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Songwriting
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 252
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 252 |
I know many of you have had experience in this area so I wanted to check in for you advice on which Publishing company to select. I know there is CDBaby and Tunecore as the two most branded but there are also others. I did put in an application with BMI as well, compared to ASCAP, and still waiting on their response.
As I get more serious about developing lyrics and music I figured I would start out right. So far the advice on the internet seems to be:
1. Copyright your material (I did that for the song Love You More)
2. Sign up with one of the PROs (BMI, ASCAP)
3. Pick a publishing company (Tunecore, CDBaby, others)
4. Sign up with soundexchange.com
Let me know your thoughts and if I am forgetting anything. I will most likely never be the vocalist if that makes any difference.
Bob
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Songwriting
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Joined: Apr 2010
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“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
― Hunter S. Thompson
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Songwriting
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,530
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Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!
Awesome.
Was he on acid and chasing it with embalming fluid when he wrote that???
Any chance??
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2013
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Bob P., best thing to do is a search in these forums for ASCAP or BMI. There's a lot of posts discussing the very same points you ask about. No need to reinvent the wheel. 
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Songwriting
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 11,000
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 11,000 |
I know many of you have had experience in this area so I wanted to check in for you advice on which Publishing company to select. I know there is CDBaby and Tunecore as the two most branded but there are also others. I did put in an application with BMI as well, compared to ASCAP, and still waiting on their response.
As I get more serious about developing lyrics and music I figured I would start out right. So far the advice on the internet seems to be:
1. Copyright your material (I did that for the song Love You More)
2. Sign up with one of the PROs (BMI, ASCAP)
3. Pick a publishing company (Tunecore, CDBaby, others)
4. Sign up with soundexchange.com
Let me know your thoughts and if I am forgetting anything. I will most likely never be the vocalist if that makes any difference.
Bob
1. Nope. I don't copyright my tunes. ** 2. Yep. Pick one and sign up as a writer. 3. Are you self publishing? ** 4. I recon you can if you want. ** depends on what you want to accomplish. On copyright and publishing (1&3) Lets define this word publishing a bit as it applies to music. It is the act of making your music available commercially, in it's most basic sense. A publishing company is in the business of listening to your music, signing it or accepting it into their catalog if they think it meets their minimum requirements for quality and usability, and connecting with their clients in the business and plugging your music to them for their projects. They also handle the paperwork including registering that song with your PRO, in your account. You can do it yourself....as in self-publishing, and then you are the one doing the footwork and paying the costs. You have to put the music out there, get it into the hands of the end users and consumers, and foot the marketing costs to do so. You also have to pay the copyright fees on every song you plug in this manner. The other option, and the one I use, is: I don't copyright anything. I have a number of publishers and music libraries that I work with. I write the music, and send it to them. They put it in their catalogs and handle the publishing end and deal with the copyright. If you sign a song to a publisher under what is called an "exclusive" contract, the publisher is going to copyright the song in their name anyway. You essentially sign it away to them. They take a percentage... normally 50% for providing their services including plugging it to artists and other commercial music users.... (film & TV) I have gotten BMI royalty checks from using this method. Reason I don't copyright my songs: No one is out there wanting to steal my songs. As hard as it is to simply get someone to listen to a song, nope.... it's not something that keeps me awake at night. Also... if a publisher likes the song, they will want a contract from you and they will end up registering it in their publishing company's name anyway. If you have registered it already, it's more work for them to transfer that into their account. In film and TV, unless the song is a featured song in a TV show or movie verses just being a fill for a few seconds, none of that music gets copyrighted by anyone other than the copyright on the TV show or film. Listen to a TV show and count the musical fills. Anything from 3 seconds to 20 seconds... there are dozens of them in any given show. They are not copyrighted and the writers don't get their names in the credits. BUT... we do get a quarterly check from BMI ( in my case). No one has ever stolen my 8 second fills. Any time you upload a file to a computer server and even when you create a file, the file gets date stamped. So that is a non-official form of copyright establishing a date of creation. Of course... this is only my personal point of view. I learned this from songwriters who do this for a living. Other folks have other thoughts and ways of doing things.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 01/08/19 04:47 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 252
Apprentice
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OP
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 252 |
Thanks. I guess I used the word publisher wrong here and meant distributor? When referring to cdbaby and Tunecore?
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Songwriting
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 13,010
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Regarding your #3 - "3. Pick a publishing company (Tunecore, CDBaby, others)"
I would call those "distribution sites". Of the points you listed, it is the one that will matter most to you - because it is where people will find your music and where you will get paid - unless you have your music in a library (which you will need to go down that path yourself to try to get them placed - it is not hard) OR you have your songs published by legitimate Publishers (which is VERY hard and an option that very few people will ever experience).
I recommend CDBaby (others might recommend sites they have used). For a small fee ($49 last I knew), you can upload an album (or CD - whatever you want to call it) and THEY will distribute it to all of the streaming services. They put it on iTunes and Amazon for sale. And THEN they track all of the activity. And pay you if that activity amounts to anything - which it can if you get downloads for an album. The streaming end of things is so very small, it takes HUGE amounts to add up to pennies. (I have pages and pages of streams that do not add up to enough to trigger a payment - but it is cool to see that your songs are being streamed all over the world). Janice & Bud get enough streams and downloads that they get payments now and again...
Create an album and upload it to CDBaby. And then see what happens. It's the best learning experience for that side of things.
You can also try some of the songs sites - like Songtradr - though as far as I know, no one (from here) has made any money there...
Your other 3 points hardly matter in today's music world.
I won't bother with the explanations of why - most people need to find that out for themselves... (you would actually need to a song on the radio or a major release record for that to matter)
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
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Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
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Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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