Publishing Rights

Publishing Rights are the legal rights that control how a musical composition — the underlying melody and lyrics — can be reproduced, distributed, performed, and licensed. In music, publishing rights are distinct from master rights (which cover the sound recording). Publishing rights are typically managed by music publishers or performing rights organizations (PROs) and generate royalties whenever a song is streamed, broadcast, performed publicly, or used in sync. For creators who use music in their content, understanding publishing rights is essential because both the master rights holder and the publishing rights holder must grant permission for sync licensing. Creators who write their own music own their publishing rights by default unless they sign them away to a publisher.