Music Business Handbook and Career Guide - 11th Edition (Songwriting)

Professional
Songwriting
Chapter Five
Start Thinking . . .
1. So you’ve just written what you consider to

be a song with hit potential. How do you go
about getting it published?
2. What makes a “successful” song?
Music Business Handbook and Career

Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
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Chapter Goals
• Define the songwriter’s market.
• Understand the events usually necessary for a good song to achieve success in the
marketplace.
• Identify a songwriter’s sources for potential income.
• Discover a writer’s publishing options.
• Learn how to evaluate publishers’ competence and integrity.
• Discover how an unknown songwriter might break in and establish a professional

career.
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The Market
• The Good News:

 “Songs are the fuel that
powers the global music
business machine, and
frequent fill-ups are
essential.”
 New media have expanded
new product’s
o audience
o commercial demand

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The Market
• The Bad News:

 only fraction of songwriters find acceptance
 even fewer will build sustainable careers
• Why?
 lack of ability
 lack of desire or willingness to work hard
 oversaturated market
So how do you stand out amid the clutter?

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Predictors of Success
• A good song doesn’t always mean it’s a hit song:

 A hit song = significant radio airplay, streaming, and
downloads + sales
 A good song = well-crafted music + lyrics
• Song criteria changed since The Beatles. Now

 songs incorporate various styles
 songs straddle multiple genres
 audience tastes are not easily predictable
 trends are born (and die) fast
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• Good songs exhibit the following general

criteria:
1. The song is memorable; it has a hook
2. The song has immediate appeal
3. The lyrics contain an overall theme and employ
vivid phrases or imagery
4. The song is well crafted and exhibits an arc

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• A hit song involves these additional elements

(outside the songwriter’s control):
1. The song gets an appealing initial performance,
hopefully recorded by a well-known performer
2. The record company gets behind the project and
promotes strong airplay
3. The song and the recording suit the taste of the
current market
4. The recording is distributed effectively
throughout the country (and globe)
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The Craft
• How do you learn to write good songs?

 Learn the craft through formal study
 Read “how-to” books
 Pay for private instruction
 Examine the internal workings of 100 leading
standards
 Be open to advice
o Don’t become discouraged
o Don’t take one opinion as gospel
o Listen for recurring patterns of advice
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The Craft: Collaboration
• If you’re a composer: find a lyricist
• If you’re a lyricist: find a composer
• No formula for locating a collaborator:

 Network
 Get the word out
 Contact performance rights organization offices
 Check local clubs
 Place an ad
 Never pay individuals or publishers to collaborate!

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The Craft: Collaboration
• Coauthors must have written agreement

before approaching publishers
 Answer all possible legal questions
 Be warned if there’s no room for compromise with
your “partner”

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The Craft: Copyright Registration
• Some writers only register when song is used

and will collect royalties
• Others register all songs on completion
 only disadvantage = fees
• www.copyright.gov

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The Business of Writing
• Anyone who aspires to a songwriting career

must treat the job as a business
• A writer is only successful if the songs are

exploited
• Promotion requires commitment—time and

effort
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From Tin Pan Alley to the Brill Building . . .
• 1890–1950
 songwriting = 9–5 job
 Tin Pan Alley
• 1950s focused on writing hit songs

 compartmentalized roles
 the Brill Building
• 1960s
 singer/songwriter concept embraced
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. . . to the Home Studio
• Today singer/songwriter = industry mainstay
• Job description highly flexible

 environment
 pace
 promotion

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The Performer’s Dual Role
• Many writers begin as performers, especially in

bands
 particularly true in rock, folk, and country music
 performers make inroads by co-writing with band
members already under label contract
• Where to draw the line between disciplines?

 songwriter showcasing songs
or
 performer first and foremost
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Income Sources
Income From a Recording
• Mechanical royalties
• Performance royalties
• Synchronization fees
• Bottom line for songwriters

 write, then write some more!
 get published regularly

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Income Sources from a Song

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Income Sources
Performance Royalties and New Revenue Streams
• Performance royalties
 for any broadcast or performance
 income can equal or surpass mechanical royalties
 collected by affiliated PRO

