What Is a Staff Songwriter in Nashville?
- 2 sections
- 1 table
- 2 sources cited
A staff songwriter is a writer signed to a music publisher under an exclusive songwriter agreement, also called a publishing deal or staff writer contract. Under it, the writer’s services belong to that publisher for a set period, and the songs written during that time belong to the publisher (Wikipedia, publishing contract). Despite the name, it is not a salaried job. The songwriting education site Songtown explains that the publisher pays a monthly “advance” to help the writer get by until royalties arrive. When royalties come in, the publisher recoups those advances and the demo costs before the writer sees money (Songtown). In Nashville, publishers are among the music businesses on Music Row.
How a Typical Deal Works, per Songtown
| Term | What Songtown describes |
|---|---|
| Length | a "5 Year Deal" is almost always a one-year deal with four extra options the publisher can exercise, year by year |
| Pay | a monthly advance, not a salary |
| Recoupment | advances and demo costs are recouped from the writer's royalties first |
| Quota | generally 12 wholly written songs a year; a three-way co-write counts as one third of a song |
| Ownership | in a straight 100% publishing deal, the publisher owns the publishing on every song written during the term |
| Support | good publishers set writers up with co-writes and help them develop their craft |
Source: Songtown. Wikipedia notes that other deal types also exist, such as a co-publishing deal, where writer and publisher co-own the copyrights, and an administration deal, where the writer self-publishes and licenses songs to the publisher.
If You Are Offered a Deal
- Read the option terms: who decides whether the next year is picked up, and when.
- Ask how recoupment works and which income sources it draws on.
- Have an entertainment attorney review it before you sign; terms are negotiable, and this is general information, not legal advice.
How writers get to that point is in how to break into the Nashville music industry, and the business district is in what Music Row is.