Music Publishing
Artist Manager
Songwriters/ Composers
Recording Artists
Record Labels
Royalty Collection
Live Music Sector
Artist management
Royalties
Royalties are payments to rights holders when their music is used, performed, reproduced, or streamed.Performance royalties are earned when music is publicly performed or broadcast, including live gigs, radio, TV, and streaming. Mechanical royalties are generated when a musical composition is reproduced or distributed, such as on physical media, downloads, and streaming. Streaming royalties may combine performance and mechanical components, with digital platforms paying based on plays and usage. Collection societies are organisations that collect and distribute royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, performers and publishers; examples in the UK include PRS for Music and PPL.
Copyright & Royalties Explained, Vocalist (2025).
https://vocalist.org.uk/copyright-royalties-explained
Performance Royalties Explained, TalentIR (2025).
https://www.talentir.com/blog/performance-royalties
Live Music Sector
Key Roles:
Venues
Promoters
Booking Agent
Income streams:
- Ticket sales from live performances
- Merchandise sales at events
- Performance and appearance fees
- Sponsorship and brand partnerships
- Bar and venue-related revenue
The live sector supports growth by creating revenue streams for artists, stimulating local economies, and increasing audience engagement through live performance experiences.
AMW (2024) What Does a Music Promoter Do? AMW® (28 February)
https://amworldgroup.com/blog/what-does-a-music-promoter-do
Recording Artists
Key responsibilities:
- Creating, recording, and performing music
- Rehearsing and developing their sound
- Promoting music and live performances
Income sources:
- Streaming and digital sales
- Live performance fees
- Merchandise sales
- Royalties (recording and performance)
Industry relationships:
- Recording artists interact with labels for funding, marketing, distribution, and promotion of recorded music.
- They interact with managers for career strategy, negotiations, and business management.
- They interact with publishers to manage songwriting rights, licensing, and royalty collection.
Music Publishers, MusicAdmin.com
Recording contract, Wikipedia
Songwriters/Composers
Songwriters create song lyrics and often melodies.Composers create musical compositions, including melody, harmony, and structure, sometimes without lyrics.They earn money through: Publishing royalties (performance and mechanical) Sync licensing (film, TV, games, adverts) Advances from publishing deals Their relationship to publishing: Songwriters and composers assign or license their composition rights to music publishers, who manage copyright, licensing, and royalty collection on their behalf.
Differences between roles
Songwriter Royalties | What Royalties do Songwriters Get?, The Musicians’ Union (Accessed: 27th Jan 2026). Music Publishing and Royalties Explained, SAE Institute UK (Published: [insert date]; Accessed: 27th Jan 2026).
Artist Management
Music managers play a pivotal role in an artist's career. They provide invaluable support and guidance, helping artists navigate the complexities of the music industry and achieve their career goals. Whether you're an emerging artist or an established act, having a good manager by your side can be a game-changer for your music career.
Duties of an artist manager:
- Career Planning: Managers help artists define their career goals and develop a strategic plan to achieve them
- Negotiating contracts: Ensure the terms are in the best interest of the artist
- Booking Gigs: Managers work with booking agents to secure live performances and tours for the artist
- Marketing and Promotion: Managers oversee the marketing and promotion of artist, including social media, press releases and publicity campaigns
- Financial Management: Managers often handle the financial aspects of an artist’s career, including budgeting, financial planning and ensuring the artist gets paid for their work
Source: ICMP STAFF WRITER (2023) The Role of Music Managers in an Artist’s Career, ICMP (23 October). (Accessed: 24th January 2026).
https://www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/role-music-managers-artists-career
Artist Management:
Music managers play a pivotal role in an artist's career. They provide ivaluable support and guidance, helping artists navigate the complexities of the music industry and achieve their career goals. Whether you're an emerging artist or an established act, having a good manager by your side can be a game-changer for your music career.
