Most independent artists register with a PRO and assume they are covered. They are not. Here is what publishing administration actually involves — and how much it can change your income.
The gap most independent artists don't know exists
Registering with PRS for Music or ASCAP is a good start. But it is only a start. The majority of independent artists stop there — and in doing so, leave a significant portion of their royalties uncollected. Publishing administration is the layer of active management that sits between your registration and the money actually reaching you.
What publishing administration actually covers
Publishing administration is the ongoing process of registering, tracking, and collecting the royalties generated by your compositions — not your recordings, but the underlying songs themselves. This covers several distinct streams:
- Performance royalties — earned when your music is played on radio, TV, in live venues, or streamed
- Mechanical royalties — earned when your compositions are reproduced, including digital downloads and physical sales
- Synchronisation fees — earned when your music is licensed for film, TV, advertising, or games
- Print and transcription income — earned from sheet music and lyric licensing
Why a PRO registration alone is not enough
Collection societies like PRS, ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN can only collect royalties they know to attribute to you. If your works are not registered with every relevant society in every relevant territory, income generated in those territories simply goes uncollected. Most independent artists are only registered in their home territory — meaning anything earned internationally is lost by default.
The territory problem
If your music is streamed in Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and Australia — and you are only registered with PRS — the royalties generated in those territories go into an undistributed pool. A publishing administrator handles multi-territory registration so income from every country where your music is heard can be claimed.
What a publishing administrator does differently
A publishing administrator does not just handle your paperwork. The active component — pursuing unclaimed royalties, auditing society accounts, identifying and disputing underpayments — is where most of the value is recovered. Many new clients are surprised to find royalties that have been accruing for months or years, unclaimed.
Publisher vs publishing administrator: the critical difference
A traditional music publisher typically acquires a percentage of your copyright in exchange for their services. A publishing administrator like Code Group Music works on your behalf without taking any ownership of your music. You retain 100% of your copyright. We retain a small administration commission from the royalties we collect. That is the only exchange.
Who needs publishing administration
Publishing administration is relevant to any songwriter, composer, or rights holder whose music is being performed, broadcast, streamed, or licensed — regardless of whether they are signed to a label. If you are making music that other people are hearing, you are generating royalties. The question is whether they are finding their way to you.
If you are unsure whether your catalog is being fully administered, our free Catalog Assessment is the best starting point. It takes under five minutes and we will respond with a clear, honest picture of where your royalties currently stand.