What is a music publisher? It’s a company that looks after your songs, as opposed to your recordings: it registers them, collects the royalties they earn around the world, pitches them for film, TV and ads, and takes a share in return. The Spotify royalty calculator shows roughly what your songs earn from streams, which is the money a publisher would be chasing. Whether you need one depends on how much there is to chase.
What a publisher actually does
- Registers your songs with collecting societies and the US mechanical collector, The MLC, in every country, with the right splits.
- Collects performance and mechanical royalties, including from abroad, where independent writers often miss money.
- Licenses your songs for sync (film, TV, ads, games), covers and samples.
- Pitches your songs to other artists and to music supervisors.
- Pays advances, sometimes, against your future royalties.
- Creative help, with some: setting up co-writes and sessions.
What it costs you
A publisher earns its money by keeping part of what your songs make, and in a full publishing deal it often owns part of the copyright too, for years. Advances get paid back out of your royalties before you see more money.
The UK competition regulator, the CMA, found the major publishers paid their songwriters 84% on average in 2021. That’s an average across deals, so read your own contract rather than assuming it.
Your society pays the writer’s share of performance royalties straight to you. A publisher takes its cut from the rest.
Types of deal
| Deal | Who owns the songs | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Full publishing deal | Publisher owns all or a big share | Everything above, plus advances |
| Co-publishing deal | Shared between you and the publisher | Everything above, usually with an advance |
| Administration deal | You keep 100% | Registration and collection, for a commission |
Do you need a music publisher?
Probably not yet, if:
- You write and release your own songs, and the money is mostly streams.
- You haven’t got sync interest or other artists wanting your songs.
- You’d be signing away ownership for a small advance.
Maybe, if:
- Your songs are earning abroad and you’re not set up to collect it.
- You write for other artists and need someone pitching and chasing.
- Sync people are asking about your catalogue.
Publishing administration: the middle option
For most independent artists, publishing administration covers the bit that matters: getting every song registered and every royalty collected, while you keep 100% of your copyrights. It’s a service that does the collecting for a commission.
What an admin company does
- Registers your songs with collecting societies and mechanical collectors in many countries.
- Collects the publisher’s share of performance royalties.
- Collects mechanical royalties, including US streaming mechanicals. See mechanical royalties for how that works.
- Chases money from abroad that a single society might miss.
- Sends you statements and pays you after taking its cut.
What it usually doesn’t do: pay advances, pitch your songs for sync, or set up co-writes. That’s what a full publisher is for.
What admin costs
Admin companies charge a commission on what they collect, and some charge a setup fee as well. Here’s one published price list, checked on the provider’s own site:
| Provider | Setup | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Songtrust | $100 one-off per songwriter | 15% of performance royalties, 20% of everything else |
Several distributors sell publishing admin as an add-on to distribution. Their prices and terms change, so read the price page and the terms on the day you sign up, not a blog post about them.
The CMA found the publishing side, writers and publishers together, got 15% of UK streaming revenue in 2021, against 53% for recordings. Admin takes its cut from your part of that 15%, so on streaming alone the money is small. It adds up when you’ve got lots of songs, co-writes with other artists, or plays abroad.
Do you need admin?
It’s worth a look if:
- You write songs that stream in several countries.
- You don’t have a publisher, and nobody is collecting the publisher’s share.
- You don’t want to register every song in every country yourself.
You might skip it if:
- You only release a few songs a year and mostly in one country.
- You’re happy to join a society and The MLC yourself. In the US, see ASCAP vs BMI for the first step.
Before you sign anything
- How long is the term, and how long do they keep the songs after it ends?
- What percentage do they keep, on each type of income?
- Is there an advance, and how is it paid back?
- Do they own the copyright, or just administer it? A true admin deal doesn’t take any.
- Do they collect your writer’s share too? Your society should still pay that to you directly.
- What happens to money already in the system when you leave?
- Get a music lawyer to read it. A deal that runs for years is worth paying for proper advice.
Next step
Work out what your songs earn now in the songwriting section of the Spotify royalty calculator before anyone offers you a deal. The rest of our songwriting money guides show which money a publisher would be collecting.
Where these figures come from
- UK CMA: Music and streaming market study, final report (29 Nov 2022)
- Songtrust: pricing (checked 29 Oct 2026)
