Music Publishing 101

Syllabus

Lesson 1: The Fundamentals: "What Is Music Publishing, Anyway?"

• Greet and Meet
• What is Music Publishing?
• The Five Functions of a Music Publisher
• Examples of the Functions
• A Quick History of Music Publishing
• Quiz: Who Ya Gonna Call?
• Assignment: Market Leaders
• The Writer/Publisher Relationship
• Assignment: Make a Deal

Lesson 2: The Financial Structure of Music Publishing: "Show Me the Money"

• Where the Income Stream Begins…
• Assignment: Income Sources of One Song
• Where the Income Stream Leads
• Assignment: Royalties of One Song
• Where the Income Stream Ends
• Assignment: Distribute the Money
• Conclusion: The Big Payback
• Assignment: Advance

Lesson 3: Understanding the Catalog: "It All Starts with the Song"

• "Do You Own the Songs?"
• Negotiation
• Assignment: Song Split Case Study
• Do You Still Own the Songs?
• Sampling
• Interpolations
• Translations and Adaptations
• "Can You Find the Songs?"
• Assignment: Post Two Song Submittal Forms
• "Are These Songs Any Good?"
• Assignment: Assess One Song in Your Catalog
• Assignment: Billboard Predictions

Lesson 4: The Basics of Business: "Start Me Up"

• Choosing a Business Structure: "What Am I?"
• Assignment: Select a Business Structure
• Choosing the Office: "Where Am I?"
• Gearing Up: What Do I Need? (Page 2)
• Designing a Web Site: What Do I Do?
• Discussion: Choose Your Office
• Information Is Power: What Do I Know?
• Discussion: Research the Resources
• Making a Plan
• Where Are You Going?
• One Final Caveat
• Assignment: Book Quiz

Lesson 5: Setting Up Systems

• Managing the Music
• Digital Archiving
• Common Concerns
• Distributing the Music
• Assignment: Develop an Archiving System
• Managing the Administration
• Accounting Systems
• Assignment: Financial Management Case Study
• Conclusion: The First Line of Defense
• Assignment: Copyright Dispute
• One Last Thing...
• Dan Coleman Interview Part 2

Lesson 6: Building a Team : "You Got to Have Friends"

• "Get Me My Lawyer!!"
• Payment Structures
• Finding a Lawyer
• Assignment: Find Three Lawyers
• A Writer's Best Friend
• PROs Continued
• A Global Perspective
• Assignment: Find Your Friends
• Interns
• Developing Your Contacts: Music Conventions
• Awards Shows
• Songwriter and Music Business Organizations
• Assignment: Choose Your Smooze Fests
• Assignment: Let's Count Our Friends
• Peter Bliss Interview

Lesson 7: The Art of Exploitation: "Getting the Music Right"

• The Constructive Critic
• The Song Quality Checklist
• Constructive Criticism
• Assignment: Post One Song from Your Catalog
• "Hits Only, Please"
• Discussion: Reassess the Song's Hit Potential
• "Demo Do's and Don'ts"
• What Works and What Doesn't
• Redemoing
• Assignment: Redemo a Song
• "It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right"
• Challenges
• The Wise Weasel's Credo
• Discussion: Potential Collaborations

Lesson 8: The Art of Exploitation: Getting the Music Out

• Looking at the Landscape
• Assignment: Identify Your Market Focus
• Who's Looking?
• Who Are These People and How Do I Get to Them?
• Contacting People in the Industry
• Assignment: Identify the Personal Contacts in Your Market
• Here Comes the Pitch…
• Discussion: Song Pitch
• Helping Hands
• Conclusion: "The Soft Sell"

Lesson 9: The Art of Exploitation: Moving the Writer Up

• Getting the Writers In: The Art of Acquisition
• A Quick Reminder: What You're Acquiring and Deal Structures
• Deal Duration and Money
• Contracts
• Assignment: Identify Two Songwriters
• The Hype Machine
• Four Rules of Star-Making: Rule #1
• Four Rules of Star-Making: Rule #2
• Four Rules of Star-Making: Rule #3
• Assignment: Put Together Your Publicity Strategy
• Timing Is Everything: Rule #4
• Assignment: Identify One Publicity Opportunity in the Next Three Months
• Friends in High Places
• Discussion: Collaboration
• A Moment of Inspiration

Lesson 10: Getting the Money In: "You Get What You Give"

• Confronting Contemporary Pressures
• Knowing What You Have
• Duration
• Territory and Alterations/Adaptations
• Special Uses and First Use
• Assignment: Define Publisher's Rights in License
• "License Please"
• Mechanical License
• Synchronization License
• Special Uses
• Assignment: Identify Licenses for Various Uses
• The Bones of Contention: Mechanical Licenses
• The Bones of Contention: Sync Licenses
• The Bones of Contention: 360 Deals
• Assignment: Find the Most Profitable Writer
• You Get What You Bargain For
• Use the Tools Available

Lesson 11: Getting the Money In: "Help Is on the Way"

• The Mechanics of Mechanical Collection
• Collection Option #1: Going Direct
• Collection Option #2: Going with the Big Guys
• Collection Option #3: Going With the Not-So-Big Guys
• A Quick Diversion on Dealing with Digital
• Collection Option #4: Going With An Administrator
• Assignment: Collecting Your Mechanical Income
• "I Hear Music in the Air"
• Assignment: Choose a Performing Rights Society
• "All Around the World"
• Stick with Who You Know.
• One size (large) fits all.
• Go with the locals.
• Buffet or à la carte?
• Assignment: Find an Approach for International Earnings
• Conclusion: Subpublishers

Lesson 12: Protect and Defend: Protecting Your Copyrights

• Understanding the Threat: "Where Evil Lurks . . . "
• Protecting the Jewels: "Lines of Defense"
• Assignment: One Last Pop Quiz
• The Circle of Friends
• The Three Secret Weapons of Negotiating: 1. Knowledge
• The Three Secret Weapons of Negotiating: 2. Patience
• The Three Secret Weapons of Negotiating: 3. Flexibility
• The Outer Limits
• Stop, Look, and Listen
• Assignment: Negotiation
• The Dangerous New Frontier
• The Death of Mechanical Income
• The Folly of Free
• The End of the World As We Know It
• Get On Board
• Get Your Share
• Get Into Greener Pastures
• Assignment: Identifying Potential Danger
• Registering Your Copyrights: The Claim to Fame
• What's the Point?
• Registering Online
• The Berne Convention
• Exercise: Register Songs in the Copyright Office