Welcome to the "Musician's Guide" Series!
This series is pulled directly from the courses I've created for my university position in Music Business. All of these courses are designed for the everyday musician - amateur or professional - who has little or no knowledge on the topic, but wants to master it.
This class is all about Publishing and Performing Rights. Which is to say: This class is about getting paid for your music.

It is ideal for anyone who writes music. Especially:

  • Creators: If you are making music, you need to understand publishing. You are literally giving away money by not setting up publishing correctly.
  • Musicians: Performing Rights Organizations pay the creators of music for their "public performance". That means anytime something you've written is played (played live, or even a recording is played in a coffee shop), you get paid.
  • Producers: If you are producing music, you need to understand publishing!

In this class, we start with defining "music publishing" - it is a big topic (and has nothing to do with publishing books...). Then I'll walk you through how to set yourself up as a publisher so you can take advantage of the performing rights organizations that pay the publisher half of your earnings. I'll walk you through every step of the process and explain the logic behind every concept.
The goal of this class is for you to start getting the money that you are owed for your music.

Software:
This course is NOT specific to any DAW program.

Genre:
Publishing has no genre - so all are welcome here.
Topics Covered:

  • Publishing
  • Co-Publishers
  • Cashing In on Publishing
  • Performing Rights Organizations
  • Getting Paid from the PRO
  • The Publisher's Cut
  • ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
  • Mechanical Licenses
  • The Harry Fox Agency
  • Synchronization Licenses
  • Dramatic Licenses
  • Publisher Agreements
  • Publisher Responsibilities
  • And much, much more!

Course Outline

  • Introduction & Overview
    • Introduction
    • What We are Covering Here
    • Tools You Will Need for This Class
    • Disclaimer: I Am Not A Lawyer
  • What is Publishing?
    • Publishing: Not just for books anymore!
    • Musicians as Publishers
    • Co-Publishers
    • Cashing In on Publishing
  • Performing Rights Organizations
    • The History of the PRO
    • What They Do
    • What is “Public”?
    • How the PRO Gets Paid
    • How Does the PRO Know About You?
    • ASCAP vs. BMI vs. SESAC
    • How You Get Paid
    • The Publisher Cut
    • Inside the ASCAP website
    • Back to Death Cab For Cutie
  • Mechanical Licenses
    • The Player Piano
    • Publishers and Mechanical Licenses
    • Two Methods for Obtaining a License
    • The Harry Fox Agency
    • Rates
    • For the Writer
  • Synchronization & Dramatic Rights
    • Silent Movies
    • How to Get a Sync License
    • Dramatic Rights
    • All the Rights!
  • Publisher Responsibilities 
    • Setting Up an LLC
    • Administer Licenses
    • Promote The Song
    • Licensing Opportunities
  • Wrap Up
    • What Comes Next?
    • Thanks for Watching!

Course Information

Estimated Time: 2 Hours

Course Instructor

Jay Allen Author

J. Anthony Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer, and a PhD in Music Composition and master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theater. He currently is an adjunct professor of composition at the University of St. Thomas, and is the CEO and co-founder of Slam Academy in Minneapolis.

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