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What Are Publishing Royalties?
Publishing (also referred to as compositional) rights belong to the songwriter (sometimes called the composer or author) behind a musical work — the melody, harmony, and lyrics. In electronic music, the songwriter is often also the producer and the recording artist. In other genres, these roles are more often separate, so the songwriter may be different from the artist whose name appears on the release:
→ On platforms like Spotify, the “Original Artist” or clickable artist name usually refers to the main artist linked to the sound recording (a "track").
→ This is not always the same person as the songwriter. Publishing royalties belong to the songwriter(s) of the musical work.
A great way to understand the difference between songwriter and the recording artist is via the credits feature on Spotify.
An artist name (like GMJ) may appear as the clickable Main Artist on a release, but publishing royalties are tied to the songwriter identity used for rights registration and royalty collection, typically a real legal name. In this example, the songwriting credits belong to Gavin Griffin, the real person behind the artist project GMJ.
However, in some cases — especially in pop music, but also occasionally in electronic music — songs are written by dedicated songwriters and later recorded by a different artist. In these situations, the publishing rights belong to the songwriter (and/or their publisher), while the recording (or “master”) rights belong to the artist and their record label.
Taking a well-known example, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was written by Dolly Parton. Similarly, “All by Myself,” performed by Celine Dion, was written by Eric Carmen. In both cases, the Main Artist did not write the underlying composition.
Why does this matter?
It is important to understand that this difference also means a different flow of royalties:
(1) Recording (or master) royalties flow from streaming and download platforms through distributors to record labels and then to (recording) artists.
(2) Publishing royalties, on the other hand, flow through so-called collection societies and/or to publishers and to the songwriter(s).
IMPORTANT: Even if you are both the songwriter and the recording artist (like Gavin Griffin aka GMJ), these royalties are still separate and must be collected separately. This can seem complex, but working with Proton helps simplify the process.
Where publishing royalties come from
Publishing royalties can be generated in several ways:
(1) Mechanical Royalties (digital and offline): generated when a composition is reproduced. This includes streams on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, downloads from stores like Beatport, and physical formats such as vinyl or CDs.
(2) Performance Royalties (digital and offline): generated when a composition is performed publicly. This includes streams on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, online radio and webcasts, radio and TV broadcasts, DJ sets, festivals, venues, and background music played in public spaces.
(3) Sync (use with visuals): generated when music is used together with visual content, such as films, TV shows, advertisements, trailers, or games.
Note: A single use can generate multiple types of publishing royalties. For example, a stream can generate both mechanical and performance royalties.
How Proton Publishing Works
Proton Publishing is designed to help songwriters register and collect publishing royalties without needing to work with multiple collection societies individually.
Here’s how it works:
(1) Songwriters (artists) enter into a publishing agreement with Proton.
(2) Proton registers eligible musical works with an international collection society that collects publishing royalties globally, provided the music is released on labels that have not opted out of the publishing program (because those labels might be publishers themselves).
(3) Publishing royalties are collected worldwide and paid out by Proton on a quarterly basis.
(4) Proton’s commission as a publisher is split equally with labels participating in the publishing program. More info in the next section!
Working with Proton allows songwriters to access publishing royalties worldwide without having to manage multiple collection relationships or catalog registrations themselves.
A Label-Friendly, Artist-First Approach
Traditionally, publishing revenue does not involve record labels and usually only goes to the songwriter (composer) and the publisher. Remixers and featured artists are also not automatically considered part of the songwriting side, even though they may sometimes add creative elements that become part of the underlying musical work.
At Proton, we take a broader approach and include all key contributors. Here’s how:
Record labels: We share 50% of our publisher commission with the label behind tracks connected to registered musical works.
Remixers and featured artists: For works on tracks released within the Proton ecosystem, Proton includes remixers — and, where relevant, featured artists — on the songwriting side by default, assigning a pro rata share unless this is overridden on a case-by-case basis.
This approach allows labels to participate in publishing income without reducing the songwriter’s rights or earnings, while also recognizing creative contributions beyond the original songwriter.
Initial Beta Version (and What’s Next)
During the initial beta, musical works can only be registered for publishing with Proton if they are also released on labels distributed by Proton. We aim to support registrations from tracks on non-Proton labels in the near future.
Interested in signing up for Proton Publishing?
We plan to make this service broadly available over time, but for now it is primarily invitation-based.
(1) If you are a label manager and also an artist: You can apply for early access if you run a label on Proton and have released tracks on Proton as an original artist or remixer. Please fill out the waitlist form and mention the name of your Proton label to be prioritized!
(2) If you are an artist but not a label manager: Proton Publishing is currently invitation-only, but we plan to open access more widely once the initial group of label managers is onboarded. Feel free to fill out the waitlist form, but please note that it may take several weeks for us to get in touch.
(3) If you are a label manager but not an artist: You can opt into publishing and benefit from Proton’s shared commission model, or opt out if you already have your own publishing setup. (More info below)
Labels: Already Working With a Publisher or Admin Service for Your Catalog?
If your label’s catalog already has a publishing solution in place and you do not want any of your tracks to be registered with Proton Publishing, Proton will notify you if we sign a songwriter with a work connected to your label.
This gives you the opportunity to confirm that the work has already been registered through your own publishing setup, and we will then exclude it from Proton’s registrations.
Questions?
Reach out to our publishing team at publishing@protonradio.com! :)