The Best Way to Get a Publishing Deal
Over the years, thousands of aspiring songwriters have attended my workshops, and almost all of them have one thing in common: They hope to make a living doing what they love—writing songs.
Some publishers, primarily smaller independent companies, acquire songs one at a time. In those cases, the songwriter signs a single-song agreement. But most songwriters who build sustainable careers eventually sign an exclusive publishing agreement, sometimes referred to as a staff-writing deal.
The term staff-writing is actually a misnomer. A songwriter who enters into this type of contract is neither a staff member nor an employee of the publishing company. They don’t report to an office, keep regular hours, or typically receive employee benefits such as health insurance. And in most cases, the money a songwriter receives under an exclusive agreement isn’t a salary. It is an advance against future royalties.
The amount of the advance depends largely on the writer’s track record and bargaining power. An advance might cover the cost of home-studio equipment, demo musicians and vocalists, or recording-studio time. It might also provide enough income to make it possible to quit a day job and write full-time.
There is no such thing as a “standard” publishing contract. Nearly every provision can be negotiated, depending on the writer’s leverage.
The contract will specify which sources of income the publisher can use to recoup the advance. If the advance hasn’t been fully recouped when the agreement expires, the songwriter typically isn’t required to write a check to the publisher for the outstanding balance. Instead, the songs generally remain with the publisher, and royalties earned later are applied toward the unrecouped advance.
Now that we’ve established what an exclusive publishing agreement is, let’s address the bigger question: How do you land one?
Bring Something to the Table
I’ll start with an important assumption: Your songs are exceptional—and suited to the current commercial market. Music publishers are in business to make money. They need songs they believe will appeal to recording artists and generate income through mechanical, performance, synchronization, and other royalties.
During my decades of teaching, I’ve watched many of my students sign publishing deals. But the scenario I’ve seen most often—and the one that ultimately led to my own publishing deal—is not about simply knocking on publishers’ doors until someone says yes.
It’s about having something valuable to bring to the table.
When I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my goal of becoming a professional songwriter, I expected to succeed within a year. That didn’t happen.
For the next eleven years, I took classes and workshops, collaborated with other aspiring songwriters, wrote hundreds of songs, and received countless rejections when I pitched them to publishers. Along the way, I had a couple of independent cuts and a few sync placements, but nothing that allowed me to quit my temp jobs.
Then one of those independent releases was produced by a songwriter who had notched multiple # 1 hits on the country charts. He invited me to Nashville to write with him. While I was there, I wrote a song with one of the staff-writers at his company. Our song was head and shoulders above anything I had previously written, and to my ears, the demo he produced sounded radio-ready.
Because my co-writer was signed to an exclusive songwriting agreement, his publisher pitched our song to recording artists.
I wasn’t obligated to assign my publishing share of the song to that company. But I was eager to establish an ongoing relationship with the publisher. A savvy attorney suggested that I offer the company a small percentage of my publishing interest—but only if it secured a major-label release for the song.
I returned to my day job in Los Angeles convinced that our new song would be recorded by a superstar within a few weeks. It wasn’t.
Three years—and more than 75 rejections—later, the Grammy-winning Oak Ridge Boys recorded the song. It was slated to be the second single from their Unstoppable album. The album’s first single had already shot to #1.
Suddenly, I found myself in an enviable position: I owned most of the publishing on a song that had been recorded by a successful act and was likely to generate significant income. Publishers who had previously ignored my calls or rejected my songs were now taking me to lunch and trying to convince me to sign with them.
Before making my decision, I had six offers for the exclusive publishing deal that had eluded me for 11 years.
What had changed? I finally had something concrete to bring to the table.
As part of the deal, I would assign my share of the publishing on a song that was poised to generate significant income. In exchange, I was paid a substantial bonus for including that song in the agreement.
That deal, with Zomba Music, lasted 12 years, until the company was sold. During the term of my agreement, songs I wrote were included on albums that sold more than 50 million copies. My songs were also featured in successful television shows and movies.
Looking back, the path to that publishing deal consisted of several key pieces:
- I wrote a strong song that opened doors.
- I collaborated with a songwriter who was already aligned with a publisher.
- My co-writer’s publisher pitched our song.
- When a successful artist recorded the song, I gained credibility—and, more importantly, something tangible I could bring to a publishing deal.
There Is More Than One Path
Of course, this isn’t the only path to an exclusive publishing deal. But it’s one I’ve seen play out many times. It works because the publisher has a relatively high probability of recouping its investment.
For songwriters who don’t have the advantage of offering a song already recorded by a successful artist, the challenge is to find other ways to make yourself attractive to a publisher. Strong songs are essential, but they aren’t necessarily enough.
What else can you bring to the table? Perhaps you have strong relationships with successful recording artists. Maybe you regularly collaborate with hit songwriters. You might have valuable production skills. Or perhaps you’re developing a career as a recording artist yourself.
Any of these factors can increase your appeal to a publisher.
In fact, some publishers sign songwriter-artists with precisely this strategy in mind. They may arrange collaborations with established writers, connect the artist with a producer, and finance recordings in the hope of getting the artist signed to a record label.
If that artist becomes successful, the publisher can potentially own or administer the publishing on all of the songs the artist records, rather than having to pitch those songs to outside artists one by one.
The Bottom Line
There are no rules or foolproof steps that guarantee an exclusive publishing deal. But there is a principle worth remembering: The more valuable elements you bring to the table, the more attractive you become to a publisher.
And sometimes the most valuable thing a songwriter can offer is not simply a promise of great songs in the future, but a share of a great song that has already been recorded—a song with a good chance of generating significant income.
That’s the kind of leverage that can turn a songwriter’s dream of a publishing deal into a reality.
Jason Blume is the author of 6 Steps to Songwriting Success, This Business of Songwriting, and Inside Songwriting (Billboard Books). His latest book, Happy Tails—Life Lessons from Rescued Cats and Kittens (SPS/Blue Mountain Arts) combines his love of photography and cats. Jason’s songs are on Grammy-nominated albums and have sold more than 50,000,000 copies. They have been recorded by artists including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, and John Berry (earning a BMI Million-Air award for garnering more than 1 million broadcasts) and have been in hit TV shows and movies. A guest lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney) and at the Berklee School of Music, he has been interviewed as a songwriting expert for CNN, NPR, the BBC, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. To receive a free video, “3 Things You MUST Do for Success,” weekly tips to enhance creativity, and publisher pitches, click on https://tinyurl.com/yckat6fc. Join Songwriting With Jason Blume on Facebook for daily tips. For information about his workshops, recorded lessons, and more than 135 additional articles visit www.jasonblume.com.
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