Priceless Music Consultancy

This de-risks the investment for a future publisher considering giving you a large advance. They can see a tangible earnings history, making them more confident in your catalogue’s value. An admin deal helps you: ✅ Understand the true earning power of your music. ✅ Identify which songs are performing best and where. ✅ Build a concrete financial track record. ✅ Negotiate future publishing deals (or even record deals or brand partnerships) from a position of STRENGTH, backed by real data. So, even if the initial money isn't a huge advance, the information and proof of earnings you gain from a good admin deal can be incredibly valuable for your long-term career and help you secure those bigger deals down the line. It’s about building your case! But you must also do the work! #MBSWithGT

This means that for every stream, download, radio play, TV use, etc, anywhere in the world, they are chasing down the royalties. You then receive regular, detailed statements showing exactly what your songs earned, where, and how. This creates an official, verified income history for your songs or your entire catalogue. This data is PURE GOLD and can be used strategically. Why? Because when you (or your manager) later approach other publishers for a potentially bigger deal (like a co-publishing deal with a hefty advance), you’re not just saying, "My songs are great." You’re showing verifiable proof that your songs consistently earn an amount of money.

While dreaming of a big advance is a great goal, don't dismiss an Administration (Admin) deal, even if it comes with little or no advance. Here’s why it’s a very strategic move (especially if you are ready to do the work) An Admin deal is your secret weapon for TRACKING YOUR REVENUE & PROVING YOUR WORTH. When you sign an admin deal, the publisher's primary job is to professionally register your songs globally and meticulously collect ALL the income they generate.

Key Differences Summarized: Ownership: Admin = you keep it. Co-pub = you share it. Money: Admin = fee on collection. Co-pub = share of ownership income + often advance. Songs: Admin = often existing catalogue. Co-pub = existing and future songs primarily. Commitment: Admin = less commitment. Co-pub = exclusive commitment for new songs. I've tried to simplify... i hope these help you choose what's right for your career stage. #MBSWithGT

Exclusive Songwriter Agreement (ESA) / Co-Publishing Deal: 🔸 Focus: You (the songwriter) commit to deliver songs written during the term exclusively to this publisher. It’s about future songs, though it might also include some or all of your back catalogue. 🔸 Copyright Ownership: In many cases, the publisher usually becomes a CO-OWNER of the copyrights for the songs covered by the deal (often a 50/50 split of the copyright itself). This means they own a share of your songs, usually for the life of copyright. In many modern-day contracts, the publisher keeps the catalogue until they recoup. These are determined by leverage and negotiation. 🔸 Term: Often longer 🔸 Because they co-own the copyright, the publisher gets a share of the income as an owner. For example, if the copyright is split 50/50, the publisher gets 50% of the "publisher's share" of income. You still get your full "writer's share" (50% of total income) PLUS your share of the publisher's income (e.g., 25% of total income, making it a 75/25 split in your favor on the total income). Once again, ESA may not always mean the publisher has taken over ownership. At Sony, we represent the rights of the writer and composers. We don't own their compositions. 🔸 Advances: Often involve significant advances paid to the songwriter, recoupable against future royalties. 🔸 Creative Services: Usually a strong focus on creative development, A&R, setting up co-writes, and actively "plugging" songs for use by artists, in film/TV, etc.

Administration (Admin) Deal: 🔸 Focus: Primarily on registration and collection of royalties for songs you've already written (your catalogue) and sometimes future songs for a limited time. 🔸 Copyright Ownership: You (the songwriter) typically RETAIN 100% ownership of your copyrights. The publisher doesn't take any ownership. 🔸 Term: Usually shorter (e.g., 1-3 years), with options to renew. 🔸 Income: The admin publisher takes a percentage (e.g., 10-25%) of the gross income they collect as their fee for doing the work. The rest (75-90%) goes to you. 🔸 Advances: Usually, no advance, or a very small one, is paid. 🔸 Creative Services: Traditionally minimal, though some admins offer basic creative support or "song plugging."

Another thing ive seen that causes commotion and confusion is the Admin Deal vs. Co-Publishing/ESA deal argument. Let me not only explain the difference but also show you that you can negotiate and based on your leverage find a situation that works best for you #MBSWithGT

So, if you only see your "writer's share" from your local PRO, you might be missing out on: a) The publisher's share of performance income (which you'd be entitled to if self-published). b) Mechanical royalties (both writer and publisher portions). c) International royalties for both streams. A publisher helps collect ALL of it. #MBSWithGT

If you are a songwriter without a publisher (self-published), you are entitled to both the writer's share AND the publisher's share. However, just being entitled to it doesn't mean it will automatically be paid to you. Your local PRO will usually pay out your writer's share of performance royalties (if you're affiliated). But who is collecting the publisher's share of those performance royalties globally? And who is collecting both shares of your mechanical royalties worldwide? This is a crucial role of a music publisher. They don't just collect "their" share; they are set up to collect the entire publisher's portion of all income streams globally, and they also often ensure the writer's share is being properly administered and collected, especially from overseas.

When a song earns publishing income (both performance and mechanical royalties), that income is traditionally split. The Writer's Share is the portion of publishing income that is designated to go directly to the songwriter(s). For performance royalties, this is typically 50% of the total performance income collected by a PRO. The Publisher's Share is the other portion of that publishing income. For performance royalties, this is the other 50%. For mechanical royalties, there's also a publisher's portion and a writer's portion.

Another one I've heard is when people midtake Writer's Share vs. Publisher's Share – they are NOT the Same! #MBSWithGT A common point of confusion! Many songwriters see royalty statements from their local PRO (Performing Rights Organization) showing a "Writer's Share" and think that's all the publishing money their song has earned. Not quite!

This means your hard-earned royalties will end up being paid out to larger, established players, simply because your information wasn't correctly in the system to claim your share. The money doesn't "pile up" for you; it piles up and then gets given to others. So, "waiting for it to pile up" can mean you're unintentionally letting your earnings slip away permanently, FOREVER. Proactive registration and administration (often via a publisher) is key to avoiding the black box. Don't delay! Don't play with your money #MBSWithGT