Music Publishing's Role in Building Artist Wealth

One of the biggest myths I hear from young artists is this: “I don’t need publishing yet, let me just focus on recording and blowing first.” The truth is, publishing matters from your very first song. Why? Because the moment you write lyrics, a hook, or a melody, you’ve created copyright and copyright is money. Here’s why you should not wait: 1️⃣ Every song is an asset. That “small” song you wrote in your bedroom could end up in a short film, a TikTok trend, or sampled by another artist. If your publishing is not set up, you will never see the royalties attached to that use. 2️⃣ Publishing are royalties you don’t see on your DSP statement. Most artists think streams is all the money. Not true. Every stream generates multiple income lines: Performance royalties (through your PRO) Mechanical royalties (through publishing/CMO like MCSN in Nigeria) Sync income if your song gets licensed for film/TV/ad If your publishing isn’t sorted, one or more of these royalties will never come to you. 3️⃣ Global reach needs global admin. African music is now everywhere soundtracking global shows, games, adverts, and clubs worldwide. Yet many artists are only collecting local royalties (if at all). Without publishing administration that connects you to international societies, you are leaving money on the table across continents. I worked with a songwriter whose track blew up on TikTok. Streams were coming in, yes but when we checked, there were thousands of dollars in unpaid publishing royalties globally because he had not registered his songs anywhere. Don’t wait until you’re “big.” Publishing is not about fame, it’s about ownership and structure. Every song is an asset, and the earlier you start treating it like one, the more value you can unlock over time. What are your thoughts on this 👇

A. If you’re an artist, songwriter, or producer in today’s music industry, one truth should never be ignored: you don’t make real money from the music you create — you make it from the rights you own. And at the center of that truth lies music publishing — the most misunderstood but most powerful part of the music business. B. At its core, music publishing is the business of managing, protecting, and monetizing compositions — the underlying songs themselves. A “composition” is not the recording you hear on Spotify or Apple Music. It’s the idea of the song — the melody, lyrics, and arrangement — that can exist in many versions, covers, and recordings. When you write a song, you own copyright in that composition. That copyright automatically gives you two things: (i)Control – the legal right to decide how, when, and where your song is used. (ii)Income – the right to receive royalties whenever your song is performed, streamed, sold, or synchronized. C. Every time your song is used, someone owes you a royalty. Here are the main ways that happens: (i)Performance Royalties – earned when your song is played publicly (radio, live shows, TV, streaming, etc.). (ii)Mechanical Royalties – earned when your song is reproduced or streamed on digital platforms. (iii)Sync Royalties – earned when your song is used in movies, commercials, or video games. (iv)Print Rights – earned when your lyrics or compositions are printed or published physically. The job of a publisher (or publishing administrator) is to make sure you get every one of those royalties — from every corner of the world. D. When you release a song, there are two copyrights: The Master Recording – owned by the artist or label. The Composition (Publishing) – owned by the songwriter(s) and publisher(s). Most artists chase the master — because it’s fast money. But the publishing side is where long-term wealth is built. Publishing royalties keep coming in years after a song stops charting. That’s why legendary writers still receive cheques decades later. E. Why This Matters for African Creatives Across Africa, publishing is still misunderstood and undervalued. Many artists: (i)Sign label deals without negotiating their publishing rights, (ii)Fail to register songs with CMOs like PRS, COSON, SAMRO, or BMI, (iii)Ignore metadata and split sheets until disputes arise. The result? Millions of dollars in royalties are left uncollected or misdirected globally — while African songs dominate streaming charts. F. What Every Artist Should Do Today (i)Know your splits: Always agree on who owns what percentage of the composition before release. (ii)Register your songs: Join a performing rights organization (PRO) and a publishing administrator. (iii)Keep your data clean: Metadata errors cause royalty losses. Get your song titles, ISWCs, and IPIs right. (iv)Work with professionals. A publisher or adminstrator like Uptique Music ensures your songs are tracked and paid for globally.

