While the days of Tin Pan Alley, in which scores of songwriters worked 9 to 5 to churn out pop hits, are over, many music publishers still employ staff songwriters to write songs for performing artists to record. For songwriters with a strong track record, music publishers will sometimes offer an exclusive songwriter's agreement. With this type of contract, the songwriter agrees to assign all of the copyrighted music he writes during the contract period to the music publisher in exchange for an advance that he can use to support himself during the period.
Because of shrinking music sales, music publishing is more important than ever in the industry. Landing a song in a prime-time television show or on a commercial can be lucrative for all parties involved. Songwriters who understand the importance of their copyrights will often work toward a co-publishing agreement with the publisher. This type of contract grants 50 percent of the publishing rights to the songwriter and 50 percent to the publisher. This way, the songwriter can make a good deal of money off of his published songs. It is a win-win for both parties.
In many cases, a music publisher will want to publish only one song by a songwriter. For example, it might need one song for a scene in a film and nothing else. In this case, the songwriter will sign a single-song agreement with the publisher. This means that the songwriter will assign only one song to the publisher for licensing opportunities and the songwriter is free to publish her other songs with whichever other publisher she likes. This is a good agreement for a songwriter who writes across many genres or wants to establish contacts with many different publishers.