Licensing & royalties
Publishing Clearance
Publishing clearance is written permission to use the composition — the melody, harmony and lyrics — as distinct from the recording of it. Every commercial use of music requires clearance on both sides: the master and the publishing. Obtaining one without the other leaves the use unauthorised.
In practice
The publishing side is usually the slower half. A single song can have several co-writers, each represented by a different publisher, each with a share, and each entitled to refuse. For an advertising campaign, all shares must approve, agree a fee and agree the term and territory. When one writer of a five per cent share cannot be located, the whole use is blocked. This is the "one hundred per cent clearance" rule that catches teams who assumed the label deal was enough.
How SoniBuyout® handles it
A SoniBuyout track has one rights holder for both master and publishing before the sale, and one afterwards: you. There are no co-writer shares to chase and no publisher to negotiate with, because the composition transfers with the recording in the same agreement.
Real questions
Why do I need publishing clearance if I already licensed the recording?
Because they are two separate copyrights. The master licence covers the audio file; the publishing clearance covers the song inside it. Using the recording without publishing consent still infringes the composition.
How long does publishing clearance take?
For a commercial track with several writers, typically two to eight weeks, longer when a share is disputed or a writer is unreachable. Timelines are the main reason productions fall back on original or pre-cleared music.
Related terms
Own the track instead of renting it
Sonify Music sells exclusive buyouts of catalogue tracks: one payment, full ownership, the track removed from sale and a named certificate of ownership.