Most independent artists celebrate the day they finally own 100% of their masters. They should. But many stop there. And that's where they unknowingly leave money on the table. A master recording is only one part of a song's value. Every commercially released song is built on two separate copyrights: • The master recording (the actual audio) • The musical composition (lyrics and melody) Owning the master gives you control over the recording. It does not automatically give you every royalty the song can generate. Every stream creates multiple royalty streams. Some are paid to the owner of the master recording. Others are paid to the songwriter and publisher through publishing rights. Depending on where and how your music is used, a single song can generate income from: • Master royalties • Publishing royalties • Mechanical royalties • Performance royalties • Neighboring rights • Sync licensing • YouTube Content ID • UGC platforms • Radio • TV • Public performance These rights are collected by different organizations in different countries. No single distributor collects everything by default. That's why artists are often surprised to discover they've been earning royalties they never claimed. The problem isn't that the money doesn't exist. It's that many creators don't know where it's being collected. This is also why major music companies don't just buy masters. They buy publishing catalogs too. Publishing often keeps generating revenue decades after a song's release through films, television, advertisements, radio, live performances, cover versions and streaming. Sometimes the composition becomes more valuable than the recording itself. Owning your masters is an important milestone. Owning your publishing is another. Understanding the difference between the two is where a creator starts thinking like a business. The biggest opportunity in music today isn't creating more songs. It's making sure every song you already own is working as hard as you did to create it. #MusicBusiness #MusicPublishing #MusicIndustry #IndependentArtists #MusicDistribution #Royalties #Copyright #Songwriting #MusicRights #CreatorEconomy

Most artists (and even a lot of managers) assume publishing income is handled automatically once a song is registered with a performing rights organization like ASCAP, BMI or SOCAN. It isn’t. Registering with a PRO is a strong first step, but it typically covers one royalty lane (performance royalties) and often collects directly in one primary territory. Meanwhile, today’s music economy is global and multi-bucket, especially when you factor in mechanical royalties and international publishing collection. The practical takeaway: If your audience is worldwide, your royalty collection infrastructure has to be worldwide too. That’s why higher-earning writers and serious independent teams often work with global publishing administrators, to ensure songs are properly registered across territories and all publishing royalty types are actually collected.

The conversation around #JustinBieber’s recent #Coachella appearance exposed something that comes up often in my work with artists: Many creatives are still unclear about how money actually moves in the music industry. I saw a number of posts questioning how Bieber could perform songs after selling his catalog. It’s an understandable question, but it highlights a broader issue — the music business is built on multiple layers of rights, and those layers are rarely explained clearly to creators. In music, a single cultural moment can activate revenue across several different channels simultaneously: • Live performance fees • Public performance royalties through PROs • Streaming spikes across DSPs • YouTube monetization • Catalog rediscovery • Merchandise and touring demand Each of these revenue streams may benefit different stakeholders depending on who owns the underlying rights. That’s why understanding the difference between performing a song, owning a master recording, owning publishing rights, and collecting royalties is so important for artists. These are separate functions within the ecosystem, and confusing them can lead to misunderstandings about both ownership and income. What stood out to me is how quickly misinformation spreads when the industry’s financial mechanics aren’t widely understood. And to be fair, many artists were never taught these fundamentals in the first place. We spend a lot of time encouraging creatives to focus on the art — and rightly so. But building a sustainable career also requires understanding the economic infrastructure that surrounds the art. A performance is not just a performance. A viral moment is not just visibility. A catalog is not just a collection of songs. They are assets that interact with a broader financial system. The more artists understand how that system works, the more informed decisions they can make about ownership, partnerships, and long-term career strategy. Artist education remains one of the most important — and often overlooked — parts of the modern music industry.

