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Glossary · Publishing

Publishing administrator

By Boboy Watson·Last verified August 31, 2026·Also called Publishing admin, Admin deal, Publishing administration service

A publishing administrator does the paperwork half of publishing and skips the ownership half. It registers your compositions with collection societies in dozens of territories, files the works with The MLC, links to your ASCAP or BMI account, collects what those societies pay, and remits it to you minus a commission. It does not acquire your copyright and it does not take a permanent share of your songs.

The reason to use one is foreign income. Inside the United States, a self-administered writer can reach nearly everything: The MLC is free and pays digital mechanicals, ASCAP or BMI pays performance royalties once you hold both a writer and a publisher account, and SoundExchange handles the recording-side digital performance royalty free of charge. Outside the United States, collecting means having a relationship with each local society, and that is what an administrator sells you.

Administrators differ in scope. Songtrust is a dedicated global publishing administration service. DistroKid Publishing is a paid add-on that DistroKid's own documentation describes as collecting global digital mechanicals, US offline mechanicals, global digital public performance, US offline public performance and worldwide sync — income it explicitly calls different from the streaming royalties DistroKid already collects for all members. CD Baby offers a comparable publishing service alongside distribution.

The misunderstanding worth flagging: an administrator does not replace your PRO membership. DistroKid's documentation is direct about it — if you are PRO-affiliated it collects both publisher and songwriter shares, and if you are not, it collects the publisher share only. Join ASCAP or BMI first, then decide about an administrator.

Written from experience with these services; check current terms yourself before signing up.

Definitions on this site describe the United States system. I am an artist who has been through this, not a lawyer.