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Music publishers manage and help songwriters protect the rights to their musical works.

They make sure that the musical work is making money and that money is finding its way back to its owners.

There are a lot of ways they can do this.

Like negotiating deals with labels and other creators, licensing the musical work for use in films, TV shows and commercials, collecting royalties from streaming services and radio stations, and by promoting, marketing and exploiting, or monetizing, musical works in other ways.

Now when I say musical work I'm talking about the written music composition and lyrics, not the actual sound recording.

But since the use of any sound recording also requires use of its musical work music publishers actually help with access to music in all its forms.

Music publishers don't just invest in the musical works though.

They invest in you the songwriter as well.

You might be familiar with how labels offer deals to performing and recording artists well publishers offer publishing deals to songwriters.

As part of that deal, publishers might give songwriters advances on future song revenues so that they have money to live on and can just focus on writing great music.

They'll help songwriters to develop their career take care of the business and admin side of promoting and registering their musical works and act as the middlemen between their songwriters and the music industry, and the general public.

They try to expose their songwriters to new opportunities.

And the top priority, to make sure the songwriters they represent are properly paid and credited for their creative work.

Now music publishers are different from PROs or Performing Rights Organizations, which represent their members through collective licensing when a song is used.

If you have a publisher that publisher may register your work with your PRO on your behalf.

We have a page all about PROs and CMOs to learn more.

What's important to know is that it's not either-or.

You really need both.

What is a Music Publisher?

3 min read

October 8, 2026

Learn what role music publishers play in the music industry ecosystem.

Music publishers are companies that represent songwriters and monetize musical works.

What is music publishing?

Music publishing is the process of managing and protecting the in on behalf of .

This includes:

Helping their songwriters develop and build their careers
new musical works with
Pitching, promoting, and marketing their songwriters' musical works
musical works for use in films, TV shows, and commercials
Collecting , for example from

Remember, when we say musical work, this refers to the written music and lyrics, not the . They each have different rights, administered separately.

It is important to understand the different rights protected by and how they apply to musical works and sound recordings; visit our Music Creators’ Rights topic to learn more.

What does a music publisher do?

sign contracts with songwriters that allow publishers to exploit the songwriters' musical works and provide services to the songwriters. These contracts sometimes also provide financial support in the form of on future royalties.

Music publishers will then help develop a songwriter's career, taking care of , promoting and registering their musical works, and ensuring they are properly and paid.

Music publishers collaborate with many areas of the music industry ecosystem, from , to , and CMOs. They also work with the wider entertainment industry, managing with audio and video streaming platforms, movie and TV studios, and anyone wanting to use their songwriters' musical works.

Music publishers often offer support during the creation process, among other things, by arranging collaborations with other songwriters for so-called and helping to the creative work of their songwriters to other creators, record labels, and advertising agencies. This is usually done by the publisher's A&R representatives.

For example, a music publisher might pitch a musical work written by one of their songwriters to an signed to a record label. If the artist decides to record it, this will benefit the songwriter, who would typically receive the agreed royalties and a songwriter credit.

If the songwriter also has a some parts of this work may be done together and in consultation with the publisher.

What’s the difference between a music publisher and a CMO?

Music publishers can work very closely with CMOs; both have a role in administering rights and licensing, but they are not the same.

As described above, music publishers, in addition to managing and protecting rights, play an active role in the growth and success of their songwriters' careers. If you work with a music publisher, they will likely handle most of this for you.

CMOs, on the other hand, administer rights and collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers when their musical works are used, but they don't play the same role in developing a songwriter's career as music publishers do.

Learn more on our CMOs page.

What’s the difference between a major and an independent publisher?

All music publishers have largely the same role, with the main difference between a major and independent music publisher being in the company's market share.

A major music publisher is typically a company that owns and controls a significant share of the global music publishing market.

An independent music publisher is usually a company that has around 5 percent or less of the global market share.

You can view more publishing companies on the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) and The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) websites.

Video credit: Tiffany Orvet, Daniel Sundström, Eric Ivar Persson, David Wells, Tobias Leo Nordquist, Ponny Höijer, William Engström, Parapix