Music publisher

A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellectual property of composers. History of music publishing The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued hand-copied or printed sheet music. Examples (who are actively in business ) include: Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, Germany, founded 1719 Schott, Mainz, Germany, 1770 Oxford University Press, University of Oxford, England, founded 18th century Edition Peters, Leipzig, 1800 Casa Ricordi, Milan, Italy, founded 1808 (now owned by Universal Music Publishing Group) G. Schirmer, Inc., New York, United States, founded 1861 (now owned by Wise Music Group) Universal Edition, Vienna, Austria, 1901 Bärenreiter, Germany, founded 1923 Boosey & Hawkes, London, England, founded 1930 (now owned by Concord) Hans Sikorski, Hamburg, Germany, 1935 (now owned by Concord) PWM, Kraków, Poland, founded 1945 G. Henle Verlag, Munich, Germany, founded 1948 List of online digital musical document libraries In the music industry, a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called a publishing contract, a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists, film and television. The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of the most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company). Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset.