Quote from Tim Myers question?

[stevecollom]

One of the best sessions of the 2012 rally was Tim Myers.
I was left a little confused when reading the notes though. Maybe someone know more and could shed some light. Thanks ahead of time

Here's the quote
"There are two sides to a synch or placement in TV'Film, the master side and the publishing side. Try to own both sides, create your own label entity that you can have projects under, create different publishing entities for different projects"

I'm left a little confused. So if i take his advice i should look into starting my own publishing company (or multiple companies ) so when and if a supe asks if the song has a publisher i can have the choice to say yes or no?

I dont want to be miss out on any $ that could be coming in a deal because of ignorance.

thanks again
Steve

[andygabrys]

uh..... the language of the quote left me a little confused to be honest when I read it on the handout.......

but yeah, that's what I get from it.

own a publishing company cause you can definitely benefit.

there have been a couple of threads lately that talked about backend on commercials - and several opinions on both sides. I have gotten backend on commercials (writer and publisher in my case), I guess Tim Myers does too.

[Casey H]

It's good to have your own publishing entity but a coupla things to keep in mind.

For US writers, with ASCAP, the only way you can collect the publisher's share is by creating your own pub. co. with ASCAP for a fee. With BMI, the writer can collect the publisher's share without creating a pub. co. Contact your PRO for more information.

Keep in mind that, especially for those starting out, the overwhelming majority of film/TV placements are through music libraries and in most cases, they collect 100% of the publisher's share while you collect 100% of the writer's share. So having your own publishing entity has no impact in these situations.

And, since there may be fees involved in setting up a publishing entity, it's OK to wait until you have a situation that would really require it to do so. PRO's look back at least 6 months regarding placements so you wouldn't lose anything if let's say, you suddenly got interest directly from a music sup.

Casey

PS Talking film/TV only here...

[Kolstad]

I read the Tim Myers quote as a good ideal to work for.
Starting out, like Casey writes, we're dependent on subpublishers who get's a cut on the publishing (if not all).
When the credentials column are fat, and there's a demand coming directly from the relationships, it could sound like a natural development to rein in the publishing again..
I see giving away publishing as the price you pay to get into business.. sort of like a market entry fee, but then again, if you land a solid deal commercial tomorrow, reasoning could change fast

[mazz]

There's no reason why one could not have a publishing company ready to go if a deal came through on something that you owned both sides on. It's not that expensive to set up. If you need a bank account you can put on the account "joe smith DBA smitty music". Having a publishing company doesn't mean you have to buy a printing press, it's just a way to be ready to collect publishing royalties if the opportunity arises. It simply exists on "paper".

Maybe I'm lazy but I'd rather not scramble around trying to put a publishing company together at the last minute.

I don't know about having separate publishing entities for different projects, that seems a bit excessive but I'm not in a position to consider that step right now, maybe it would make sense when the boxes of Benjamins start to roll in for realzies.........

[remmet]

I also wonder about the idea of having more than one publishing company. One of my co-writers and I are considering entering into an agreement in which we'd be given the publishing rights for a song we wrote. I'm curious how people handle publishing in situations involving collaborations. It seems like forming a joint publishing company just for collaborations could get cumbersome if you do collabs with many different writers.

Richard

[mazz]

I would think you'd treat the publishing side just like you'd treat the writers side, each publishing company gets 50% of the publishing on the cue sheet and at the pro (this is for two collaborators if course!). The only reason to do a joint publishing venture would be if you were going into the publishing business.

[andygabrys]

The only reason to do a joint publishing venture would be if you were going into the publishing business.

that makes sense.

[remmet]

If I'm reading the following excerpt from a BMI FAQ correctly, you don't need to form a publishing co to collect publishing royalties.

How does BMI split royalties between songwriters and publishers?
One half is designated for the songwriter(s), and the other half is designated for the publisher(s) or copyright holder(s). Learn more about how BMI pays royalties. If you do not have a publisher, you will also receive the publisher’s share as a writer.


Do I need to start a publishing company?
If you are just getting started, you will not need to set up a publishing company. Creating a publishing company will not mean that you receive more royalties. You are not leaving any royalties on the table.

[mazz]

I've heard that's true of BMI. It is not true for ASCAP, however.