How to Get Paid · Chapter 03 of 9
The publisher share
Half of every performance dollar is set aside for a publisher. Whether that half reaches you depends on your PRO, and at ASCAP it is the part most bands miss.
Facts last checked
Half the performance money is the publisher’s
Your PRO splits every performance dollar in half: 50% for the writers, 50% for the publishers. A publisher is whoever administers a song’s rights. For most bands that is nobody yet, and what happens next depends on the PRO:
- BMI: if you don’t have a publisher, BMI pays you the publisher’s share too. You’ll see “Manuscript” where a publisher would be. Nothing is lost.
- ASCAP: the publisher half is paid only to a registered ASCAP publisher. No publisher means that half isn’t paid to you, and ASCAP doesn’t hold it for you. The fix is free: ASCAP waives both fees if you join as a writer and a publisher at the same time.
A publisher can just be you
A publisher can be you under a business name, like “Cass Kettle Music”. It’s paperwork, not a record deal. You register the name with your PRO, list it on each song, and the publisher share is paid to it.
| Publisher membership | Cost |
|---|---|
| ASCAP, with a new writer membership | Free |
| ASCAP, added later | $50 one time |
| BMI, individually owned | $175 one time |
| BMI, company or LLC | $250 one time |
| BMI, partnership | $500 one time |
Publishing administrators: the rest of the world and YouTube
A PRO collects performance money and, through partner societies, foreign performance money. Two streams of song money are left over:
- Worldwide mechanicals: the per-stream and per-download money for the song in other countries. In the US, The MLC collects it.
- YouTube, for the song: the song inside any YouTube video, separate from the recording’s Content ID.
A publishing administrator registers your songs with societies around the world and with YouTube, collects these, and keeps a percentage. It’s optional.
| Administrator | To join | It keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Songtrust | $100 one time per writer | 15% of performance income, 20% of other income |
| Sentric | Free | 20% |
Don’t double up. An administrator usually registers your songs at The MLC for you. If you sign with one, don’t also register the same songs at The MLC yourself, or the claims collide. Pick one path per writer.
Questions
What is the publisher share?
PROs split every performance dollar in half: 50% for the writers and 50% for the publishers. The publisher half is the publisher share. If your song has no publisher, what happens to that half depends on your PRO.
Do I need a publisher at BMI?
Not to be paid. If a song has no publisher, BMI pays the writer the publisher’s share too and shows “Manuscript” where the publisher would be. A BMI publisher costs $175 one time for an individual and is optional.
Do I need a publisher at ASCAP?
Yes, if you want the publisher half. ASCAP pays the publisher share only to a registered ASCAP publisher and does not hold it for you. Joining as writer and publisher together is free; adding a publisher later costs $50 one time.
Is a publisher the same as a record deal?
No. A publisher can just be you under a business name, like “Cass Kettle Music”. It is paperwork that lets the PRO pay the publisher half.
What does a publishing administrator do?
It registers your songs with societies around the world and with YouTube, collects worldwide mechanicals and the song’s YouTube money, and keeps a percentage. Songtrust charges $100 one time per writer plus 15% of performance and 20% of other income. Sentric is free to join and keeps 20%.
Sources
Official pages, all checked on October 28, 2026.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees and rules change: check the official site on the day you sign up. For a big deal, such as a sync offer, a label contract or selling a catalogue, pay a music lawyer for an hour.