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Publishing Traditional publishers don’t just keep 90% of the
For much of history, when a composer wished to profits after paying the composer (and author) roy-
have a piece of music available for purchase and/or alties. The majority of publishers’ sales are through
rental, this required a publisher to handle the prepara- retailers, who often receive up to a 50% (or more)
tion and distribution of the music. The advent of the discount on the retail price for reselling. Some pub-
internet shifted this model and made it more acces- lishers also hire distributors to handle their warehous-
sible for composers to publish their own music—often ing and order fulfillment, and those distributors often
referred to as “self-publishing.” And more recently, receive 25% of the net profit remaining after retailer
marketplaces have developed a model that sells music discounts. Publishers must then pay their engravers,
by various self-publishing composers. Each of these editors, administrative assistants, etc.; much of the re-
modes of publishing and distribution has advantages maining budget is spent on advertising.
and disadvantages, and we’ll endeavor to outline them The benefits of traditional publishing include the
here. For conductors, this information may impact strength of these established networks of promotion
your purchasing and licensing choices in hopes of sus- that can help introduce a composer to a much wider
taining composers’ careers. audience than they might reach on their own, even
with the help of the internet. Publishers also provide
Traditional Publishing “vetting” that self-publishing or other distribution
In this model, composers submit their works to the venues cannot. While editors are not infallible, their
publishing company for consideration. If the com- “stamp of approval” in accepting a piece for publica-
poser’s work is accepted, an editor may be involved tion provides a valuable service to many conductors
to offer changes to the piece. An engraver will work who trust them, and helps composers’ music avoid
to make the score look professional and conform to getting lost in the multitude of pieces that are being
the publisher’s “house style,” and send proofs to the self-promoted these days. Additionally, publishers
composer for approval before publication. Traditional handle the registration of works with various licens-
publishers handle all printing, advertising, and distri- ing entities (ASCAP, BMI, CCLI, OneLicense, or
bution of these scores, whether sold on their own plat- other Performance Royalty Organizations, as well as
form or through a retailer (more on “retailers” below). the MLC or other streaming audio databases, etc.) as
Traditional publishers pay the composer a percent- well as all the customer communications, warehous-
age of the income from all sales, performance royal- ing, order fulfillment, online sale, customer service,
ties, and licensing on a yearly basis. The standard sales tech support, licensing and rights inquiries, etc.
royalty rate to the composer is 10% of the retail price The drawbacks to traditional publishing include
of the score, although some composers may be able the tight financial margins created by the traditional
to negotiate a slightly higher percentage, and some supply chain; the publisher must sell enough scores
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publishers pay higher royalties on digital (PDF) sales. and provide other benefits to make the 10% royalty
Licensing revenue (including performance royalties, worthwhile for a composer who has other options.
mechanical and sync licensing, etc.) is typically split Also, in some cases, a piece may be marketed only for
50/50 between the artists and music publisher (see our a particular season or “market cycle,” then left behind
second article, “Licensing,” for more on this!). as a publisher moves on to promoting new works. (We
If a newly written or copyrighted text is used in the believe the best publishers publish works that will last
published choral work, the composer’s share of the more than one “cycle,” and continue to support and
royalty is further subdivided between the composer promote their “back catalog.”) Traditional publishing
and the author or author’s publisher. These royalties also requires the composer to transfer copyright of
are usually paid annually (although some publishers their work to the publisher. This requires trust that
pay every six months) to the composer and, if appli- the publisher will serve the composer’s best interests,
cable, the poet; or, if deceased, to their estate. and that the partial loss of control and splits of print

CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2023 Volume 63 Number 7 29