About This Course

Teaching you about publishing, Mark Lawrence is the Spokesperson for the Association for electronic music, and he runs Black Rock publishing - Mark is here to give you advice on how to make money from your music.

You will learn:

• What is Publishing and why you need it
• Protecting your rights
• Understanding exactly what a Publisher does
• Covering a track and what is needed
• Clearance rights
• Revenue streams 
• Publishing Deals

• Register with PRS
• Register with a ‘pay as you go’ online publisher
• Get clearance for clip usage 
• Find a Publishing deal
• Make sure you pay close attention to the detail in any agreement you sign

Lessons:
 

1. Introduction

Mark Is the Spokesperson for Association For Electronic Music, and he runs Black Rock publishing. With 10 years experience at PRS, an organisation that manages copyrights of writers & publishers in the UK & worldwide. He became aware of a lack of focus on electronic music artists & producers rights. That's when Mark set up Black Rock publishing & label. He started the campaign Get Played Get Paid.

2. What is Publishing

Dark art of the music industry, people chase labels and DJs who they want their music played by… but not publishers or understand their function. Publishers look after songwriters. Historically, it was split, songwriters wrote and artists sang the recorded tracks etc ie with The Beatles - John and Paul wrote songs and got money for them, the Beatles all sang them as artists and that would go to the label. For every cover version it’s the writers who earn money, and this is what the publishers are there to handle and organise. 

Mark highlights that electronic music undermines the historical music publishing model, as every time you are in the studio and make a track as a producer - you break all these conventions as you are simultaneously a performer, producer and songwriter all in one go… so you need to control it all in one go! For Example, you make a track and that is a song and a recording at the same time, you sign the song to the publisher, recording to a record label….

3. What does a Publisher do?

A Publisher makes sure your songs are rewarded when they are played in public- royalty right and also for its performance right - if there’s a physical copy, or a download there is also a mechanical right you need in order to monetise your track. Publishers make sure wherever your track is heard or wherever it’s heard or copied - gets back to you. Mark explains that unless you have a publishing deal or are signed to PRS you won’t make money from your music. 

A record label will only pay you for Sales and streams - you will only get paid for your plays if you are registered. If you don’t do that, and the first release you have on a label gets played - you won’t earn a penny … unless you have a publishing deal or registered with PRS directly. Publishers don’t deduct from your overall amounts in a way a label will.  They are only interested in where it's being played and making sure that money is collected for that. 

Publishers get you extra money that is due to you. Publishers have the Zero plus upside to labels. The most important bit of advice to people in their first year of producing; before you even get near producing a track or trying to get a manager, manage yourself to be professional- register with a publisher - to get the money that is owed to you, protect your rights, and credibility… control your rights from the start!

4. Register with a Publisher

Historically in early years of your career and you're starting to make music you were advised to  Register with PRS, get publishers then get a manager. Things have changed these days - you have to pay a €100 joining fee and it might take a while to earn that money back… these days there is an increasing number of publishers who let you register online, and literally, publish as you go- so you can sign up for 28 days, no long term commitment, do it yourself online… if your music is being played worldwide you want a publisher working in all those territories to be covering getting your fees over to you. Get a publishing deal, let them advise you on joining the PRS later. By the time a manager comes along ~Mark suggests you already have some idea of how your music makes money, and where it comes from, so you are less likely to have the wool pulled over your eyes.

5. Publishing Splits starting to appear on remixes

Publishing on remixes is a sign of respect to the dance music producers - Mark uses 90s dance music as an example here, mostly then dance remixes - remixer paid, but no publishing involved… these days - most remixes have so little original track, almost like a new song and recording. Mark talks about Swap mixes that go on these days… 

Mark prefers an agreement in place so that it’s fair… with Dance Music Mark points out that it makes sense for the remixer to receive a percentage to reflect the time they’ve invested working on the track and recreating something. Never be afraid as a remixer to ask for a percentage.

6. Facebook takedowns White Listing on Facebook

Danny talks about his experience of live streaming at his DJ villa Retreats and having content taken down continuously. You need to apply to get Whitelisted from Facebook. Mark explains that distributors will help you and that it’s pretty well known that you need to do this. It’s a way of making it known that you are professional and established - it gives you credibility.   

