SAMRO and music publishing

I have a long list of contacts that have songs playing on radio and TV and they haven't earned one damn cent from their craft. They complain that contracts weren't signed or managers stabbed them in the back and now they haven't been paid. When I examine further, the artist usually isn't sure whether they're even registered with SAMRO and how to collect royalties. I always tell them that playing a game like music where they don't know a decent amount of the rules is very dangerous.

If you're an artist and you are signed to a label, stop reading this right now. Your cash is taken care of by in-house music publishers. You might gain from this post, but you most likely can't do anything about it while you're under contract. If you're independent then you might not be as lucky. You have two options in this case: become your own publisher and chase after your own works or enter into a publishing agreement. Being your own publisher when you are independent sounds great until you realise that you also have to be the photographer, marketer, booking agent etc. This is one of those things that you should look to outsource from the beginning because it can be quite time consuming. Don't get it confused that you'll be able to forget about your publishing once you sign a publishing deal. You'll still have to follow up with your publisher and notify them when new works go out.

I keep in good contact with my music publisher even though they are based 1000 kilometers away in Cape Town. They're a group of independents working with a few clients and they take care of my music well. Just yesterday I scrolled through Instagram and my music was being used on an ABSA bank sponsored post (royalties :D) . How did I find them, you ask? I looked. I searched high and low and took many meetings and went through many contacts. Eventually I found one that made sense and went for them. They asked for a meeting and at this meeting we discussed what kind of works they would be most comfortable working with and we set up a good relationship.

As an upcoming artist, I would recommend searching far and wide until you find a publisher that suits your needs. If you aren't sure what your needs are, you need to jump on Google and figure that out. I'll say it again: playing a game where you aren't aware of the rules is dangerous. I give out information over whatsapp to my contacts and in one of those messages I spoke about the role of a music publisher. You'll need to choose your publisher by what they can do and who they are in contact with. If you're interested in getting in touch and getting more information about music publishing, contact me and let's connect.

Read up and get cracking,
SB