Master and publishing, explained
Every song you release earns money in two separate ways, collected by different people through different systems. One is the recording, the master. The other is the song as written, the publishing. Once you know which is which, you know where your money comes from and who else has a right to part of it.
Short answer: the master is the recording. It earns from streams, downloads and sync, and your distributor pays that out. Publishing is the composition, the music and lyrics as written. It earns performance and mechanical royalties, collected by societies such as PRS, ASCAP, Buma/Stemra, GEMA or SACEM. On a song with a leased beat, the producer usually gets a share of both.
By TH6 · Updated
Two copyrights, one song
A song is two things at once. There is the composition: the melody, the chords and the lyrics, which you could write down and someone else could perform. And there is the master: one specific recording of that composition. A cover version uses the same composition with a different master.
Each has its own owners and its own money. That is why "who owns the song?" never has a one-word answer.
The master: the recording
- What it earns: streams on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and the rest, downloads, and sync fees when the recording is used in a film, an ad or a game.
- Who pays it: your distributor pays the streaming money to you. In a label deal the label collects it first.
- Neighbouring rights: when the recording is played on radio or in public, societies such as PPL in the UK, SENA in the Netherlands or GVL in Germany pay the performers and the owner of the recording.
Publishing: the composition
- Performance royalties: money for the song being performed or played in public, on radio and TV, in venues and on streaming services.
- Mechanical royalties: money for the song being reproduced, on streaming services and on physical copies.
- Sync: the composition’s share when a song is used in a film, an ad or a game.
Collecting societies collect these royalties for their members: PRS for Music in the UK, Buma/Stemra in the Netherlands, GEMA in Germany, SACEM in France. In the US, ASCAP and BMI collect the performance royalties, while mechanical royalties from streaming go through The MLC. A publisher can help collect, especially abroad, in return for a share.
How it works on a song with a leased beat
When you make a song on someone else’s beat, both copyrights are shared. The composition has two writers: the producer for the music, and you for the lyrics and topline. The master is your recording, but it contains the producer’s beat, so beat licences usually give the producer a share of the master too.
At TH6 those numbers are fixed on the licence: you keep 90% of the master and TH6 keeps 10% (with a second producer, 5% each), and the publishing is 50/50 with no extra publisher share. You set up the master split at your distributor and register the composition with your society with both writers on it. The steps are in releasing a song on a leased beat.
An example with numbers
Say a song on a TH6 lease earns € 2,000 in master income from streaming in a year, and the collecting societies pay € 400 in publishing royalties for it.
- Master: € 1,800 to you, € 200 to TH6.
- Publishing: € 200 to you as writer of the lyrics and topline, € 200 to TH6 as composer.
The numbers are made up to show how the split works; what a song really earns depends on where and how often it is played. What matters is that both splits are on paper before the song comes out, so nobody has to argue about them afterwards.
Mistakes that cost money
- Not registering the composition. The payout from your distributor does not include publishing; a song nobody registered leaves that money uncollected.
- Registering the wrong split. If you register yourself as the only writer, the society pays you money that belongs to the producer, and that has to be corrected later.
- Signing away publishing without reading. A licence that takes a big publisher share on top of the writer split gets expensive when the song works.
- Forgetting neighbouring rights. Radio play of your recording earns separately from the publishing, but only if you register.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between master and publishing?
The master is the recording; publishing is the composition, the music and lyrics as written. They earn different royalties and are paid out through different channels.
Who owns the master of a song made with a leased beat?
You own your recording, but the beat in it stays the producer’s, which is why the licence gives the producer a share. At TH6 that share is 10%, split 5% and 5% when two producers made the beat.
Do I need a publisher?
Not to collect in your own country: membership of your collecting society is enough. A publisher can help collect abroad and pitch songs for sync, in return for a share.
How do I register a song with my collecting society?
As a member, through the online portal of your society, with the title, the writers and their shares. For a song on a TH6 beat: you 50%, TH6 50%.