Music Publishing in Different Territories: What Changes

A song you wrote in your bedroom is streaming in 50 countries right now. Each country has its own collection society, its own tax rules, and its own mechanical royalty system. If you only registered with your home PRO, you are collecting a fraction of what you earned. The rest is sitting in foreign societies waiting for someone to claim it.

A UK songwriter I worked with was registered with PRS but not with any international societies. He discovered his songs were generating mechanical royalties in the US (uncollected, not registered with the MLC), performance royalties in Japan (uncollected, metadata mismatch with JASRAC), and neighboring rights in Germany (uncollected, not registered with GVL). After using a publishing admin service to register directly in each territory, he recovered €8,000 in international royalties over 18 months. That money had been sitting in foreign societies for years.

Music publishing works differently in every territory, even though the underlying principles are the same. This guide explains what changes, what stays the same, and what you need to do to collect from every country where your music generates royalties. For the broader royalty system, read how royalties work differently in different countries and how currency exchange affects your streaming royalties.

What You Will Learn

• The global publishing market and its structure
• What stays the same everywhere in music publishing
• What changes by territory: collection societies
• What changes by territory: mechanical royalty systems
• What changes by territory: neighboring rights
• What changes by territory: legal frameworks
• How reciprocal agreements between societies work (and where they fail)
• How publishing administration services solve the international collection problem
• Tax implications across territories
• Practical steps for international publishing

The Global Publishing Market

The music publishing market was worth $12.37 billion in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence. It is growing at a 5.88% compound annual growth rate and is projected to reach $16.46 billion by 2031. Digital-first licensing, including streaming, social media, and user-generated content, drives most royalty flows.

The major publishing companies are Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Kobalt Music Group, and BMG. These companies have offices and direct relationships in every major territory. Independent artists and songwriters do not have that infrastructure. You have to build your own international collection system or hire someone to do it for you.

For the basics of publishing deals, read how a music publishing deal works and what a co-publishing deal is and whether it is worth it. For registering your own publishing company, read how to register a music publishing company.

What Stays the Same Everywhere

Four principles are universal in music publishing, regardless of territory:

1. Two underlying copyrights exist in every song. The composition (the song itself: lyrics and melody) and the sound recording (the specific recorded version). Publishing deals with the composition. The recording is handled separately by labels or distributors.

2. Songwriters and publishers split performance royalties 50/50. This is the standard split in almost every territory. When a song is performed publicly (radio, live, streaming), the PRO collects and splits the royalty between the writer share and the publisher share.

3. Mechanical royalties are owed when a composition is reproduced. Every stream, download, and physical sale generates a mechanical royalty for the composition. This is separate from the recording royalty.

4. Sync requires both master and composition licenses. To use a song in a film, TV show, or advertisement, you need permission from both the owner of the recording (master license) and the owner of the composition (sync license). This is universal.

For a full breakdown of publishing fundamentals, read music publishing explained: the complete guide to royalties.

What Changes by Territory: Collection Societies

The biggest difference between territories is which societies collect which royalties. Some countries have one society that handles everything. Others split performance and mechanicals across separate organizations.

United States: PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) collect performance royalties. The MLC collects digital mechanicals. SoundExchange collects neighboring rights for non-interactive digital only. There is no terrestrial radio neighboring right in the US. No single society combines performance and mechanical collection.

United Kingdom: PRS for Music collects performance royalties. MCPS manages mechanicals. PPL handles neighboring rights for broadcast and public performance. Three separate organizations for three royalty types.

Germany and France: GEMA (Germany) and SACEM (France) each cover both performance and mechanicals. This simplifies registration because you deal with one society per country instead of two or three.

Japan: JASRAC dominates both performance and mechanicals with strict reporting standards. Japan's collection system is efficient but requires precise metadata. Mismatches cause failures.

Australia: APRA AMCOS covers both performance and mechanicals. PPCA handles neighboring rights.

The practical implication: in the US and UK, you need to register with multiple societies to collect all your royalties. In Germany, France, Japan, and Australia, one society covers most of it. Use our PRO directory to find the right societies for each territory.

What Changes by Territory: Mechanical Royalty Systems

The US has a compulsory mechanical license system. Anyone can cover your song for a statutory rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board. The MLC handles digital mechanicals through a mandatory blanket license. This means if your song is streamed in the US, the MLC collects the mechanical royalty. But you have to be registered with the MLC for the money to reach you.

Most other countries do not have a compulsory license. If someone wants to cover your song in the UK, Germany, or Japan, they must negotiate directly with you or your publisher. This gives you more control but also means mechanicals are not automatically collected in the same way as in the US.

Some territories have separate mechanical societies (MCPS in the UK). Others combine mechanical collection with performance collection (GEMA, SACEM, APRA AMCOS). This affects how you register and collect. If you are only registered with the performance society in a territory that has a separate mechanical society, you are missing mechanical royalties.

Read mechanical royalties explained: how to collect for the full mechanical royalty system breakdown.

What Changes by Territory: Neighboring Rights

Neighboring rights are where the biggest territorial differences exist, and where American artists lose the most money.

United States: SoundExchange collects neighboring rights for non-interactive digital only (Pandora, satellite radio, webcasters). There is no terrestrial radio neighboring right. American performers do not earn royalties when their recordings play on AM/FM radio in the US.

United Kingdom and most of Europe: PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), and similar societies in other European countries collect neighboring rights for radio, TV, and public performance. If your recording plays on European radio, you are owed neighboring rights royalties.