Duties of an artist manager:
Career Planning: Managers help artists define their career goals and develop a strategic plan to achieve them
Negotiating contracts: Ensure the terms are in the best interest of the artist
Booking Gigs: Managers work with booking agents to secure live performances and tours for the artist
Marketing and Promotion: Managers oversee the marketing and promotion of artist, including social media, press releases and publicity campaigns
Financial Management: Managers often handle the financial aspects of an artist’s career, including budgeting, financial planning and ensuring the artist gets paid for their work
ICMP Staff Writer (2023) The role of music managers in an artist's career, ICMP London, 23 October
Songwriters/Composers
Songwriters create lyrics & melodies. Composers create music (often instrumental). They earn money through publishing: Performance royalties Mechanical royalties Sync licensing Publishing covers the song itself (not the recording). If you wrote it, you own publishing. Differences: Writer: creates the song → paid via publishing Artist: performs/releases → paid from recordings, shows, merch Producer: builds the sound → paid fees/royalties
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) (n.d.) ASCAP. Available at: https://www.ascap.com/ (Accessed: 28 January 2026).
https://www.ascap.com/
Music Publishing
Music Publishing:Music publishers are companies that manage and exploit the copyright of musical compositions, ensuring songwriters are paid through licensing, royalties, and usage of their work. Copyrights and Licensing: Composition rights are the rights to the underlying musical work (lyrics and melody) and are typically owned by the songwriter or publisher. Recording rights are the rights to a specific recorded version of a song (the master recording) and are usually owned by the record label or recording artist.
Music Publishing Explained, Horus Music (3 May 2023).
https://www.horusmusic.global/news/music-publishing-explained/
Record Labels
Record Labels are companies, large or small, that manufacture, distribute and promote the recordings of affiliated musicians. Essentially, the record labels work to sell the brand of the artist and the products they create. There are various different departments within the record labels that work together to best sell their products and artists.
Possible Job Roles: A&R (artist and repitoire): Scouts and signs artists, acts as liaison
Record Producer: Oversees recording sessions, helps shape the music
Marketing/Promotion Manager: Plans and executes campaigns, gets radio/press
Social Media Manager: Manages online presence and fan engagement
Music Attorney: Handles contracts, intellectual property, legal issues
Sales & Distribution Manager: Ensures music reaches consumers
Tour Manager/Booker: Arranges and manages live performances
Accountant/Business Manager: Handles finances, royalties and budgets
'The Big 3'
Ethical issues
Source: Davis, M., Wunderlich, J., Evans, L., Merideth, R. and Davis, A. (no date) What is a Record Label?, Exploration. (Accessed: 24th January 2026).
https://exploration.io/what-is-a-record-label/
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Transcript
Music Publishing
Artist Manager
Songwriters/ Composers
Recording Artists
Record Labels
Royalty Collection
Live Music Sector
Artist management
Royalties
Royalties are payments to rights holders when their music is used, performed, reproduced, or streamed.Performance royalties are earned when music is publicly performed or broadcast, including live gigs, radio, TV, and streaming. Mechanical royalties are generated when a musical composition is reproduced or distributed, such as on physical media, downloads, and streaming. Streaming royalties may combine performance and mechanical components, with digital platforms paying based on plays and usage. Collection societies are organisations that collect and distribute royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, performers and publishers; examples in the UK include PRS for Music and PPL.
Copyright & Royalties Explained, Vocalist (2025).
https://vocalist.org.uk/copyright-royalties-explained
Performance Royalties Explained, TalentIR (2025).
https://www.talentir.com/blog/performance-royalties
Live Music Sector
Key Roles:
Venues
Promoters
Booking Agent
Income streams:
The live sector supports growth by creating revenue streams for artists, stimulating local economies, and increasing audience engagement through live performance experiences.
AMW (2024) What Does a Music Promoter Do? AMW® (28 February)
https://amworldgroup.com/blog/what-does-a-music-promoter-do
Recording Artists
Key responsibilities:
- Creating, recording, and performing music
- Rehearsing and developing their sound
- Promoting music and live performances
Income sources:- Streaming and digital sales
- Live performance fees
- Merchandise sales
- Royalties (recording and performance)
Industry relationships:Music Publishers, MusicAdmin.com
Recording contract, Wikipedia
Songwriters/Composers
Songwriters create song lyrics and often melodies.Composers create musical compositions, including melody, harmony, and structure, sometimes without lyrics.They earn money through: Publishing royalties (performance and mechanical) Sync licensing (film, TV, games, adverts) Advances from publishing deals Their relationship to publishing: Songwriters and composers assign or license their composition rights to music publishers, who manage copyright, licensing, and royalty collection on their behalf.
