4.3.3 Music Publishing Companies Offer Various Services and Provide Many Benefits “..Publishing companies still hold the key to getting your songs to the right people.” (Interviewee D, Ref. 141)
There is no doubting that both the results and the literature indicate that music publishing companies still provide many benefits to songwriters through the services they offer and the experience they have (Interviewee A, Ref. 40). Music publishing companies can take on numerous roles that the self-publisher simply could not accommodate for (see Interviewee B, Ref. 86; Barrow and Newby, 1995; Bradford, 2005; Garofalo, 1999; Harrison, 2008; Hull, 2004; Kanaar and Phillips, 2009). Music publishing companies also have the capacity to easily “facilitate the creativity side” (Interviewee A, Ref. 8), look for outlets for a writer’s music (Interviewee A, Refs. 8, 9 and 10; BBC, 2010; Bergman, 2004; Davis and Laing, 2006; Harrison, 2008; MPA 1, 2009), provide finance (Interviewee A, Refs. 8 and 45; Interviewee C, Ref. 107; Interviewee F, Ref. 206; Interviewee G, Ref. 126), provide guidance and advice (Interviewee D, Ref. 170; Interviewee E, Refs. 186 and 187; Interviewee F, Ref. 206), generate and collect income quicker than self-publishers and collection societies (Interviewee A, Refs. 40, 41 and 45; Interviewee D, Refs. 135, 143 and 148), and provide writers with access to many important industry personnel (Interviewee A, Ref. 11; Interviewee C, Ref. 107; Interviewee D, Ref. 141; Interviewee E, Ref. 193). As Interviewee C (Ref. 116) points out, they have “knowledge/experience/contacts” and “support – creatively, financially and legally”. Of interest is the point made by Interviewee D (Ref. 133) who says that “if you’re looking to get your songs sung by someone else...a publishing company is probably still the way it’s going to happen – certainly...if you’re gonna make a living off it”. As publishing companies have their own organic networks that have been developed over many years they can exploit songs through this network and generate many exploitation opportunities (Interviewee D, Refs. 136, 149 and 152; Interviewee E, Ref. 188) and collect the revenues generated quickly; collection societies can only do so much
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