Music publishing agreements series; (part 10) Will it be a worldwide agreement?

Even small publishers tend to have worldwide connections. It is far simpler for a publisher to set up international links and sub- licensing agreements than it is for a record company. Thus, a publishing agreement (at least for new writers) will usually be a worldwide agreement. Most of the major publishers have affiliated publishers, sub publishers or representatives throughout the world, and they should therefore reflect this in their contracts.

As a result, it is very common for smaller publishers to enter into territory-by-territory sub-publishing agreements. These agreements generally place the sub-publisher in the same position as the publisher within the designated territory. This comes at a fee, of course, which can be an up-front fee, a royalty share (usually 50%) and perhaps even an advance paid by the sub-publisher.

But sub-publishers cost, and this is not great news for the publisher or the composer, therefore many publishers are seeking to open offices in territories where their composers are likely to become “big.” Sheer publishing, for example is doing this in certain African countries like (Ghana), where it is finding its copyrights being used enough to justify opening an office rather than sub-publishing.

Where there is a sub- publisher, though, he is usually also given the right to arrange and adapt the composition, and to translate the lyrics of the composition into languages of the territory, or to have a new title and lyrics written, and experimental arrangements and adaptations done. But the sub-publishing agreement usually states that these adaptations will become the property of the main publisher. When sub-publishing is involved, the writer can expect to be paid a lot less, a lot later (despite the fact that the publisher often negotiates an advance for himself). Thus, you should try to make it clear in the agreement that sub-publishing advances are to be immediately shared with you, on receipt.

Sub-publishing through your publisher is a fact of life and, if handled correctly, does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. The alternative is tough: it is rare for a new writer to be in a position where he is able to conclude so-called “territory by territory” (or split territory) agreements directly with several different publishers (e.g. an agreement with one publisher for South Africa or North America and another agreement with a different publisher or publishers for the rest of the world). Such an approach is more possible for established writers and does have major advantages, but may be more complicated contractually.