Therefore, you must be wary of any agreement you are asked to sign. Although it is not necessary, it is advisable to place a notice of your copyright on all copies of the work. The filing of a copyright registration form in Washington D.C. gives you additional protection in so far is it establishes a record of the existence of such copyright and gives you the presumption of validity in the event of a lawsuit. Registration also allows for lawsuits to be commenced in Federal court and, under Federal law, allows an award of attorneys fees to the prevailing party. As a practical matter, music publishing consists primarily of all administrative duties, exploitation of copyrights, and collection of monies generated from the exploitation of those copyrights.
Exploitation simply means seeking out different uses for musical compositions.
Music publishers have professional quality demos prepared and send them to artists and producers to try to secure recordings. They also use these tapes to secure usage in the television, film and advertising industries. Equally important as exploitation is the collection of monies earned by these musical usages. Mechanical royalties are collected directly from the record companies and paid to the publisher. In addition to plugging and administrative functions, it is also important to know that there is a creative side to music publishing.