What publishers exactly do??

[japaneseprincess]

Hey guys. I was approached by a fairly big (the biggest in the UK) independent publisher who's roster has Oscar winner composers and Mercury prize winners, chart toppers, etc.. etc...

I had pretty bad experience with my last publisher who had few well-known acts siged to them. they were really business minded and they torn me into pieces mentally as they tried to make me work so hard like a dog (i would have to use their studio premises to compose, the director gave me so much pressure. i was also nearly ripped off by a producer who worked with very famous female artists !) i left there and i didn't do music for about one year. after leaving that publisher i worked in Sushi bar, for 6 months where i enjoyed free sushi and felt more human


do i really need a publisher? what do they do? and does it affect to get non-exclusive deals from libraries or do publisher work like libraries and pitch tracks..? also what they mean by "they will administer my publishing" etc..?

in the past, i had single song assignments for 10 vocal songs and tracks from the last publisher, one of the songs was interested by a major label but mentally i suffered so much, i didnt go back to finish off the song. i ditched all the songs i had contracts, started on my own after finding Taxi...

[fusilierb]

I wish I had a good answer for you. I'll be watching this post for others responses. Just wanted to say that the free sushi deal sounds epic!
B

[japaneseprincess]

Just wanted to say that the free sushi deal sounds epic!
B

[k o star]

Gr8 topic... looking forward to the answers too..
I just asked a question abt publishing below this thread awhile ago..
There're some good infoS there..

& definite Yes to free sushi deals!!

K

[k o star]

Bringing this one back up..

[orest]

Did you have any signed contracts? What did it say if so?
I would get a lawyer if you got screwed on some songs.

This is the only thing I can think of.

[simonparker]

hey japanese princess-san:

A publisher does what you're doing right now. They take ownership of songs you've written, and songs you will write over a duration of time and they look to get your songs recorded on albums, played on radio, in film/tv, etc. They also administer the legal aspects of your songs such as copyright and collection of royalties. They also will litigate on your behalf if there is a basis for it. Aside from those roles and responsibilities, depending on the publisher, they'll set up co-write opportunities with artists and other songwriters, as well as provide you the opportunity to develop as a writer by providing critiques on how to better yourself. Some publishers will give you and advance and recommend good studios to record your demos. So publisher's do all that, for half of your royalty stream.

With regard to non-exclusive tracks at music libraries, that depends. One of my co-writers is with a large publisher and she does not get much help with regard to libraries. That is, songs prior to her signing on, the publisher didn't get rights to, and they remain in catalog. Songs she writes now are owned by the publisher and they pitch them to film/tv opps. Now I don't know for sure, but I believe she has too much trouble trying to get songs into libraries once she has a publisher administering the tracks. You might want to read up on the contract about this aspect.

So it's really up to you to decide if the publisher is right for your career goals. Keep in mind that the larger the publisher, the larger the catalog they're working with, and the less attention you are given unless you can generate a lot of revenue for them.

[japaneseprincess]

Did you have any signed contracts? What did it say if so?
I would get a lawyer if you got screwed on some songs.

i have signed contracts with the last publisher, all of them were single song assignment. writer(s):publisher =70:30 split of publishing. it was a looong contract with many details.. the reason why left the publisher is that I felt i was taken advantage of. there were many visitors to the studios they run as the studios are mostly hired by major labels. one day i was working on a song on my own, there was a songwriter/producer who liked the sound and wanted to co-write with me. she was visiting the studios and looking for producers to collab, she has worked with well-known pop acts, so the publisher let her meet with all the writers and producers in the studios.

she saw me and asked me if i wana make a track to collab with her. do i did a track in one day and she wrote lyrics and melody, we recorded vocals.. it was quick. you know what happened? this lady tried to run away with this song as one of the major labels wanted to pitch it to their male artist. she didnt sign the contract with the publisher, i had to sign because i was in their studio and wrote something there. she ignored all my phone calls and completely disappeared from my life. the publisher did not help me, being a new writer i had no idea what to do.


all i decided was to start again on my own. i dont care about the songs which were signed to the publisher. i was stuck there until i was rescued by a platinum record producer/mixer who is managed by a top-notch management company (manages producers for madonna, dido, etc..).

he saw me struggling and got me out from there. he scanned thru the contract and told me that he was only a handful of ppl he really "trusts" in this biz. ok, i was just too innocent to face the reality in this biz at that time and i wont blame the publisher 100% for not being helpful with what happened with the stolen song. im still thankful in some ways, met good guys in the studios and learnt so much about production, got to know how brutal this world is. the world that could kill new up-coming writers and composers, producers.

real story, im sure you guys have heard something similar.

sorry, its a long post.

Simon, thanks for ur post. really helpful. i just dont want songs to sit and get lost in big catalogue, id rather have these music placed for film/tv to be heard out there. i still need to take lots of time to see what will be my best option..

[remmet]

Hi Taeko. Like many of us, it sounds like you've had your share of hard knocks on the bumpy music biz road. I hope it's made you stronger, wiser, and more determined than ever. From what I've heard of your work, I have no doubt that you are on your way to much success!

And if you ever come to Portland, Oregon, I'll treat you to a nice sushi dinner.

Richard

[japaneseprincess]

so sweet, Richard.. Im so addicted to Sushi !!! Im planning to travel in the U.S next year for 3 months, to visit all my friends in Philly and Nashvegas etc.. hoping to visit more places but America is huuuge!!


for now, im pretty chilled out and not in a rush to go for a publisher. I want to build friendship with my co-writers and other industry contacts, taking time to find people who i can really trust.