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.
Setting up your own music publishing company lets you collect the publisher's share of royalties that would otherwise go unclaimed. This guide explains what a publishing company does, how to register one, and what to do once it is set up.
Your music is streaming in Brazil, playing on radio in Germany, and used in a cafe in Japan right now. Each of those plays generates royalties. But if your metadata is wrong, your registrations are incomplete, or you are not registered with the right societies, that money sits in foreign banks and never reaches you.
A complete guide to music publishing deals, royalty splits, songwriter rights, and how publishing income works for artists and creators.
Sony Music Publishing is the world's largest music publisher by market share, formed from the merger of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing. Its sync licensing division places songwriter catalogs across film, television, advertising, video games, and trailers. Represents historic catalogs including the Beatles, Michael Jackson's Mijac catalog, and a vast roster of contemporary songwriters. Acquired Recognition Music Group (45,000 songs, formerly Hipgnosis portfolio) in July 2026. Does not accept unsolicited submissions.
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the music publishing division of Universal Music Group and one of the largest music publishers in the world. Its sync licensing division places songwriter catalogs across film, television, advertising, video games, and trailers. Represents a vast roster of songwriters and producers across all genres. Does not accept unsolicited submissions.
Concord Music Publishing's sync division is a global synchronization licensing operation based in New York City with teams in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. The division licenses Concord's catalog of songs for film, TV, advertising, trailers, and gaming, including works by Rodgers and Hammerstein, John Fogerty, Phil Collins, Genesis, and Robert Johnson.
