Answers/Glossary/Co-publishing deal

Glossary · Publishing

Co-publishing deal

By Boboy Watson·Last verified August 31, 2026·Also called Co-pub deal, Copublishing agreement, 75/25 deal

A co-publishing deal sits between full self-publishing and a full publishing assignment. The writer keeps the entire writer share — 50% of the composition's income — and splits the publisher share with the publisher, most commonly down the middle. The writer therefore collects 50% plus half of 50%, which is 75% of the song's income, and the publisher takes 25%. That is where the "75/25" shorthand comes from.

The arrangement is normally accompanied by an advance, and the advance is what the writer is really trading for. The publisher pays money now, registers and administers the works globally, pursues sync placements, and recoups the advance out of the income it collects. Until the balance clears, the writer sees nothing beyond the writer share the PRO pays directly.

Terms that decide whether the deal is good have little to do with the headline percentage:

• Term and reversion. Does copyright ownership return to the writer after a period, or does the publisher keep its share for the life of copyright?
• Scope. Does it cover songs written during the term only, or an existing catalogue as well?
• Cross-collateralisation. Can an unrecouped balance on one project be recouped from another?
• Administration rights. Who issues licences and who audits the societies?

The misunderstanding: reading 75/25 as generous compared with a traditional 50/50 publishing deal without checking the term. A publisher that takes 25% forever can be worth far less to a writer than one that takes 50% for ten years and then reverts.

I have not signed one; this is the structure as I understand it. Take any offer to a music lawyer.

Definitions on this site describe the United States system. I am an artist who has been through this, not a lawyer.