Co-Publishing Deals

1. Typical Scenario. This type of agreement is typically used for writers who are in groups already signed to a record deal. This type of agreement covers the original material on the group’s records. Normally all of the members of the group who are songwriters will be signed to this type of agreement with the same publisher.

Just to be clear here, I’m talking about a publishing deal with a publishing company not affiliated with the record company. Today, it is much less likely than it used to be that a record company will demand a publishing deal as part of a record deal.

2. Material Covered by the Deal. All of the original songs on the group’s first record, then the publisher will have the right to options on the original songs on anywhere from two to four of the follow-up albums, hence for a total of 3 to 5 albums, with the exact number depending on what the parties negotiate.

3. Copyright Transferred. The songwriter normally transfers one-half of the copyright ownership to the publisher and retains the other one-half ownership. In other words, the song is co-published (and the copyright is co-owned 50-50) by the third party publisher and the writer’s own publishing company.

4. Income Sharing. Normally, the third party publisher will collect all income and then pay to the songwriter and the songwriter’s publishing company 75% of all publishing income.

5. Term. As already mentioned, co-publishing agreements are usually for a certain specified number of albums.

6. Advances. Advances are almost always paid to the songwriter in the case of co-publishing deals. For groups newly signed to major label record deals, the initial advance from a major music publisher is typically in the $150,000 - $500,000 range and sometimes higher, with additional advances being paid if and when the publisher exercises its options for the follow-up albums.

Administration Deals (aka "Admin Deals")

Typical Scenario. This type of deal is used when the songwriter just wants a publisher to collect royalties and handle the various paperwork (for example, the BMI/ASCAP song title registrations, copyright applications, the issuance of licenses, etc.), and where the songwriter does not want or need a publisher to proactively promote his or her catalog of song. A good example of a company that does a lot of Administration Deals is Bug Music in Los Angeles.

Material Covered by the Deal. Most often this kind of deal covers all material written by the songwriter, or at least any material that the songwriter has not already committed to other publishers.

Copyright Transferred. No transfer of copyright.

Income Sharing. Typically, the publisher will take 10% to 20% of the income, and the pay the rest to the songwriter and the songwriter’s publishing company.

Term. Administration deals are normally in the range of three to five years.

Advances. For catalogs generating a modest amount of income, usually no advance is paid. For more profitable catalogs, usually an advance will be paid, with the amount to be determined on the basis of the income that has been generated in recent years by the catalog.