Co-Publishing Contract

Music Business
1

Hi Bruce,
I am a electronic artist from Australia who is 15 years old, I have been approached to possibly enter in to a co-publishing contract from a Label in LA.

I am wondering

  1. What is the benefit of a co-publishing contract and what will it do for me
  2. What is the process for signing, Becuase I am a minor (Parents happy to sign with me) but I have also been told that a judge needs to sign off on a minor in LA

Any help and suggestions are appreciated

Thanks, Sid (Doctor Oscillator)

2

Hi Sidney,
This is a great question. Publishing is very difficult for many people to understand and the choices you make early on are key to building long term value in your career.
Firstly you need to understand the difference between a co-publishing deal and an administration deal.

If you enter into an administration deal you will be the owner of the copyright and you license those songs to an administrator or publisher for a fixed period of time. The terms of the license are negotiable but typically they will take 10-15% of all the income for three years. There may an exception where they get a higher percentage if because of their efforts they procure a sync (music in an advert or Film/TV), or they get your song covered by an artist. If you get an advance against royalties they may also want a higher percentage.
A co-pub deal is a term primarily used in the US to describe a publishing deal where the publisher and you co-own the copyright. Typical co pub deals today will put a fixed term on the period of ownership, usually 5-12 years. The publisher has the right to administer your share of the copyright and typically they take 25% of all income. As in an admin deal they will also take a higher percentage for syncs and covers they procure. Co pub deals almost always will include an advance that is recoupable against royalties.

So why do a co pub deal. The only reason is 1) They will pay an advance that is significant enough for you to give up ownership and control 2) if you believe that by them co owning the copyright they will work to help build your career as a songwriter. Both of these can be good reasons to do a co pub deal but I would think long and hard about where you are in your career and if this is necessary. I am generally an advocate for artists to keep control of their rights and do admin deals but I understand that in many cases a co-pub deal can help motivate a publishing partner to bring opportunities.

I don’t know the answer to your question about whether a judge has to sign off.

2 Likes
3

Thanks so much for the explanation. This really gives me a better understanding of copyright and publishing.

Again thank you so much, Sid

4

Hi Sid,
I did some checking and you only need a judge to sign off if you sign the agreement without your guardian signing as well. If your parents sign you don’t need a judge. Either way if you are signing any kind of contract you should have a music lawyer review it.

1 Like
5

Thanks so much for that extra info, really means a lot, and helps so much

Appreciate it, Sid