4 ways a songwriter can make money

How Does a Songwriter Make Money?

A songwriter, also called a composer, is a person who specializes in writing the lyrics or melodies of songs of various genres. Nowadays, most of the songwriters prefer to work in groups in order to produce the best and the most unique material. The same person can be a songwriter and the artist as well such as band members who prefer to write their own songs and sing them as well.

Songwriters can work with individual artists and write music or song lyrics for them or they can work with recording companies, publishers or agents by submitting their material to them for consideration. Usually, songwriters sign a contract with a publishing company. In simple words, a songwriting agreement is the deal or agreement signed between a songwriter and a publishing company where the songwriter writes unique material for the publisher. Usually, this contract requires the songwriter to be loyal to the publisher and their work can only be published by that specific company and no other publisher. New songwriters often think of getting hired by publishing companies as employees would be easy for them but this type of a business has a lot of side effects and so, we would suggest songwriters to work simply as contracted writers.

A songwriter can make money through various methods. We have listed some of the most common methods below:

1.       Depending on the contract you have signed, you will receive a specific percentage of the total profit made by the sale of your work. The typical percentage of profit transferred to the songwriter varies between 10-15%. Make sure the recording company doesn’t make you agree to a contract which provides a royalty of less than at least 10%.

2.       Any singer, movie, TV channel, theatre, store or organization that uses the songwriter’s work for a public performance pays the songwriter every time they use the song. This is called the public performance copyright.

3.       Money is also made through the distribution copyright if the songwriter wants. A payment by organizations or industries such as movies or video game companies gives the songwriter the license payment so they can use the song for their products.

4.       If the songwriter’s work is used in sync with any moving object such as a movie, advertisement, etc. Then, the company using the song will pay the synchronization copyright to the songwriter.

5.       Companies that use the song for their products pay the reproduction copyright to the songwriter. This means, for every item they produce that is using this song, they pay an amount to the songwriter.

6.       Companies using the song or the work of the songwriter for public display also have to pay the songwriter a specific amount called the public display copyright. This includes fashion brands that use the song lyrics on clothing items, hotels that use song quotes as a display, etc.

We would advise you to hire an entertainment lawyer to read through your contract to point out any glitches before you sign it with your publisher.