Differences between roles
Songwriter Royalties | What Royalties do Songwriters Get?, The Musicians’ Union (Accessed: 27th Jan 2026). Music Publishing and Royalties Explained, SAE Institute UK (Published: [insert date]; Accessed: 27th Jan 2026).
Artist Management
Music managers play a pivotal role in an artist's career. They provide invaluable support and guidance, helping artists navigate the complexities of the music industry and achieve their career goals. Whether you're an emerging artist or an established act, having a good manager by your side can be a game-changer for your music career.
Duties of an artist manager:
Source: ICMP STAFF WRITER (2023) The Role of Music Managers in an Artist’s Career, ICMP (23 October). (Accessed: 24th January 2026).
https://www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/role-music-managers-artists-career
Artist Management:
Music managers play a pivotal role in an artist's career. They provide ivaluable support and guidance, helping artists navigate the complexities of the music industry and achieve their career goals. Whether you're an emerging artist or an established act, having a good manager by your side can be a game-changer for your music career.
Duties of an artist manager:
Career Planning: Managers help artists define their career goals and develop a strategic plan to achieve them Negotiating contracts: Ensure the terms are in the best interest of the artist Booking Gigs: Managers work with booking agents to secure live performances and tours for the artist Marketing and Promotion: Managers oversee the marketing and promotion of artist, including social media, press releases and publicity campaigns Financial Management: Managers often handle the financial aspects of an artist’s career, including budgeting, financial planning and ensuring the artist gets paid for their work
ICMP Staff Writer (2023) The role of music managers in an artist's career, ICMP London, 23 October
Songwriters/Composers
Songwriters create lyrics & melodies. Composers create music (often instrumental). They earn money through publishing: Performance royalties Mechanical royalties Sync licensing Publishing covers the song itself (not the recording). If you wrote it, you own publishing. Differences: Writer: creates the song → paid via publishing Artist: performs/releases → paid from recordings, shows, merch Producer: builds the sound → paid fees/royalties
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) (n.d.) ASCAP. Available at: https://www.ascap.com/ (Accessed: 28 January 2026).
https://www.ascap.com/
Music Publishing
Music Publishing:Music publishers are companies that manage and exploit the copyright of musical compositions, ensuring songwriters are paid through licensing, royalties, and usage of their work. Copyrights and Licensing: Composition rights are the rights to the underlying musical work (lyrics and melody) and are typically owned by the songwriter or publisher. Recording rights are the rights to a specific recorded version of a song (the master recording) and are usually owned by the record label or recording artist.
Music Publishing Explained, Horus Music (3 May 2023).
https://www.horusmusic.global/news/music-publishing-explained/
Record Labels
Record Labels are companies, large or small, that manufacture, distribute and promote the recordings of affiliated musicians. Essentially, the record labels work to sell the brand of the artist and the products they create. There are various different departments within the record labels that work together to best sell their products and artists.
Possible Job Roles: A&R (artist and repitoire): Scouts and signs artists, acts as liaison Record Producer: Oversees recording sessions, helps shape the music Marketing/Promotion Manager: Plans and executes campaigns, gets radio/press Social Media Manager: Manages online presence and fan engagement Music Attorney: Handles contracts, intellectual property, legal issues Sales & Distribution Manager: Ensures music reaches consumers Tour Manager/Booker: Arranges and manages live performances Accountant/Business Manager: Handles finances, royalties and budgets
'The Big 3'
Ethical issues
Source: Davis, M., Wunderlich, J., Evans, L., Merideth, R. and Davis, A. (no date) What is a Record Label?, Exploration. (Accessed: 24th January 2026).
https://exploration.io/what-is-a-record-label/