ABSTRACT
A composer creates a work and can either register it with 100 per cent ownership with a collection society ('manuscript registration') or sign an agreement with a music publisher who then retains a share of the revenues in return for assistance in promoting the work. Until the 1960s publishers had two main roles: they printed and distributed sheet music, and they actively sought to persuade artists and record companies to perform and record the works they represented. With reference to the former activity, a typical revenue-sharing agreement for print music allowed the publisher to retain 50 per cent of incomes. Over recent decades publishers' investment in printing and distributing sheet music has become less significant, as market demand has diminished. This could change in the digital world: the Internet provides opportunities to distribute sheet music as electronic files on a one-to-one basis.
