What is the difference between writer's share and publisher's share?
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The writer's share and publisher's share represent the two halves of a song's performance royalties. By industry standard, a song is worth 100% total, divided into a 50% writer's share and a 50% publisher's share. The writer's share is credited to the person who wrote the melody and lyrics, while the publisher's share belongs to the entity that owns the copyright and manages the song's commercial exploitation.
- 1.Register with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) to claim the writer's share, which is legally protected and almost always paid directly to the individual creator.
- 2.Identify the publisher's share as the portion of income tied to administrative tasks like licensing, synch placement, and royalty collection.
- 3.Understand that in a standard 'Split' or 'Co-publishing' deal, the writer retains 100% of their writer's share while the publisher takes a percentage of the publisher's share.
- ×ASCAP and BMI calculate percentages differently (ASCAP uses a 100% scale for each, while BMI uses a 200% total scale), which can cause confusion during registration.
- ×If you are self-published and do not register a publishing entity, you may be missing out on the publisher's half of your performance royalties.
Most independent artists should register as both a 'Writer' and a 'Publisher' with their PRO (e.g., BMI, ASCAP) to ensure they aren't leaving 50% of their money on the table.
Based on AI training data — may not reflect current information.
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