A few questions about licensing and publishing

[bricker]

Hello everybody. I have jus recently started looking into the "business" side of my music, and I have a few questions that I'm just going to fire off and hope that someone has the answers.

A little backstory: I've been working with a film production company as their composer for several years, and they have just recently incorporated. Because of this, I feel obligated (but also am eager and willing) to properly register all of the work that I do for them (past and future). They are a small company of only three employees, so I have taken on the duty of handling the music side of things as a sort-of favor.

I am a member of BMI (and have been for years), and the company is unaffiliated. My intention is to give them 100% publishing rights, and myself 100% writer's rights. I understand that in order to do this, the company will also need to be affiliated with BMI. We also hope to eventually license the music that I (or other composers) write for them to other filmmakers, etc.

So here are a few questions that I have (there will be many more I'm sure!):

1. When someone licenses a song directly from its publisher, does the composer get paid royalties through his/her PRO?
2. Generally, how do the publisher and writer split the licensing fee? I know this can fluctuate greatly based on the contract, but I'm just curious what it usually is.
3. Can an existing LLC also be a publishing company, or will a new company have to be created? For example, if "Film Production LLC" is already a legal company, can they simply affiliate with BMI and be done with it, or will they need to setup a "division" of their company through the city in order to register themselves (that division specifically) as a publishing company?
4. Can a single publishing company be affiliated with multiple PRO's, or do they have to create a separate company for each one?
5. If I haven't officially copyrighted any of my music, should I do so through the copyright office? Who should technically hold that copyright, me or the publishing company?
6. If I want to start licensing my own music (unassociated with the film production company), will I need to register myself as a publishing company?

Okay that's all I have for now, but I'm sure 1,000 more will come up. Thanks!

[Kubi]

Quick answers, as far as I *think* I have then. Now I'm just a lowly musician, as are most of us here, I'd say - so this is something for you to check with more reliable sources than online tech boards...

1. It sound like when you say "license" you mean "to picture", correct? In that case, license fee and Performing Rights organizations (PROs) are unrelated. PROs pay you for blanket-licensed performances (for your performance rights), folks wanting to use your music pay you a license fee directly for the right to do so, for your sync rights (and master use if you made the recording.) So, say they license your music for a TV movie, but the film never ends up on TV - you get your license fee (directly), but no PRO money. Or, say, you give them the license for free and the film plays on network television - you get no license fee, but you still get PRO money. Now remember, the kind of licensing you seem to be talking about has to cover rights inherent in both the composition and the recording. Those are known as sync rights (to be able to synchronize the composition to picture) and master use (to be able to use that particular recording of the composition.) PROs only deal with the performance rights inherent in the composition, they don't care about any other rights inherent in the composition, and not at all about the recording.

2. In the US, generally 50-50, but of course subject to agreement. (Now, in the USA, Performance Rights Royalties are ALWAYS 50-50. If you negotiate a cut of the publisher's share to keep for yourself, you have to have your own publishing company in order to realize that cut. PROs will only split the cake 50/50 between the writer's side and the publisher's side, but within those you can divide each half between as many parties as are listed on the cue sheet, according to percentages you can specify. Now everyone can be a publisher; but in theory everyone on the writer's side has to be an actual writer, but then Haim Saban apparently wrote a ••••-ton of music - NOT. So that doesn't seem to matter as much as it probably should... I digress.)

3. AFAIK, they can simply invent a name. It's up to their accounting and their legal department to figure out if it's better for the company to have a separate entity of any kind, vs. just a dba. AFAIK, PROs don't care. They just have to be able to make out a check to that name. Banks and the IRS probably care more?

4. Not under the same name, I don't think. Need to create DBAs or similar. Every publishing company name is unique to one PRO only, AFAIK.

5. Traditionally it's the publisher that holds and registers the copyright. But there are a million ways that cat gets skinned, depending on the agreement (i.e. you could have an administration deal.)

6. Yes, in order to collect PRO money for the publishing share, in addition to the writer's share. PROs don't care one bit about your licensing deals themselves, but since most licensing uses are linked to performances of some sort, the practical answer is pretty much yes.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

If you've been working for these guys and they've been paying you and using the music they might claim your music was a "work made for hire" and claim total ownership.

You should ABSOLUTELY consult with a good intellectual property attorney, IMO.

[mikehalloran]

Your lack of knowledge of the music industry and how it works will cost you a lot of money. This is not a criticism but a statement of fact.

I could write reams on the subject - and have - but you need an in-depth education and, since you are already working, you needed it last week.

I've been asking around for recommendations for a good comprehensive book on how publishing and licensing work in this new age when all of the traditional models have gone to hell (not that it's always a bad thing). The titles I know are way out of date.

Anyone have any good suggestions nowadays?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Even with all the books, there are ins and outs of publishing and cue sheets and sub-publishing and PROs that aren't in ANY book. Having been a BMI member since 1977, I thought I saw it all, but no! I'm still learning.

As far as books go, the last good one I read about the subject was Donald Passman's.

[mikehalloran]

Even with all the books, there are ins and outs of publishing and cue sheets and sub-publishing and PROs that aren't in ANY book. Having been a BMI member since 1977, I thought I saw it all, but no! I'm still learning.

As far as books go, the last good one I read about the subject was Donald Passman's.

Even being in the thick of ASCAP as I am, I too feel overwhelmed by it all.

The last good book I read on the subject was Musician's Business & Legal Guide by Mark Halloran (no relation that either of us know of) but it's not been updated since 2007. A lot has happened since then such as the DMCA, YouTube and the HFA, Sony/EMI, Sound Exchange... The list goes on.

http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Busines ... 0132281279

The Donald Passman 8th edition pub. in 2012. All You Need to Know About the Music Business looks interesting. I'll have to check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-About-M ... ld+passman

[mikehalloran]

The Donald Passman 8th edition pub. in 2012. All You Need to Know About the Music Business looks interesting. I'll have to check it out.

I just got through reading the 8th Edition. The music industry has probably changed a few times since December when it was published but it is as up to date as anything can be in print.

If you are in the music business, this needs to be in your library.

http://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-About-M ... ld+passman

[MIDI Life Crisis]

You wouldn't be biased, now, would you?

[James Steele]

You wouldn't be biased, now, would you?

It's Mark, and he's not related.

[mikehalloran]

Yikes!

When I first posted, the link didn't work so I went back and tried again and hit the wrong one. I meant to link the Don Passman, the one that is in its 8th edition.

I went back and re-edited the link and here it is again:

http://www.amazon.com/Need-Know-About-M ... ld+passman

Mark's book was good last I read but a 2007 last edition is way, way out of date. Perhaps the next revision if there is one. We are aware of each other having had our bylines mixed when we wrote for the same magazine but as far as we know, we are not related.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

+1 on Passman 's book.