How to Find a Music Publisher

In my Entertainment & Media Publishing class, we have been discussing a lot about music publishers and agents. A music publisher’s job is to make sure that a song lives the longest, most financially prosperous life as possible. If you are a songwriter then you would want a music publisher, but how do you find a music publisher? Helen Austin, a music licensing veteran provided tips of how to find a music publisher on PassivePromotion.com.

Austin has done a vast amount of work from working with large instrumental libraries to Coca Cola ads. Today, she exclusively writes songs for pigFactory that are used in ads, on TV and in movies. Austin offers seven ideas of how to find a publisher that’s right for you.

1.     Is your music ready? You have to listen to your music from a critical perspective and really critique your music to decide if it is ready lyrically, melodically and when it comes to quality. A good way to do this is to add your music to a playlist with other successful songs from your genre and see if it blends in or sticks out. You can also ask someone who has never heard your music to see if they can pick your songs out from the crowd.

2.    Educate yourself! Learn as much as you an about the rules and regulations of music publishing. Don’t get to eager to sign with the first deal presented to you. There is a book called The New Songwriter’s Guide to Music Publishing by Randy Poe that provides the information necessary to prepare you for what you should know about the music publishing field.

3.    Google is your friend. If you’re looking for a publisher or want to know more about one that you found, use Google to research them. You have to process what you see in a critical way though. Don’t believe everything you read. Austin recommends Taxi as a great site for finding music publishers.

4.    Pick up the phone. If you find a publisher that you really want to work with, call them up and talk to them. Fifteen minutes on the phone with them will tell you if this relationship is worth pursuing or not. An actually phone conversation will do you more good than a text conversation via email.

5.    Use your gut. Follow your instincts. If you are in the midst of an agreement but something doesn’t feel right, listen to your inner voice. It’s better to wait than end up putting your music in the hands of the wrong person.

6.    One song, one publisher. Don’t sign the same song with multiple publishers. This is something music supervisors loathe. The result of not following this rule could get you blacklisted as a songwriter and your songs passed on. If your write multiple songs for multiple publishers, you can test the waters before you sign an exclusive contract.

7.    Find a lawyer. The last tip from Austin is to find a good music lawyer through recommendations. Even though this may seem expensive, it could save you money and heartache at the end of the day.

Even though finding a good music publisher may seem like a lot of hard work, if it’s something that you take seriously, then it is what must be done. Don’t cut corners or rush because you could  find yourself in a bad deal or legal situations that will hurt your career and cost you time and money.