Music Publishing

The words “Music Pulishing” form one of most misinterpreted and misused terms in the music business. Many performers and writers alike believe if they are registered as a writer with BMI, for example, then everything they write is automatically published by BMI. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Music publishers perform a myriad of services for the writers and songs they represent. The number and depth of these services is too great to go into here with the exception of just one: Royalty Collection.

In some respects a music publisher can be thought of as a royalty collection agency for the writers they represent. Mechanical, synchronization, print and sub publication royalties are collected, verified and sometimes challenged by the publisher on behalf of writers. Another way to look at this particular service is to consider the publisher as a pipeline through which certain song royalties flow. Royalties generated by songs which were not properly published stand a very good chance of never being paid to the writer.

Winterwood’s affiliated publishing house, Schabraf Music Publishing, BMI, has been active as a boutique music publisher since the mid-sixties. Under certain circumstances, Schabraf will make its services available to outside writers.