Seems like The Weeknd is exploring a $1 billion financing deal using his catalog as collateral, according to Bloomberg. Turns out his records really are gold. It's a strategy that lets artists unlock value in their albums without completely losing control of their work. The report indicates New York-based Lyric Capital Group is leading discussions for a sophisticated financing package that breaks down into three tiers: 🟦 $500 million in senior debt 🟦 $250 million in junior debt 🟦 $250 million in equity What's backing this massive potential deal? The Weeknd's stake in his music publishing rights and his share of master recordings. Think hits like "Blinding Lights" (Spotify's most-streamed song ever), "Starboy," and "Can't Feel My Face." These tracks generate consistent revenue through streaming, radio play, sync licensing, and performance rights. This isn't a sale. The Weeknd likely keeps creative control while accessing capital that could fund everything from his production company Manic Phase to other business ventures. If the deal goes through, investors get returns from his music's ongoing revenue streams. This approach reflects a fundamental shift in how music intellectual property is being valued and traded. Since 2019, at least $20.4 billion has flowed into music rights deals, attracting major players like BlackRock, Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, and KKR. But it's not just institutional investors - new digital platforms are also allowing smaller investors to participate in this asset class. (I'll add a link with a preview of some of WIPO's research work in this space). What makes music rights particularly attractive to investors? They aren't as susceptible to economic downturns as traditional investments, offering portfolio diversification and relatively stable income streams. The streaming economy has made music distribution cheaper and future revenue more predictable - especially for established artists with proven catalogs. The Weeknd's potential deal represents the modern evolution of David Bowie's pioneering "Bowie Bonds" from 1997, when Bowie raised $55 million by securitizing his pre-1990 catalog. Today's music finance operates at a completely different scale, with The Weeknd's catalog generating massive revenue streams across multiple platforms and licensing opportunities. Which artist's catalog would you finance for a deal like this? #ipfinance #copyright #BlindingLights #StarboyCash #AfterHoursBanking

Every hit song starts with a songwriter but behind every songwriter is a music publisher. When people talk about the music business, they often focus on artists, labels, and streaming platforms. But one of the most important players in the industry works behind the scenes: the music publisher. A music publisher helps songwriters and composers: 1.Protect copyrights 2.Register songs worldwide 3.Collect publishing royalties 4.Secure sync deals for films, TV, games, and advertisements 5.Monetize songs across global markets 6.Ensure creators are paid whenever their music is used From global giants like Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music to independent publishers and administrators, these companies form the backbone of the songwriting economy. Without publishers: 1.Many royalties would go uncollected. 2.Copyright ownership could become unclear. 3.Songwriters would miss valuable opportunities. The recording may create the sound, but the composition creates the value. That's why understanding music publishing is essential for every artist, songwriter, producer, label, and music entrepreneur. In your opinion, what's the most misunderstood part of music publishing? 👇 Let's discuss. #MusicPublishing #Songwriting #MusicIndustry #MusicBusiness #Copyright #Royalties #MusicRights #PublishingRoyalties #MusicPublishingRights #MusicLicensing #SyncLicensing #RecordLabel #IndependentArtist #MusicDistribution #MusicTech #MusicMarketing #Composer #Lyricist #Producer #GlobalMusic ASCAP Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) BMG Peermusic Kobalt Music

WHAT IS A PUBLISHING DEAL? A publishing deal is a critical part of a musician’s career, involving an agreement between the artist and a music publisher to manage and exploit the rights to their compositions. In exchange for a share of the revenue, the publisher works to generate income from various sources, including: • Radio play • TV and film placements (syncs) • Public performance royalties • Mechanical royalties (sales of physical or digital copies) • Streaming royalties (from platforms like Spotify and Apple Music) Musicians can receive advance payments from publishers, which are recouped against future royalties. Depending on the deal, a musician may enter into a full publishing deal, a co-publishing deal, or an administration deal—each offering different terms regarding rights ownership and royalty splits. A publishing deal allows musicians to focus on creating music while the publisher handles licensing, royalty collection, and promotion, potentially maximizing the reach and financial success of their compositions. #MusicIndustry #PublishingDeal #Songwriting #MusicPublishing #MusicRoyalties #ArtistDevelopment #MusicBusiness - Adrian Pearson Jr

Is Sync the Most Underrated Power Move in Music? We talk a lot about streams. We talk about tours. But one of the quiet giants in today’s music business is sync licensing and publishing. One placement in a major TV series. A global ad campaign. A video game soundtrack. That’s not just exposure, that’s recurring revenue, new audiences, and credibility you can’t buy. Here’s what’s shifting: - Sync is no longer a bonus — it’s a business model. - Publishing is where the long-term wealth sits. - Music supervisors are becoming as important as radio programmers once were. The artists who win in this new era are not just chasing playlists. They’re building strategies around where their music lives: on screens, in brands, across cultures. Streaming pays you once per play. Publishing and sync pay you for years. The real question for anyone in music today isn’t “how do I get signed?” — it’s “how do I get placed?” #Sync #SyncLicensing #MusicBusiness #MusicPublishing