What role if any does a Publisher and PRO (performing rights society) play in music licensing?
S.H: They play a very big role. Traditionally if someone has a publishing deal than the administrating publisher generally negotiates the prices of the usage of the underlying composition. In the traditional licensing world under the old model if you’re an artist and writer signed to a major label deal and then a publishing deal, those two entities are the ones who negotiate the rights for licensing your deals. But in the independent world the responsibility falls more in the hands of the creator so what we do is we actually act as a licensing agent for those independent owners of content. Performing Rights Organizations play a role in licensing when they collect performance royalties and there are only certain types of usages for synchronization that generate those streams of revenues. Both of those roles are highly significant. S. Jeanine: Can you explain on what it means to have your music “pre-cleared”? S.H: With pre-clearing generally in the past when you were selling your music o
