Self-Publishing

[tedsingingfox]

Good to know.So, Matt, does the same apply to BMI? (basically...?)

[matto]

Dec 18, 2008, 2:39pm, tedsingingfox wrote:So, Matt, does the same apply to BMI? (basically...?)Everything except that you don't have to be registered as a publisher with BMI to collect the publisher's share.BMI considers a song to be 200%. Normally, 100% is the writer's share, and the other 100% is the publisher's. The total publisher's share can never be more than 100%, however the total writer's can be anything from 100 up to 200% if there's no publisher attached.

[hazineju]

Dec 18, 2008, 11:13am, matto wrote:Yes you would, but remember that there is a delay of approx 6 months or more between a broadcast, and ASCAP payment for that broadcast. So if you do get airplay, there would be ample time to register as a publisher, before those royalties become due.Also, technically speaking the songs on your CD are "published" as soon as you "release them to the public", so to speak. The fact that you don't have a publishing company registered with ASCAP doesn't mean you don't own those publishing rights (until/unless you tranfer them to somebody else).You just cannot collect publisher's performance royalties from ASCAP, unless you become a publisher member.Make sense?it does make sense, and thanks for explaining it in a way that is easy to make sense of also good to know that i have lots of time to register as a publisher...

[mojobone]

Self publishing isn't as difficult as some might expect; the hardest part is coming up with a name, and registering that with the local authorities without stepping on any international toes, because there's no telling where a given song might end up.

[elser]

If you're with ASCAP I'd recommend setting up your publishing side right away. It takes awhile, at least it did in 1997. I missed out on about $2000 in royalties on my first project because I didn't have my publishing entity setup and somehow the film producer ended up with it. Still burns.

[suzdoyle]

The most important thing is to remember that publishing is about the permissions and licensing aspects of a song (the biz side, if you will). It's pretty straight forward to register as both a publisher and a writer (most of it can be done online) . . . Suz

[guest4254]

I got my first royalty check a couple of months ago from ASCAP. It was for internet play of a song from back in 2007. I didn't set up a self-publishing Co. until May of this year. Will ASCAP go back and pay me for the publishing of this song, retro-active?Kind of wish I joined BMI instead...seems like a lot less hassle!

[stevebarden]

Dec 19, 2008, 9:15pm, guest4254 wrote:I got my first royalty check a couple of months ago from ASCAP. It was for internet play of a song from back in 2007. I didn't set up a self-publishing Co. until May of this year. Will ASCAP go back and pay me for the publishing of this song, retro-active?Kind of wish I joined BMI instead...seems like a lot less hassle!Call member services. As long as no other publisher was assigned the rights then I think you have 18 months to report discrepancies and get it assigned to your new publishing company.Good luck.Steve

[mazz]

With ASCAP, to sign up as a publisher, you need a business name and you have to send it to them (actually your first 3 choices, if I remember) so they can be sure that no one else is using it. Then you need to set up a bank account in that name so when you do get checks from them as a publisher, you'll be able to deposit them, since they'll be made out to your publishing company name. It's just part of the game.Mazz

[mojobone]

In order to get a bank account in that name, you'll generally be required to file a DBA (doing business as) and most likely apply for a business license in your county of residence. You might also need a federal tax ID, though I think that can vary from state to state.