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Income Sources From a Song

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Income Sources
Performance Royalties and New Revenue Streams
• Other income sources

 sheet music
 MP3 downloads
 video downloads
 satellite radio
 Internet radio
 digital subscription services
 cell phone ringtones
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Publishing Options
1. Writer can sign contract with established publisher
2. Writer can negotiate copublishing contract with established publisher
3. Writer can set up publishing company
4. Personal manager or attorney may administer writer’s publishing company
5. Writer can enter into partnership or set up corporation
6. Writer can take staff job at established publisher

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Publishing Options
Staff Writers—A Rarity
• Full-time staff earnings are treated as

advanced royalty payments
• Work made for hire
• Song doctors

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Publishing Options
Label Affiliated Deals
• Singer/songwriter = attractive prospect to

publisher
 artist earns writer royalties + artist royalties
 publisher need not convince recording artist to use
songs
 label may pressure writer to sign away publishing
rights in order to get recording contract
• Singer/songwriter does have royalty downside

 controlled composition clause
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Evaluating Publishers
• Writer not signed to record label publishing

arm has two options:
 Set up a publishing company
 Sign with independent publisher
• Cautiously evaluate publisher offers

 Are they really a publisher or are they simply
functioning as a collection agency?
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Evaluating Publishers
1. What is the publisher’s reputation for integrity?
2. How good is the firm’s leadership?
3. What is the firm’s long-term track record?
4. Is the company making money?
5. Who in the company cares about you and your material?
6. What are the firm’s resources?
7. If your songs hit, does the company understand the print business and licensing options?
8. If your songs hit, does the company understand licensing abroad?
9. If your songs hit, does the company have experience in negotiating the whole range of digital uses?

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The Songwriters Guild of America
The Songwriters Guild of America Contract
• Weighted heavily in favor of the songwriter
• Many publishers refuse to sign it, but it is good to use as

negotiating tool

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1. The writer warrants that the composition is the writer’s “sole, exclusive, and original work.”
2. If the publisher agrees to pay an advance, it will be provided in the agreement, and the
advance will be recoupable from the writer’s royalties.
3. Royalties on printed editions are not less than 10% of the wholesale selling price on the
first 200,000 copies sold in the United States and Canada, not less than 12% on sales in
excess of 200,000, and not less than 15% on sales in excess of 500,000.
4. The publisher pays the writer 50% of the publisher’s receipts from all sources outside the
United States and Canada.

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5. The writer shares 50-50 with the publisher on income derived from all other sources. The
publisher may discount any payments made to a collecting agent.
6. The publisher must obtain the writer’s consent before granting use of the composition in a
movie, broadcast commercial, or dramatico-musical presentation or for any other new use.
7. The writer’s royalties must be held in trust by the publisher and not used for any other
purpose.
8. If the publisher fails to get a commercial recording of the composition within a specific
number of months, the contract normally terminates. But the publisher may pay an
additional specified sum to extend its window to secure a commercial recording.

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9. The publisher must print and offer for sale regular piano copies or provide such copies or
leadsheets to the writer.
10. The publisher must pay the writer 50% of foreign advances received by the publisher on a
single song or a group of songs by the same writer.
11. Unless terminated earlier under other provisions, the term (length) of the contract may be
for any number of years but not more than “35 years from the date of first release of a
commercial sound recording of the composition.”
12. When the contract terminates, the publisher revests in the writer all rights in the
composition.

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13. The publisher supplies a royalty statement at least every 6 months. The writer may demand
an audit of the publisher’s books on supplying appropriate notice.
14. All disputes between the parties are to be submitted to arbitration under the rules of the
American Arbitration Association.
15. The publisher may not assign (transfer or sell to another publisher) the contract without
the writer’s consent (except on the sale of a full catalog).
16. The writer and publisher must agree on future use—the exploitation of a composition in a
manner not yet contemplated and therefore not specifically covered by the contract.

