating the best possible deals with users such as record companies, broadcasters, film/video producers and other artists and producers. A Record Label or Publisher will, where they are doing all the work (except the songwriting) generally take 50% of the royalty income attaching to the copyright in the composition. Deals can be as high as 70% and as low as 20% (where much of the work was done before the Publisher came on board), but 50% is the norm.
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Leave it to the

Choose

wisely

Whatever you do, dont rush into choosing a Record Label. Depending on the kind of contract you negotiate, once you sign on the dotted line youll be tied to them for a fair amount of time, so make sure you make the best possible choice for yourself. Do some research before choosing; look for information on the SAMRO or NORM websites, consider someone who deals with the same genre of music as yours, and choose a Record Label that is relevant to your needs. There are two types of Publishers. The first type has connections with major labels and the managers of top artists. If they feel your song holds promise for this type of a pitch, they will offer you a publishing agreement and then work on your behalf in promoting your song to their contacts. If they get you a deal, it will be re-recorded by the artist. The second type of Publisher is a Music Library Publisher, which places songs in films, television or commercials. This Publisher needs a "radio ready" production that could be put right into a movie or television show, as is. Most music libraries never pitch to major artists, instead focusing on getting as many uses for the songs they represent as possible.
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Choose

wisely
How quickly can the Record Label or Publisher pay? Does the Publisher have an international network to collect money abroad via sub-publishing agreements or via membership of overseas collection societies? How is publishing income split with songwriting partners or other members of the band? Straighten this out from the start so you don't battle it out later in court. If the person who signed you leaves the company, are there others who are as enthusiastic about your music as they were who can pick up where they left off? Can they pay an advance? Do you prefer a large or small Record Label or Publisher?

(Continued) Other points to consider when choosing a Publisher are:

Above all, pick a company that is efficient, knows the industry, has an honest reputation, and that you feel bonds with you and your music.

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Cutting a deal
Now youve chosen a Publisher, you need to negotiate a publishing deal. Negotiating isnt something that comes easily to everyone, so here are a few things to bear in mind before you put your name to a contract: Do not sign your copyrights away in perpetuity. Put a fixed time period on this, as short as possible without compromising the Publisher's enthusiasm for your music. Have a fixed term to the contract, and possibly a trial period as well, to ensure that you can walk away in due course if it doesn't work out. Don't just accept a standard form contract that the Record Label or Publisher puts in front of you. Carefully consider and negotiate each clause, especially the transfer of copyright, term, options, exclusivity, royalty split and cancellation clauses. If you feel you are not able to do this, seek proper legal advice before signing or go on a proper music contracts course.

With a reputable company and a good publishing contract, youre now on your way to reaping the rewards of your work. But theres one more thing to consider.

Digital or Traditional?
Every musician today knows how huge the digital downloading market is. And its getting bigger and bigger all the time. Unfortunately, in South Africa there are still royalty and rights issues which dont allow us to download music from sites such as iTunes. That said, there is still an opportunity to take advantage of the huge international market, but you need to follow the right steps.
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Getting Your Release Ready

As an independent artist, you have to make sure your release is up to commercial standards before releasing it digitally. The process of mastering evening out the dynamics and maximizing the volume of your recording has to be absolutely professional. Remember, you'll be on an even playing field with the big, major-label acts when you're being digitally distributed, so make your release stand out as best you can. You'll also need to make sure you have complete artwork to submit, along with the complete track credits none of the online services will post your music without artwork.

Obtain a Barcode
In order to sell your music in any online store, not just iTunes, you'll need a barcode assigned to your release. In South Africa, barcodes are provided by GS1 (see www.gs1za.org). For a small fee you'll be assigned a unique GS1 barcode for your product, which you can use on both your regular CD and your digitally distributed version.

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Find a Distributor
Unless your independent label (or you) are a major player, then you won't be able to deal directly with Apple. Unfortunately but understandably due to the volume of interest iTunes requires that you as an artist partner with an established distributor. This works to your benefit when you compare the selling and bargaining power you as one of the many independent artists would have. This offers them the ability to work only with high-volume sellers, who'll be committed to the level of content quality they strive for. Of course, the downside here is that is that it'll cost you a little more in sales revenue, due to the fact you'll have to help pay a minimal overhead for the other companies involved. The number one thing to look out for in a digital distributing partner is a non-exclusive licensing agreement. Make sure that you will continue to own all rights to your own music. Don't sign anything if you feel you may sign your rights away to your material. If in doubt, take it up with an experienced entertainment lawyer. You'll also want to make sure that the pay cut is fair; the average payout is around 60 (US) cents per song download, and most digital distribution services will take a 9-10% cut of that. One of the best distributors, as mentioned above, is CD Baby. They've partnered with not only iTunes, but many of the other major players in the digital market. They'll set up to sell your digital CD for $35 per album. There's some setup work, but it's all easily done. They handle the digital encoding of your material for you, to make sure that your music stays in the proper format at the highest quality. Another option is a company called Tunecore (www.tunecore.com) which offers similar features to CD Baby. Their pricing model is quite different, and is is based on whether it's a single, which costs $9.99 to upload, or a full album.
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CDs are still king

As tempting as it may be to go the all-digital route, it's also important to understand that the market is still significant for CD sales, especially for independent musicians. Internationally the numbers are increasing for downloads, but in the US an estimated 66% of people still prefer physical CDs, while in South Africa the number is even higher. Also, if youre performing at shows, its good to have the option of selling CDs to fans on the spot. Most artists enjoy good CD sales at shows, even if they're not doing so well in local CD stores.

hurdle

Dont fall at the last

As with everything else to do with your music, its critical that the CDs you sell or distribute are replicated and produced to the highest, international standards. No matter how good you think your music or Record Label is, if the quality of the final product isnt up to scratch youll have damaged your reputation and made it harder to sell next time you release a CD. Use only a professional CD duplication and replication company that has international quality and security accreditation. In South Africa CDT has an excellent reputation and is one the largest; find out more at www.cdt.co.za.
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Replay
So to recap, getting your music published involves these straightforward but critically important steps: Write a great song or piece of music. Copyright it by transforming it into a tangible (sheet music or CD) form and lodging it with a reputable authority. Find a good music publisher or record label, or publish your music yourself do some research first. Create a top quality, professional end product. Be patient and persistent.

The last point may be one of the most important there are plenty of musicians out there trying to make it, so results dont come easy. But if you have a genuinely good song or piece of music, and you keep up that high level of quality throughout the entire process, right up to the actual production of the CD, youll have a good chance of standing out from the crowd and reaping the rewards.
For any further information please contact us at:
Website: www.cdt.co.za Email: sales@cdt.co.za Telephone: 011 545 7700 Physical Address: Unit E Lanzerac Estate, Old Pretoria Road, Midrand, South Africa Postal Address: PO Box 3495, South Africa

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