Glossary
Music Publishing
Music publishing is the business of managing, licensing, and collecting royalties for musical compositions (songs as written works), as distinct from master recordings (the specific recorded version of a song).
Definition
When a song is created, two separate copyrights exist: the composition (the notes and lyrics, protected by the publisher and songwriter) and the master recording (the specific recording of that composition, protected by whoever owns the masters — often a label or the artist directly).
Music publishing companies manage songwriting catalogs, pitch songs for sync placements, collect performance royalties globally, and administer licensing agreements. Many independent artists are their own publisher — meaning they collect both sides of royalties.
Why it matters
If you write your own music and have not registered your publishing, you are leaving royalties uncollected. Performance royalties, mechanical royalties (from streaming), and sync fees all have a publishing component that only flows to registered publishers and songwriters.
How Lynkify uses this
Lynkify does not handle publishing administration. However, when Lynkify smart links accurately carry your songwriter and ISRC metadata, that information supports correct royalty attribution through your PRO and publishing administrator.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a music publisher as an independent artist?
- Not necessarily. You can self-publish by registering songs with your PRO and using a publishing administrator like Songtrust or DistroKid's publishing add-on to collect international royalties. A traditional publisher makes sense when a song has significant licensing potential and you want active pitching support.