What Exactly Is an Administration Agreement?

It’s a type of publishing deal.

In an administration agreement, you — the songwriter — maintain creative control of your copyright and pay usually about 10% to 25% of your publisher’s share in the form of an administrative fee. Publishing administrators do not own your copyright at any point during or after the term of the agreement.

Administration agreements do not include creative services. They focus solely on administrative duties, such as properly registering your songs with global societies and collecting royalties on your behalf. Administration deals occasionally include an advance as well, but it must be recouped in the same manner as any publishing deal.

Publishing administrators like Songtrust have relationships with performance and mechanical collection societies around the world that make royalty collection much simpler than it would be for a songwriter to do on their own. This leaves you time to focus on writing, as well as push your songs creatively.

You can learn more about the terms of Songtrust's administration agreement here, or by checking out the infographic below.

Traditional Publishing Deal Chart_Long

Want to keep up with Songtrust for frequent music and publishing updates?