Music Publishing agreements series; (part 2) the purpose of the agreement

The Music Publishing Agreement is sometimes also called the “Exclusive Songwriter Agreement” (particularly in America).

In its most basic form, a publishing agreement is a copyright transfer contract, therefore it must be in writing (verbal publishing agreements are void in terms of the South African Copyright Act). In the agreement, the publisher is assigned, for a particular area, certain designated copyrights, or categories of copyrights (e.g. everything written by the writer) for a particular period or in perpetuity, (for the life of the copyright).

These contracts can vary hugely – either the publisher “owns” the copyrights assigned to him in perpetuity, for the life of the copyright or he “rents” them for a particular period, as a licensing deal (the latter is, of course, preferable, but often not what the publisher wants). The copyrights that are subject to the agreement also vary hugely. They can vary from a “single song assignment” to total transfer of everything the Writer has written or will write. Generally, the publisher will want exclusive control over the writer’s output.

The publisher’s duty is to administer and exploit the copyrights on behalf of the writer to create as much royalty income as possible. In order to do this, he will require assignment of the writer’s copyrights, to him. Here is what the publisher, generally speaking, will try to get you to assign to him in the contract, on an exclusive basis:

1. Every right and interest of every kind in and to the results and proceeds of the writer’s songwriting services including, but not limited to, the titles, words, and music of any and all original arrangements of musical compositions;

2. All licenses relating to the music, together with all worldwide copyrights and renewals and extensions thereof, in respect of which musical works have been written, composed, created, or conceived, in whole or in part, by the writer alone or in collaboration with others;

3. The undertaking that all such copyrights shall vest in the publisher solely and exclusively as the owner thereof, free from any adverse claims or rights therein by any other person, firm or corporation;

4. The warranty that the work is original and not subject to any other person’s copyright;

5. The right to perform said musical compositions publicly, whether for profit or otherwise, by means of public or private performance, radio broadcasting, television, or any and all future means;

6. The right to substitute a new title or titles for any composition and to make any arrangements, adaptation, translation or dramatisation of the music, in whole or part, in connection with any other literary, musical or dramatic material, and to add new lyrics to the music of the compositions or new music to the lyrics of any of the compositions, all as the Publisher may deem expedient;

7. The right to produce and sell sheet music, orchestrations, arrangements and other editions of the compositions in all forms;

8. The right to secure copyright registration and protection of the compositions in the Publisher’s name;

9. The right to make, and to license others to make, master records, transcriptions, sound tracks, pressings, download offerings and any other mechanical, electrical, electronic or other reproductions of the compositions;

10. The right to manufacture, advertise, license or sell such reproductions for any and all purposes, including, without limitation, private performances and public performances, radio broadcasts, television, sound motion pictures, wired radio or cable television, phonograph records and any and all other means or devices whether now known or which may hereafter come into existence;

11. The rights flowing from the law of copyright, including the right to sue;

12. The right to use, without any compensation other than specified in the contract, the writer’s name (including any professional name adopted by Writer), photograph and any other likeness, including logos and trademarks and biographical material concerning the Writer, and the titles of any and all of the compositions, in connection with the printing, sale, advertising, performance, distribution and other exploitation of the compositions, and for any other purpose related to the music business of Publisher.

It’s a lot of signing away, isn’t it?