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As a music creator, you probably focus most of your attention on songwriting and performing, and rightfully so. But understanding how royalties are generated, collected, and deposited in your bank...

We’re nearing almost a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s safe to say that the COVID-19 virus has upended nearly everything we took for granted: How we socialize, how we shop, and how we...

From the ways we gather to hear live music to how we buy our groceries, there’s hardly a single thing the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t turned upside down. The disruption has hit many industries including...

When you’re at the beginning of your music career, the music industry can seem like a giant fortress. You’re circling the walls looking for a way in, but the drawbridge is up, and the gates are...

Lyrics are often overlooked in favor of the more immediate melodies and hooks when people discuss great songwriting, but a masterful turn of phrase can mean the difference between a memorable song...

Music publishing is a complex, often confusing topic, even for those of us who work in the industry every day. The following article is a perfect starting point for making sense of it all: seven...

Sometimes a song bursts forth on its own, fully formed and ready to be shared with the world. These are the moments creators live for — the ones that make all those false starts and long nights feel...

We spend a lot of time answering questions about music publishing here at Songtrust. The biggest one by far centers around whether or not creators even need traditional deals anymore. After all, if...

Many creators are wary of learning how songwriting actually works — as if understanding the elements of a song makes their music less genuine or “real”. We’d like to challenge that notion today;...

As an independent songwriter, it’s absolutely vital that — to quote The Clash — you know your rights.

One of the most important concepts in music publishing is how each recorded song has two unique copyrights, or two “halves.” Knowing how these halves co-exist is essential to understanding the unique...

Even if you’re new to the music business, you’ve probably heard about royalties: the revenue earned whenever a song is played, whether it’s live, pre-recorded, or streamed.

If you’ve begun to explore the broad topic of how songwriters actually earn money writing music, you may have come across the term “sync.” One of the most potentially lucrative opportunities...

For many songwriters and musicians, the idea of signing a publishing deal sounds like reaching the pinnacle of success. In fact, some music creators find it so exciting that the only question they...

There are few experiences more exciting for a songwriter than hearing your music played or streamed for the first time. It’s proof that the act of creating music is a reward in and of itself.

After many frustrating years for those in music rights management, a sensible, timely framework for managing the complicated business of music rights came into view in 2018. Artists, songwriters, and...

One of the most commonly used but least understood terms in music publishing is “copyright.” The simplest definition is a form of intellectual property that is granted protections that are...

For the last century or so, traditional publishing deals have been a bedrock of the music industry. In their simplest form, they’re a tradeoff: you give up a percentage of your ownership and...

Now that on-demand outlets like Spotify and Apple Music dominate the market — accounting for 83% of the music industry’s total revenue as of 2020 — there’s really no way of getting around how...

Katie Jelen of Secret Road Music Services — a Nashville-based music publisher — once said she hears the words “I want a [publishing] deal!” more often than “we should grab coffee sometime.”

For many songwriters, becoming an international sensation can be a lifelong dream. Thanks to an ever-growing global connectivity, it’s not only possible, but increasingly a reality. At this very...

Conceptually speaking, covering and sampling music can be considered two sides of the same coin. Covers involve the intellectual use of pre-existing material — a reinterpretation of an existing...

Savvy musicians know that YouTube is a great way to locate current and potential fans around the world. If you’ve started your own YouTube channel, you’re well on your way towards developing those...

Most people aren’t aware of it, but music publishing touches nearly every aspect of our lives. From the first song you remember hearing on your parents’ scratchy turntable to the ones you hear piped...

As a songwriter, you probably spend a majority of your time refining, reworking and iterating your work until it’s perfect. It’s not easy, especially when you’re just starting out, and your time can...

Many historians trace the first radio transmission back to Christmas Eve 1906, when Reginald Fessenden used a handmade device to broadcast from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. Those lucky enough to tune...