Latin America and Asia: Most countries in these regions also pay neighboring rights for terrestrial radio and public performance.

An American artist may not earn from US terrestrial radio but will collect from European, Latin American, and Asian airplay. The catch is that you have to be registered with the neighboring rights society in each country. If you are not registered, the money goes uncollected.

Read our guide on neighboring rights and international royalties you are missing for the full process. This is the single most missed income stream for international artists.

What Changes by Territory: Legal Frameworks

Legal frameworks affect how publishing deals work and what rights you have:

• US compulsory mechanical license: anyone can cover your song for a statutory rate. This is unusual. Most countries require direct negotiation.
• US no terrestrial radio performance right for recordings: the US is one of the few major markets that does not pay performers for terrestrial radio play. This means American artists miss out domestically but can collect internationally.
• Copyright term: life plus 70 years in most territories. Some territories differ. Works enter the public domain at different times in different countries.
• Moral rights: some territories (particularly in Europe) grant moral rights that cannot be transferred. The US has limited moral rights protection.

These differences affect sync deals, cover licenses, and how long your works generate royalties. Work with a music lawyer who understands international copyright when you are doing cross-border deals.

Reciprocal Agreements Between Societies

PROs have reciprocal agreements to represent each other's members. If your ASCAP-registered song plays in France, SACEM collects the royalty and sends it to ASCAP, who pays you.

This system works, but it has three problems:

1. It is slow. Reciprocal collections can take 12-24 months to reach you. The money sits in the foreign society, then in your home PRO, before it reaches your account.

2. It is less transparent. You cannot easily see what the foreign society collected, what deductions they took, or what your home PRO received. You just get a final number.

3. Some money never arrives. Metadata mismatches, missing registrations, and society-specific rules cause failures. Money that cannot be matched to a writer goes into the society's unclaimed pool and is eventually distributed to other members.

Sub-publishing deals and publishing administrators provide more direct registration. Instead of relying on reciprocal agreements, they register your songs directly with the foreign society. This is faster, more transparent, and more complete.

Publishing Administration Services

Publishing administrators like Songtrust, Sentric, and Kobalt/AWAL directly register your songs with international PROs and mechanical societies. This provides more complete collection than relying on reciprocal agreements alone.

What a publishing admin does:

• Registers your songs directly with societies in dozens of territories
• Collects performance, mechanical, and (in some cases) neighboring rights
• Provides a single dashboard for tracking international royalties
• Charges 10-20% of collected income as their fee

A good admin publisher is essential for international royalty collection. Without one, you rely on reciprocal agreements that are slow, opaque, and lose money. With one, you get direct registration, faster payments, and better tracking.

Read our guide on the best royalty collection services for independent artists for a detailed comparison. Use the publishing royalty split calculator to model how admin fees affect your net income.

Tax Implications Across Territories

International royalties may face withholding taxes:

• 10-30% depending on country
• UK may deduct around 20%
• Germany may deduct around 15%
• Some EU countries deduct up to 30%

Double taxation treaties can reduce or eliminate these taxes. To claim treaty benefits, you typically need to file a tax residency certificate with the foreign society.

You may need to file tax forms in multiple countries. Work with an entertainment accountant who understands cross-border royalty taxation. They can help you:

• File the right forms for each territory
• Claim treaty benefits to reduce withholding
• Recover amounts already withheld
• Track your net income across currencies

The cost of professional tax help is usually far less than the tax you recover. Do not skip this if you are earning meaningful international royalties.

Practical Steps for International Publishing

1. Register with your home PRO. This is the foundation. Without home PRO registration, no international royalties flow back to you.

2. Register with the MLC if you earn from US streaming. The MLC collects digital mechanicals in the US. If you are not registered, your US streaming mechanicals go unmatched and eventually get distributed to other writers.

3. Join neighboring rights societies in all applicable regions. PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), Re:Sound (Canada), and others. If your music plays on radio in those territories, you are owed money. Read neighboring rights and international royalties you are missing.

4. Use a global publishing admin. Songtrust, Sentric, or Kobalt/AWAL for direct international registration. This is the single most effective step you can take for international collection.

5. Ensure metadata is consistent across all territories. Same song titles, ISWCs, ISRCs, and writer/publisher splits everywhere. Consistency is the difference between collected and uncollected.

6. Monitor royalty statements for gaps by territory. If you have listeners in Japan but no JASRAC royalties, something is wrong. Investigate gaps.

7. Consider sub-publishing deals for specific territories where you have significant audience. A sub-publisher in a specific country handles registration, collection, and sync pitching in that territory.

8. Work with an entertainment accountant for tax treaty benefits. Do not pay 30% withholding when a treaty reduces it to 0%.

For disputes when royalties go missing, read how to dispute royalty payments as an independent artist.

What to Do Next

Make a list of every society you are currently registered with. Then check your Spotify for Artists top 10 countries. For each country where you have listeners but no society registration, you are likely losing money.

Pick the gap that represents the most missing revenue. If you have US listeners but are not registered with the MLC, start there. If you have European radio play but are not registered with PPL or GVL, start there.

If you have listeners in more than 5 countries and no publishing admin, sign up for one. Songtrust or Sentric will register your songs directly in dozens of territories for a 10-15% commission. That is the highest-ROI step you can take for international publishing.

Music publishing is not designed to find you. You have to find it. Every territory where your music plays generates royalties. The question is whether you are set up to collect them.

For the full international series, read how royalties work differently in different countries and how currency exchange affects your streaming royalties.