Guna Zučika, CEO of Every Little Thing in Latvia, delves into the often-overlooked realm of music publishing in the European music industry. Despite being the least represented sector, music publishing holds immense potential for composers, songwriters, and lyricists. Zučika sheds light on the vital functions and advantages of working with publishing agencies, offering a glimpse into the transformative role they can play in an artist’s career. From safeguarding compositions to collecting royalties, providing financial support, and aiding in marketing and promotion, music publishers are indispensable partners on the journey to musical success. Discover how they can help you maximize your creative potential and financial rewards in the industry.
According to Guna Zučika, CEO of the music company Every Little Thing in Latvia, publishing is the least represented area of the European music industry market. For example, there are only 2 such agencies in Latvia. Even in developed music markets, not all music authors cooperate with publishers. We will not go into the reasons for this phenomenon, because we have already described some of them in the previous article. But let’s try to shed light on the activities of publishing agencies, their functions and benefits for composers, songwriters and authors of lyrics for songs, based on the experience and recommendations of music expert Guna Zučika. 
- protecting and licensing musical compositions
Companies perform administration, register musical works in authors’ collective societies, represent the interests of the author in the country of residence and beyond. But if you are planning a tour in other countries, or your compositions will be performed abroad by other musicians, in order to correctly display information and receive royalties on the international market, it is better to have a publisher in each country of the tour. They register your songs and give your setlist (the pieces that will be performed during the tour) to the societies in each territory.
- collecting and distributing royalties
After registration, publishers collect royalties for your benefit. Even if your works were performed before, but were not registered, the money still went to the authors’ collective societies. How? For example, radio stations give them a certain percentage of advertising revenue every year. This, by the way, explains why royalties can vary from year to year. Usually you are entitled to royalties for the last 3 years. After this period, they are sent to the funds of authors’ collective societies.
- providing financial and creative support
Publishers have the option of making an upfront payment to the composer, which will later be repaid through royalties. This is very helpful if you are going on tour as a supporting artist without enough savings. Sometimes publishers can also find musicians to record and perform your works.
- marketing and promotion
They can be very active in finding sync opportunities, placing music on TV, radio and commercial use.
Therefore, in addition to the administration of income from royalties, publishers can play an important role in the career of a songwriter, performing various functions – financial support, promotion, establishment of professional connections, etc. Keep in mind that “The money is always collected, but it will be paid to those who are in the database” (Guna Zučika).
*Сreated based on the materials of the lecture by Guna Zučika