What Can A Music Publisher Do For You?

We creative types have our specific talents. Some are good with words, some with melodies. Some take others’ work and make it useful to musicians who play other instruments. Some of us are introverts, and others gather their energies from being among other people. But whatever our strengths, a musician’s strongest need is for their music to reach the ears of listeners. 

Promoters and presenters can bring performers in front of audiences. But they can’t provide the substance of what those performers will communicate. 

Publishers find music worth hearing. They put it together in a form that’s useful to musicians. And then their job is to find those musicians who will benefit from learning about the music they didn’t know existed.

We might think of the process as

Composer → music → performer → presenter → audience. 

But there is an element missing.

The composer needs the publisher to pass the music on.

The musician needs the publisher to offer them something useful.

The presenter cannot present the performer without the publisher’s offerings. 

The audience will never hear the music without the publisher.

Publishers need to think about how they interface with every constituent in the process.

Self-publishers, if they are successful, can get their music to performers, who will create the critical mass that gives their music legs. But what a lot of work! If you are a self-publisher, does it play to your strengths to spend your time finding the musicians who may want your music? Is it the best use of your most limited resource—time?