To Answer Your Question...

Thought I'd answer a question from one of my emails I received:

"Q: I AM SETTING UP A PLACEMENT ON A ALBUM WITH A PRODUCER THAT MAY POSSIBLY BECOME A SINGLE FOR THE ARTIST....I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT AM I ENTITLED TO RECEIVING FROM THE PRODUCER (e.g., ROYALTIES, RING TONES, ETC.). THE PRODUCER DRAFTED UP A CONTRACT BUT SINCE THIS MAY BECOME A BIG SITUATION I RATHER FIND OUT THE RIGHT WAY HOW TO GO ABOUT THIS. I'M NOT FOND IN SCREWING MYSELF (LOL) SO I WANT TO DO THIS THE CORRECT WAY AND FAIR WAY."

To answer the question regarding what this person is entitled to receive, it will depend on the arrangement between the producer, the songwriter (a.k.a. "our question asker"), and the Artist who will be using the song.

Depending on the agreement, a songwriter can be entitle to a portion of the music publishing from mechanical royalties (income derived from album sales) and performance royalties (income derived from ringtones, radio or internet airplay, synch licenses, etc.).

If this is a "work-for-hire" situation, then the songwriter may only be entitled to a flat fee paid up front (or upon some happening of a later event)!!

I wouldn't recommend doing a "work-for-hire" unless the Record Company, Artist, or Producer is paying you a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money up front for all the rights to the song.

How much of the music publishing you will be entitle to will depend on your bargaining power (aka "leverage"). New songwriters usually don't have much leverage and usually just want to try to get as many placements and as much money up front. Heavy weight songwriters can ask for whatever they want! By default, music publishing is usually split based upon the number of songwriters on a song. For example, if you have FOUR songwriters on a song, they would probably end up splitting the income derived from the song and getting 25% each (i.e., 100% of the song divided by 4 songwriters). However, it still comes down to the leverage you have. You may be able to demand MORE or LESS of the song. I usually advise my client's to shoot for the stars but set a floor (i.e., a minimum percentage of publishing they'd take) around 12%.

To protect yourself, make sure you have some sort of Songwriter's Agreement or a "split sheet" that spells out your agreement with others regarding ownership and rights in a song!

***Not sure what is a "split sheet"??? Read my article entitled: "SPLIT WHO? SPLIT SHEET MYSTERY SOLVED!"***