How to Start Your Own Music Publishing Company and Keep 100% of Your Royalties

Starting your own music publishing company can be one of the smartest moves you make as an independent musician. Owning your publishing rights gives you more control over how your music is used, allows you to collect royalties directly, and opens up new opportunities for licensing, sync placements, and long-term revenue. Many musicians rely on third-party publishers to manage their rights, but setting up your own company puts you in charge of your own success.

Why Start a Music Publishing Company

Every song you write generates different types of royalties. When your music is played on the radio, streamed online, performed live, or used in a film or commercial, it earns publishing royalties. If you do not own your publishing rights, a large portion of that income goes to an outside publisher. By forming your own publishing company, you collect those royalties yourself instead of splitting them with a third party.

A publishing company also makes it easier to license your music. Music supervisors, filmmakers, and advertisers often prefer working directly with the rights holder rather than dealing with multiple intermediaries. Owning your own publishing allows you to negotiate your own deals and keep a higher percentage of the revenue from sync placements.

Beyond financial benefits, having a publishing company makes your music business more professional. It shows industry professionals that you are serious about your work, which can help you build credibility and form better business relationships.

How to Set Up Your Publishing Company

Starting a music publishing company is easier than many musicians think. The first step is choosing a business name. This should be unique and reflect your brand as a musician or composer. Before settling on a name, check that it is not already in use by another company. You can do a quick search through the United States Patent and Trademark Office website or your country’s equivalent registry.

Once you have chosen a name, you need to register your business. In most cases, you can set up a sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation. Many musicians choose an LLC because it provides legal protection and tax benefits while being relatively easy to maintain. If you plan to sign other songwriters to your publishing company in the future, setting up an LLC or corporation may be a better choice than a sole proprietorship.

After registering your business, open a separate bank account for your publishing company. This will make it easier to track earnings and keep your finances organized. Many royalty collection agencies require a business account for payment processing, so having this in place from the beginning will help streamline the process.

Registering as a Music Publisher

Once your business is set up, the next step is registering as a music publisher with a performing rights organization. This allows you to collect performance royalties when your music is played on radio, television, live venues, and streaming platforms.

In the United States, the main performing rights organizations are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Most countries have their own performing rights organizations, such as PRS in the UK, SOCAN in Canada, and APRA in Australia. As a songwriter, you are already entitled to half of the performance royalties from your songs. By setting up your own publishing company, you collect the publisher’s share as well, doubling the performance royalties you receive.

In addition to PRO registration, you should also sign up with a mechanical rights organization like the Harry Fox Agency or Music Reports. These organizations collect royalties for physical and digital sales, including streams and downloads.

Managing and Licensing Your Music

Once your publishing company is registered, you need to manage your catalog effectively. Keep detailed records of all your compositions, including metadata, co-writers, and registration details. Many musicians use spreadsheets, publishing software, or cloud-based databases to organize their songs.

Having a system in place for tracking licensing deals, royalty payments, and contracts is essential. If you are licensing your music directly to filmmakers, advertisers, or music supervisors, keep a record of all agreements and ensure you have written contracts in place for every deal.

Building relationships with music supervisors and sync agents can help you license your catalog more effectively. Since you own your publishing, you have the flexibility to negotiate deals on your terms. Some publishers partner with sync agencies or licensing companies to expand their opportunities, while others prefer to handle everything independently.

Another important aspect of managing a publishing company is regularly registering your songs with music databases like SoundExchange and the MLC. These organizations ensure you receive digital performance and mechanical royalties from streaming services.

Maximizing Income with Your Publishing Company

Owning a publishing company allows you to generate multiple income streams from your music. The most common sources of publishing revenue include performance royalties, mechanical royalties, sync licensing, print music sales, and micro-sync placements.

Performance royalties come from radio airplay, live performances, TV broadcasts, and streaming services. Mechanical royalties are generated when your songs are streamed, downloaded, or sold on physical formats like CDs and vinyl. Sync licensing allows you to earn money by placing your music in film, TV, video games, and commercials. Print royalties come from sheet music sales, and micro-sync placements generate income when your music is used in short-form digital content like YouTube videos and social media ads.

To maximize your earnings, pitch your music consistently for sync placements, register your songs with multiple royalty collection agencies, and explore opportunities in new markets. Many musicians see a steady increase in their income once their publishing company is fully set up and running efficiently.

Learn Everything You Need to Know About Music Publishing

If you are serious about forming your own publishing company and maximizing your royalties, check out my in-depth course, The Complete Musician’s Guide to Music Publishing. This course walks you through the entire process step by step, helping you take full control of your publishing and income.

Learn How to License Your Music for TV and Film

If you want to learn how to get your songs placed in TV shows, films, and digital content, check out my free course, The Ultimate Music Licensing Guide. It walks you through everything you need to know to start earning with music licensing.