Music Publishing: What To Do Before You Release a Song 

Once the song is finished, a lot of songwriters think the hard part is over. It isn’t. Before you release it, there are a few important things you need to do to make sure your song is properly registered and that you actually get paid.

So You Wrote and Recorded a Song: Now What?!

CMG Music's, Hannah Madison Taylor created this check list for you!  Hannah is currently CMG Senior Manager of Label Content and Publishing Conflicts and is a former ProMedia Training  alumni in Certified Pro Tools for music production and music supervision.

We’re going to assume you’ve already copyrighted your work and also worked out your writing splits with any co-writers or producers involved. Once that part is done, the next step is making sure the song is registered with the right organizations.

If you’re signed to a publisher or label, you’d usually send your label rep the splits, credits, and final sound recording, and they would handle these registrations for you.

But as an independent artist, you need to make sure you either do this yourself or confirm your distributer is doing this for you. Either way, you need to understand it.

If you don't understand copyright, then we will cover this in another article.

(Or you can attempt go to the US Copyright Office website and copyright your song by uploading your audio file and "Registering your Work" by paying a small fee with the appropriate form).

Step 1: PRO Registration

What’s a PRO? A PRO, or Performing Rights Organization, collects performance royalties for songwriters, composers, and publishers when music is played publicly. That includes radio, television, streaming, live venues, bars, restaurants, retail stores, and more.

This is one of the biggest areas where writers leave money on the table, either because they wait too long or because they never register at all.

In the U.S., songwriters can register with:
BMI, ASCAP, SESAC

In Canada: SOCAN
In the UK: PRS
In France: SACEM
In Germany: GEMA

Step 2: Register with The MLC

You also need to register your song(s) with The MLC, which stands for The Mechanical Licensing Collective.

This one matters more than a lot of writers realize. The MLC collects and distributes U.S. digital mechanical royalties, which are generated when songs are streamed or downloaded.

If you’re independent or self-administered, this is especially important, because it helps make sure you’re actually getting the money you’re owed from digital platforms.

The MLC was created under the Music Modernization Act and handles blanket licensing for major streaming services. That means it helps collect royalties from places like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others.

The simple version is this: if you don’t register, you can miss money. And after all the time and money that goes into writing and releasing music, that’s the last thing you want.

Best of all, it’s free to register.

Step 3: Register the Sound Recording with SoundExchange

The last thing you want to do before release is register the sound recording itself with SoundExchange.

SoundExchange is a non-profit organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings. It pays artists and master rights owners when music is played on non-interactive digital services such as SiriusXM, Pandora, and cable music channels.

Here’s what SoundExchange does:

• Purpose: It manages statutory licenses for sound recordings and collects over $1 billion annually.
  
  
• Who gets paid: Royalties are paid to featured artists (45%), sound recording copyright owners or labels (50%), and a fund for non-featured musicians and vocalists (5%).
  
  
• Scope: It covers digital, non-interactive, audio-only uses. It does not collect for interactive streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, and it does not collect public performance royalties for live shows or traditional radio.
  
  
• Registration: Artists have to register directly with SoundExchange in order to collect.
  
  
• International reach: It also collects neighboring rights royalties through partner agreements in more than 50 countries.
  
  

None of this is the glamorous side of releasing music, but it’s the part that makes sure your work is protected and your royalties don’t get missed. If you put in the effort to write, record, and release a song, take the extra time to make sure the registrations are done too.

Author: 

Hannah Madison Taylor
CMG Music - Senior Manager
 Record Label Content and Conflicts Protection
     .....and alumni of "ProMedia Training - Pro Tools Certification"

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