Missing Link Music is here to help the songwriter navigate through the challenges of the music industry. To that end, we have assembled the top questions we are frequently asked by prospective clients who need our assistance.
What is music publishing?
Music publishing deals with the ownership, promotion, and administration of copyrights for musical compositions. As a songwriter you can participate in the marketplace by shopping and licensing your songs. You can also work independently, or with an outside entity, to register the copyright for your song. You are generally considered a bona fide publisher once you register the copyright of a song, the song has been licensed for commercial use and you begin collecting royalties for that usage. As the publisher, you are entitled to receive payments in the form of royalties, which are typically based on your negotiations and the rates set by law in the territory where your song is used. Missing Link Music assists our clients with the licensing and registration of their songs worldwide to ensure that each of our songwriters has fair, transparent representation of their contribution to a work via any commercial usage.
How do I generate and collect royalties?
Any commercial usage of a song can generate royalties. As an artist, there are several types of royalties you can collect–among them, performance royalties, mechanical royalties, synchronization royalties, advertising royalties, digital royalties, print royalties, and multimedia royalties. Please click on the tabs below to read more about each royalty type and how Missing Link Music can help you collect each stream.
What’s the difference between “administration” and “publishing”?
While there are many similarities, the copyright of a song that is “published” is owned by the publisher, whereas an “administered” song copyright stays with the songwriter, and the necessary paperwork is performed by the administrator.
Some songwriters prefer to continue owning their copyrights and simply outsource the registration, licensing, royalty collection and auditing functions on their songs.
Other songwriters may view the value of partnering with a publisher as a great opportunity in increasing the value of their songs, facilitating the publisher’s legal defense of their songs, and participating in advances that may be available based on the potential of their catalog.
Missing Link offers both types of services—administration and publishing.
If I want to be a Missing Link Music client, what is required?
Missing Link Music is of the greatest value to writers, artists, and producers who have had at least one song placed on a commercially released album or released as a single, have gotten radio airplay or had their song featured on TV, in a film, videogame or an advertisement. While commercial activity of your songs is preferred, for certain select songwriters we offer “Demo Deals” that are designed to help up-and-coming talent achieve commercial success by utilizing Missing Link Music’s experienced team, client collaborations, and established industry resources.
I’m already affiliated with ASCAP or BMI? Can Missing Link Music still help me?
While ASCAP, BMI and SESAC can help you collect your performance royalties, it is our experience that many writers miss opportunities to collect ALL of the royalties that they are due. Missing Link Music can help you track down multiple royalty streams and even performance royalties you may not be receiving, for reasons as simple as not having an up-to-date account with your PRO or as complicated as having your song mired in a multi-party copyright dispute. Missing Link Music is positioned to collect many income streams, and can serve as your watchdog for all royalties, including performance, mechanical, synch, print and multi-media royalties.
My song was distributed overseas, but I haven’t gotten paid for it. Can you help me collect my international royalties?
Yes. Missing Link Music is well positioned to assist you with foreign royalty collections. We collect royalties for our clients from almost everywhere in the world where music is used commercially and collection societies exist. Please visit the SERVICES section of this website for more information on our international services and affiliations.
This all sounds great, but I’m looking to distribute my material. Do you guys have a Record Label?
Yes. Missing Link Music offers Label Services in the form of digital distribution of your album, EP or single, all with the goal of assisting you with getting your music out to the digital marketplace. Please visit the LABEL SERVICES section of the website for more information.
Okay. So you sound like a really successful independent publisher, but why should I go with an indie publisher over one of the majors?
Personal attention and service is critical in the music industry. The songwriters, artists, and producers in the Missing Link Music family are grateful to have a progressive, independent publisher rather than a bloated corporation as their creative partner. We know your name, we know your catalog, we know it’s our job to take care of business so you can make music. That’s the kind of partnership every member of the Missing Link Music team believes our clients deserve. At Missing Link Music, we value each and every one of our clients and pride ourselves on giving them the respect and personal attention that is due an artist.
