publishing
Collecting publishing royalties in United States
A sourced United States publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
The United States registration route
A US registration workflow separates performance affiliation from eligible digital mechanical collection. Start with agreed songwriter shares and identities, register the work with the relevant performance organisation, then check whether a publisher or administrator is handling MLC registration. Avoid duplicate administration claims.
- Performance rightsASCAP, BMI and SESAC are US performance-rights organisations.Source: ASCAP membership FAQ. Checked . Licence: official
- ASCAP joining feeFree for writers, and for writer + publisher joining together. US$50 for a publisher joining on its own.Source: ASCAP membership FAQ. Checked . Licence: official
- ASCAP temporary waiverASCAP describes the writer and combined writer + publisher fee waiver as temporary. A publisher joining on its own pays a US$50 one-time application fee.Source: ASCAP membership FAQ. Checked . Licence: official
- Digital mechanical rightsThe MLC covers eligible US blanket digital audio mechanical royalties.Source: The MLC membership. Checked . Licence: official
- Rights separationComposition collection does not replace distribution of the sound recording.Source: BMI songwriter affiliation. Checked . Licence: official
Prepare the ownership information first
Agree the composition shares in writing. Keep writer names, IPI numbers, publisher identities, song titles and recording identifiers consistent. A producer credit establishes a creative role, not a particular royalty percentage. Check existing administration agreements before assigning collection rights again.
What distribution does not do
Master recording distribution, composition administration and performance affiliation are separate services. Dreamhause's optional publishing administration is US$65.00 one-time, with 85/15 on publishing royalties and 60/40 on sync. It is not included in the US$9.00 annual distribution fee. Eligibility and society membership requirements still apply.
Sources
Learn
Related
Collecting publishing royalties with ASCAP
A sourced ASCAP publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
Collecting publishing royalties with BMI
A sourced BMI publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
Collecting publishing royalties with SESAC
A sourced SESAC publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
Collecting publishing royalties with The MLC
A sourced The MLC publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
Collecting publishing royalties with APRA AMCOS
A sourced APRA AMCOS publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.
Collecting publishing royalties with PRS for Music
A sourced PRS for Music publishing-registration guide for beat producers. Understand composition rights, registration roles and recording-rights boundaries.