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Contract Reassignment or Default
• Reassignment common
 sale of first publisher’s catalog
 merger
 assigned to subsidiary or affiliated company
 writer must demand written statement of transfer
of obligations

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• Default could be for following reasons:

 Publisher’s inability to get the song recorded
 The royalty statements are incorrect or
incomplete
 Publisher can’t come up with royalty payments
when they are due
 Publisher becomes overburdened working on
other properties
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• Writer’s options after chance for cure:

 Arbitration
 Break contract unilaterally
 File lawsuit asking to be released from contract
 Send letter of termination to publisher

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Breaking In
Seven Steps to Success
1. Find out if the talent is there
2. Know your craft
3. Have professional leadsheets, lyric sheets, demos
4. Focus promotion efforts on specific market
5. Promote songs in own locale
6. Promote through networking
7. Be relentless
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Breaking In
Demonstration Recordings
• Demo = calling card
• Choose five best songs
• Vocals must be heard above music
• Piano or guitar = minimum accompaniment
• Well labeled and all information included
• Demos may be recorded again once the writer further along in the publishing
process
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Breaking In
Local Promotion
• Start with professional performers in your area
• Contact local radio station (for feedback only)
• Post your music on social networking sites
• Meet with traveling performers
• Don’t rule out small publishers
• Contact local ad agencies

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Breaking In
Promotion by Mail and E-Mail
• Study record charts to find publishers

handling your style of music
 Get contact details
 Verify contact person by phone
 Write letter/e-mail requesting permission to send
demo

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Breaking In
Direct Contact With Publishers
• Visit New York, Nashville, Los Angeles
• Make an appointment
• If you are granted a meeting, write a thank-

you note afterward
Publishing Partners
Breaking In
Network, Network, and Then Network Some More
• Industry connections and contacts are key
• Contact local ASCAP or BMI rep
• Attend workshops
• Enter contests
• Move to songwriting hub city

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For Further Thought . . .
1. Why would you bother to have a written agreement with a

songwriting collaborator if you’ve never published a song?
2. What added opportunities for marketing and promotion does

today’s songwriter enjoy? How could these best be exploited?
3. How should a songwriter react to a publisher’s proposal to deliver

a work-for-hire?

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Professional

1. So you’ve just written what you consider to

2. What makes a “successful” song?

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Define the songwriter’s market.

• Identify a songwriter’s sources for potential income.

• Discover a writer’s publishing options.

• Learn how to evaluate publishers’ competence and integrity.

• Discover how an unknown songwriter might break in and establish a professional

• The Good News:

Music Business Handbook and Career

• The Bad News:

So how do you stand out amid the clutter?

• A good song doesn’t always mean it’s a hit song:

• Song criteria changed since The Beatles. Now

• Good songs exhibit the following general

Music Business Handbook and Career

• A hit song involves these additional elements

• How do you learn to write good songs?

• If you’re a composer: find a lyricist

• If you’re a lyricist: find a composer

• No formula for locating a collaborator:

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Coauthors must have written agreement

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Some writers only register when song is used

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Anyone who aspires to a songwriting career

• A writer is only successful if the songs are

• Promotion requires commitment—time and

• 1950s focused on writing hit songs

• Today singer/songwriter = industry mainstay

• Job description highly flexible

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Many writers begin as performers, especially in

• Where to draw the line between disciplines?

• Bottom line for songwriters

Music Business Handbook and Career

Music Business Handbook and Career

Music Business Handbook and Career

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Other income sources

1. Writer can sign contract with established publisher

2. Writer can negotiate copublishing contract with established publisher

3. Writer can set up publishing company

4. Personal manager or attorney may administer writer’s publishing company

5. Writer can enter into partnership or set up corporation

6. Writer can take staff job at established publisher

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Full-time staff earnings are treated as

• Work made for hire

Music Business Handbook and Career

• Singer/songwriter = attractive prospect to

• Singer/songwriter does have royalty downside

• Writer not signed to record label publishing

• Cautiously evaluate publisher offers

1. What is the publisher’s reputation for integrity?

2. How good is the firm’s leadership?

3. What is the firm’s long-term track record?

4. Is the company making money?

5. Who in the company cares about you and your material?

6. What are the firm’s resources?

8. If your songs hit, does the company understand licensing abroad?

Music Business Handbook and Career