What does a music publisher do?

A music publisher is simply in the business of handling and exploiting musical compositions (aka musical works/songs).

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Collecting royalties
• Securing sync opportunities
• Setting up co-writes

And generally sourcing opportunities for the songwriters they represent.

How is this different to a record company?

Record companies deal with sound recordings OF music works, not the musical works themselves.

Do you need a publisher?

It depends.

At the very least, if you are a songwriter, you need to make sure you are collecting all the publishing you are owed.

If you haven’t been approached by a publisher, you can use a publishing admin service to handle that side of the business for you.

Photo by Weston MacKinnon on Unsplash