How to Publish a Song: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Miha Prebil

Jun 12, 2025

Publishing your own music can seem overwhelming, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. But with the right steps, tools, and understanding of how publishing works, it becomes a clear and achievable process. This guide is designed specifically for independent artists looking to publish a song professionally, protect their rights, and get paid.

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Understand What It Means to Publish a Song

Publishing a song means making it publicly available, protecting your copyrights, and setting yourself up to earn royalties. It’s not just about uploading to Spotify or YouTube—it also involves legal rights and financial structures.

When you publish a song, you become (or work with) a music publisher. This involves registering the composition with a performing rights organization (PRO), managing mechanical and performance royalties, and licensing your music for use in media.

For independent artists, understanding publishing basics is essential for maintaining control and income from your music.

Step 1: Finish and Register Your Song

Before publishing, your song must be complete. That means:

• Final lyrics and melody
• Professional recording and mastering (if you’re releasing it)

Then register your work:

• Copyright registration: In the U.S., you do this through the U.S. Copyright Office. In Europe, national copyright offices or collective societies may handle this.
• PRO registration: Sign up with a PRO (like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the U.S., or PRS in the UK). They track public performances and pay out royalties.

If you wrote and composed the track yourself, you own both the composition and the master rights. If not, you’ll need to determine ownership splits and get agreements in writing.

Step 2: Distribute Your Music

Publishing your song requires distribution—getting your track to streaming services and stores. You’ll need to work with a digital distributor that can deliver your music to all major platforms.

These services typically upload your track to streaming and download platforms and may charge a fee or take a percentage of your earnings.

Distribution is not the same as publishing rights management. It’s about making your music accessible to listeners, and it’s an essential step in the publishing process.

Step 3: Handle Publishing Administration

Once your music is out, you still need to collect all the royalties you’re owed. This is where publishing administration comes in. As an independent artist, you can either:

• Administer your publishing manually (by registering with every PRO and mechanical rights organization globally)
• Use a publishing administration service like Songtrust, Sentric Music, or CD Baby Pro Publishing
• These services collect royalties globally—including mechanical royalties from streams and downloads, and performance royalties from radio, live shows, and syncs.

Real-world example: Independent artist Ari Herstand uses Songtrust to collect publishing royalties. He registered his tracks through Songtrust and now receives income from countries he’s never visited, thanks to their global network.

Step 4: Register with a Music Rights Organization

Different types of royalties are managed by different organizations:

• PROs collect performance royalties
• Mechanical rights organizations (like The MLC in the U.S.) collect mechanical royalties
• In the U.S., if your music is streamed, The MLC ensures you receive mechanical royalties. You can sign up for free. Outside the U.S., services like Songtrust help you connect with multiple organizations through one portal.

If your music is played on YouTube or synced to video, consider joining:

• YouTube Content ID through your distributor or publisher
• Sync licensing platforms like Musicbed or Artlist

Step 5: Promote Your Song Strategically

Publishing is only part of the process. To get royalties, people need to hear your music. Use marketing strategies like:

• Building a social media presence
• Pitching to playlists (Spotify editorial and user-generated)
• Running ads on Instagram or TikTok
• Using email newsletters to grow your fanbase

Case in point: UK-based artist Dodie built her audience on YouTube before releasing music on Spotify. By publishing and promoting strategically, she turned her online following into streaming income and sold-out shows.

Use Tools Like Viberate to Track Your Progress

While Viberate is not a publishing platform, it helps artists grow by offering detailed analytics:

• Track how your song is performing on streaming platforms
• Monitor social media trends
• Compare yourself to similar artists

With Viberate, you can see which songs are getting traction and optimize your promotion strategy accordingly. It’s especially useful when you’re self-managing your career.

Conclusion

Knowing how to publish a song as an independent artist involves more than just uploading it online. You must handle rights registration, publishing administration, distribution, and promotion.

Each step protects your creative work and ensures you get paid. While the process can be complex, using tools like publishing admins and analytics services like Viberate makes it manageable.

Publishing your music properly sets the foundation for long-term income and growth. Don’t skip it.