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A published song means that you have assigned a portion of the rights to the song to a publishing company. You probably signed a publishing contract authorizing the company to market and exploit the song for a period ranging from six months to…well, forever. The sad truth is, many songwriters in the Philippines have willingly (or unwittingly) signed over their rights to their songs FOR LIFE. Of course, since you, by law, still own your songwriter’s share, you can always make kulit about your royalties but we doubt it very much if you will get an accurate account of how much income your song is actually reeling in.
But it is always a good idea to consider signing a portion of your rights to the song with a publishing company. Publishing companies exist for a good reason – they have the clout and the network to market your song. But always insist on a time frame ( a good time frame is between six months to maybe four years) and a provision in the contract that allows you to market your own song (so you can monitor the income). Never, EVER, sign your song for life! The term to watch: “in perpetuity.” Believe us, you will regret it!
An unpublished song simply means that the song is a hundred percent owned by the songwriter. Many of the songs we manage are unpublished and released commercially.
Sadly, songs can be published but, for various reasons, not released. Problems can arise when the project that involves your song gets shelved, indefinitely, for one reason or another. Make sure that your song reverts back to you after the period written in your contract, greenlight man or redlight.
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