General information for music publishers
The role of the publisher is to disseminate and popularise the author’s work, allowing the public to use it in different ways.
When entering into a publishing agreement, the author and the publisher shall agree on the following:
- the work or works that are the object of the contract;
- the term and territory of the agreement;
- the assignment of proprietary rights and restrictions resulting from an agreement entered into or to be entered into by the author with the EAÜ or another collective representation society;
- the granting of a right of the re-assignment of proprietary rights;
- the distribution of royalties between the author and the publisher;
- the liability of the parties in the event of non-performance or breach of the agreement.
The EAÜ exercises publishers’ rights in four categories
| Rights category | Method of use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Public performance | Performance of a musical work in a place open to the public | Concerts and festivals, dances Background music e.g. in catering and acommodation establishments |
| Transmission and retransmission | Transmission and retransmission of a musical work through technical means | Transmission of musical works in television and radio programmes, and broadcasts via broadcasting networks, cable networks, or other electronic communication networks |
| Making available to the public | Making a musical work available to the public in a way that enables people to listen to it on demand | Streaming and downloading services such as Spotify and iTunes |
| Reproduction | Recording a piece of music on a CD, hard drive, DVD, or other data carrier | Production of CDs, DVDs, and similar data carriers |
