The Pub Deal 2014: FAQs

A few weeks back, American Songwriter partnered with Songspace, Martin Guitar and  publishing/management/music licensing company Secret Road to launch the 2nd Annual The Pub Deal.  With the deadline approaching, we’ve had lots of questions about the opportunity, so we had Director of Strategy, Jesse Feister, answer some frequently asked questions below:

Why did you all decide to create an opportunity like this?
Now in its second year, “The Pub Deal” originally evolved from the American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest. Just recently American Songwriter highlighted an awesome story on Quinten Collier, who landed a cut on Rodney Crowell’s new album Tarpaper Sky. That opportunity came about after he won the 2010 Lyric Contest and met Rodney as a part of the “dream co-write” prize back in 2010.

So the lyric contest has been a huge benefit to writers, and we decided to take it a step further.  The music business is tough to break in to even for talented artists and writers, mostly because there are so many people vying for the same opportunities. Of course there will always be opportunities for great writers with great songs in the right place at the right time, but it’s not always obvious how to get in that ‘right place at the right time.’

We’re willing to sit down and actually take the time to listen to thousands of songs because part of our mission at Songspace is to support developing writers. We thought it’d be cool if we could help launch someone’s career who might not otherwise get the opportunity. Thankfully we’ve been able to do that with Elise Davis, last year’s Pub Deal winner, who just had her deal re-upped for another year with HoriPro.

What’s the advantage for me? Why should I enter? Most contests are a rip off, right? 
Well $20,000 is obviously a sizable chunk of cash. But more broadly, every successful artist or songwriter has people working for them behind the scenes. All of them. Secret Road is a great example of a company that has thrived in the new music economy because they figured out ways to make money off of music beyond just getting songs on the radio and selling downloads on iTunes or CDs at Walmart (although they do that pretty well too). The bottom line is you can’t do it alone. Having smart, creative, and well-connected music business folks going to bat for you is a huge advantage.

What makes the “The Pub Deal” unique is that it’s a non-recoupable $20,000 contract. To explain: a standard publishing contract pays an advance – essentially a loan that the songwriter pays back from their earnings. As someone still recouping my own major label pub deal advance, let me say this loud and clear: under a traditional publishing or record deal, the artist or songwriter starts out in the hole. But with the Pub Deal, that $20,000 is yours, so the potential to start earning money off your music happens right out of the gate. You pocket $20,000 and then split any royalties from your songs 50/50 with Secret Road.

We were dedicated to getting people like Martin Guitar involved (who generously sponsored this contest) to make this the most artist-friendly deal possible. There are very reputable brands and people backing this contest because we all want to create a genuine opportunity. Basically we wanted to create the pub deal we wish we could’ve signed as writers.

Most people considering a career in music have heard about record deals, but fewer know about publishing deals. How would you describe the difference?
Writing songs and performing them are two different skills that create two different types of royalty income, even though they often work hand-in-hand. Record deals are an investment in your recordings; they’re designed to launch your career as brand-name artist. Publishing deals are an investment in your career as a songwriter.

If you’re an artist as well, that might very well include marketing your  recordings, since your own hit album or single would generate songwriting royalties. But it also might mean pitching your songs to other artists, or connecting you with other artists as a writer. Sia and Jack Antonoff are a good examples of people who have had recent success as both artists AND writers for other artists.

If I win the Pub Deal, does it mean Secret Road will own all of my songs?
Partially. The winner of the ‘Pub Deal’ will enter a co-publishing agreement with Secret Road. That means you split ownership of your publishing rights 50/50 with Secret Road. In exchange, they’ll be hustling to make your songs some money! They’ll be looking for opportunities to use your songs in movies, TV shows, and ads, as well as keeping an ear for for artists who might be a good fit to record your songs.

If step one is being a songwriter and step two is getting a publishing deal, what would step three be?
Making money! You’ll be working with the Secret Road team to come up with a plan to best monetize your creative strengths. That could be anything from writing for specific commercial requests, writing with other artists, or if you’re a songwriter who also happens to be a performer, writing material for yourself. The key is you’ll have a team of seasoned professionals giving you advice and feedback to help you build a career in a way that works best for you.

Will “The Pub Deal” cover previous works by the songwriter? Or is it only for the material written during the term of the contract?
Yep – this includes previous works and that’s a good thing for you. The songs you’ve already written are what we evaluate. Once we narrow the entries down to the strongest possible candidates, the value of your older songs will be assessed by the Secret Road staff. Discussions about what you’re bringing to the table will be a big part of the audition process, and the hope would be that there will be songs ready to pitch from day one.

Are only Country music songwriters allowed to enter?
No! Secret Road is a company with connections to genres across the music business. Any and all songwriters can enter. If you’ve got great songs, regardless of genre, we want to hear them.

What should songwriters that want to enter “The Pub Deal” need to excel in?
Great melodies, great lyrics, great storytelling.

Learn more about “The Pub Deal” here.