Danny asks for the process to get Whitelisted and Mark explains he will tell him later. He feels Facebook’s whitelisting is a little inconsistent and talks about the association of electronic music having a meeting with Facebook recently - Livestream boiler room or circle, the minute the artist shared on their own Facebook page it got taken down! Streaming across all pages is properly the best way to keep content up at the moment. 

7. Types of revenue streams that publishing rewards you/pay you for

on stage, on TV, on radio - on products-   a royalty being generated. If it’s in a shop, ad, film, game there’s a royalty. With Ads, films and games, the agreement is called a Sync license - the holy grail of songwriting. Big publishers sign as many successful catalogs as they can-  as they understand that if they sign a big track or artist- that ad agencies etc will call up and want to use that song, and they’ll have a budget to spend… they are big money when they do come along, so you want to be ready and published. 

Mark talks about the last two biggest deals in music sync for dance music unreleased tracks - got hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. The big opportunity for syncing deals that are big money don’t come along that often, but you can still make smaller amounts from synching deals. Another reason to pay close attention when managing your account with your Publisher. Making sure you have all of this and making sure all your socials and online identity is up to date. If people hear you but can’t easily find you, they will move on. Be visible! Mark talks about Adidas and how they are only using electronic music at the moment; a variety but all electronic so Mark points out he is enjoying the moment of being in vogue

5. Publishing Splits starting to appear on remixes

Publishing on remixes is a sign of respect to the dance music producers - Mark uses 90s dance music as an example here, mostly then dance remixes - remixer paid, but no publishing involved… these days - most remixes have so little original track, almost like a new song and recording. Mark talks about Swap mixes that go on these days… 

Mark prefers an agreement in place so that it’s fair… with Dance Music Mark points out that it makes sense for the remixer to receive a percentage to reflect the time they’ve invested working on the track and recreating something. Never be afraid as a remixer to ask for a percentage.

8. What to look out for, the different types of publishing deals

Mark suggests that you should avoid anything less than a 40/60 deal. Also be wary of the life of copyright, look at the small print - in perpetuity, or term (keep looking) it might be for life. You might want it back, the decision should be yours, don’t sign away your rights for life. In regards to labels that want to publish on single tracks - Mark publishes on single tracks but suggests if you do this do it with caution and care. If a label wants to sign your publishing, make sure they’re working with a publisher that does it properly. Do your research. Don’t rush to sign. Even if it’s a label you love, take care, send it to a friend, send it to a publisher and ask them to double check it for you.

9. Mark's New Publishing Service

You can log on, state you are a start-up, register your tracks, put your tracks and gigs in. Mark explains that a lot of publishers don’t register gigs. Mark's company has registered nearly 7000 gigs in the last 12 months. If you have a residency in a licensed club every week, it all starts to add up. He talks about an artist that they have in Scotland who gets £500-£1000 every 3 months, half is from gigs where they perform, half from gigs…

10. Live Q&A

• Big club record in 92- still being played - how long have you got to register and you recoup retrospectively?  
• If you make a cover version of a track do I  need a publisher's permission or to pay in advance?
• When you're making and producing tracks and you're using vocal samples, and you have the vocal recorded by a different vocal artist- how does this work with publishing? How do you get around it 
•  If you’re sampling a track, do you need permission?  
• I made a track that was using part of a TV interview broadcast from 1979 - do I need clearance? 
•  What’s the worst case scenario if you use a clip without clearance and get discovered
• The real reason for taking down unofficial remixes from SoundCloud or YouTube or DJ sets- is it to do with artists' image? 
• Matt asks re Facebook content- broadcast a lot on Facebook, started before facebook live… Every takedown notice they have they respond with their PRS numbers, PPL licence details and it gets released every time. Talks about an artist (Dean Marriot) who felt robbed by a label as he came away with nothing
•  What cut can you ask for from a publisher? 
• I need to get my track signed to Mark…  
• Flood one of my tracks- sampled the Klangers - do i need to sample it? 
• Is it best to get published before approaching a label? 
• Can i sign my track to a foreign publisher
• Is it worth getting a publisher for self-released music though my own label?