Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2018
Capstone Advisor
Ulf Oesterle
Honors Reader
Robert Halligan
Capstone Major
Music Industry
Capstone College
Visual and Performing Arts
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Arts Management | Music | Music Business
Abstract
In this paper, I explore the music publishing process as a whole and the possible income streams available for songwriters in the music industry. Though songwriters are not the only individuals that may receive royalties for their work, this paper focuses primarily on songwriters and music publishing. Using data collected from interviews and secondary research, I explain the steps involved from generating royalties to the payment to the songwriter. I explain the roles of copyright, performing rights organizations, music publishers, mechanical licensing agencies, and more. Though the system functions as is, I describe some of the issues with the processes as they exist today. One major issue is industry-wide data organization and management. In response, I discuss potential ways to remedy these issues with a centralized database, Blockchain technology, and stronger song registration requirements.
Recommended Citation
Canete, Catherine, "The Current Royalty Distribution Process for Songwriters in the United States and Improving the Process" (2018). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 1277.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1277
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
