Songtrust Publishing Honest Review: Can You Trust Them?

Songtrust is a publishing royalty collecting and music licensing organization that helps you collect all the mechanical and digital royalties your original music earns through use around the world.

Musicians, songwriters, artists, managers, and music labels, everyone can use Songtrust to their avail. In fact, Songtrust is responsible for keeping track of the music rights of over 300,000+ composers and musicians, managing their licenses so they can earn all the revenue they deserve with one single platform.

Songtrust is a network of hundreds of incredibly talented and experienced music publishers who understand every tiny detail of music rights and licensing protection. From complex datasets to keywords, and everything in between, they're the pros.

The way Songtrust works is that you provide them your music and they'll register your music with Performance Rights Organizations (or more commonly referred to as PROs) and societies all around the world. Whenever your music gets used by any platform, be it a live concert, radio channel, streaming service, etc, Songtrust ensures you receive the appropriate amount of revenue from it.

This makes things incredibly easy for the artist, not having to worry about how to license and protect their  music rights because Songtrust does everything for you. The company has over a decade of experience helping artists collect their hard-earned money off of the songs they register.

If you want to become a member of Songtrust Publishing, I’m sure you're interested in the pricing breakdown. Well, another great thing about Songtrust is that they don't charge as much as their competitors do.

Songtrust requires you to pay an up-front fee of $100 when you're registering your account and that's it when it comes to payment. You won't have to pay anything else upfront or worry about sneaky hidden fees. 

With each song you upload, you do have to pay a 15% commission. That might sound like a lot, but when you consider the fact that they do all the hard work for you while you sit back and collect your money, a 15% deduction is actually a really good deal.

If you're planning to use Songtrust for your music copyright generation and royalty collection, you're going to need to know how to use it. Well, I've had a fairly easy and great experience with Songtrust, and here's what you need to know in order to use the platform...

• Signing up - First of all, you're going to have to go to their website and sign up. The registration fee is $100, after you pay that, you're on board and on your way to getting paid for all your music usage around the world with the help of copyright protection and license management by Songtrust.

• Uploading Songs - First you're going to have to go to songs and click on Register a Song. Then, you're going to see a screen where you can add a track. Click on the button and you'll be able to find your track on Spotify. You can also use Spotify URI or ISRC to find your music so it can be copyright protected. 

• Adding Info - Once you've found and chosen your recording, it is time for you to add your song info. From lyrics to collaborators, genre, and much more, after filling in this information, you're extremely close to getting your song registered.

• Processing Period - Once you've uploaded the song, there are four phases your uploaded song is going to go through before it gets approved and copyright protected. Phase 1) is received and you'll be able to identify it with the mark under the Status Column. Phase 2) is processing where Songtrust is taking your song to PROs and societies to get it registered. Phase 3) is the partial period where some of the societies have licensed your song. Phase 4) you'll finally see the registered mark which means that your song is uploaded, licensed, and whenever it is used, you'll be able to collect digital and mechanical royalties from it.

• Royalty Collection - Now, whatever platform may use your music, due to copyright protection and music rights license, you're going to receive the revenue you deserve while Songtrust cuts away 15% revenue from the song you uploaded. 

• Music Analytics - Another great feature you'll be able to access is music analytics. With the help of detailed royalty statements and live analytics, you're going to be able to see where in the world your music is being used and how much money you're making from each part of the music world.

Pros of Songtrust:

• One-time Fee - One of the best things about Songtrust as a music royalty collection organization is the fact that they require only a one-time upfront fee for registration. $100 upfront might seem miniscule when you're earning thousands of dollars from all around the world that you wouldn't be able to if you didn't have Songtrust.

• Easy to Use - Reaching out to multitudes of PROs around the world is not possible when you have music production and songwriting on your mind and schedule. Songtrust is easy to use and helps you get all the money your music makes, without you having to worry about any of the hard work.

• Direct Licensing - With the help of their specialized publishers, Songtrust is able to get direct licensing and music rights protection for your songs without a problem or any additional middleman fees. Along with that, there's also direct affiliation with societies and PROs that you won't get from traditional music publishers.

• Collect Hidden Royalties - If you're working with a particular Performance Rights Organization, you might not be able to collect all the royalties you make. With Songtrust, even if there are hidden royalties that need technical knowledge of the licensing process, you're going to be able to get it.

• Additional Features - Songtrust doesn't only provide you copyright protection of your music. There are additional features like Music Analysis and royalty statements as well that you can access and use to get an idea of how your music is doing around the world. 

Cons of Songtrust:

• Not a Music Label - Songtrust can be misunderstood for being a music label but they are not responsible for uploading your music on streaming platforms like TuneCore, Distrokid, and other labels do. So, if you register thinking that's what you're getting, it could be a huge problem for you and you might lose your revenue.

• 15% Revenue - If you're a hardworking underrated musician, a 15% revenue cut might seem a little too much to you. There are other alternatives that cost less than Songtrust. 

• Slow Processing - When you upload a song, the whole process of PROs approval and registration can take a lot of time which isn't ideal when you're thinking of getting your songs up and running so you can get all the revenue for your songs might generate within the processing time.

The final question that really matters is, is Songtrust worth the price? Well, yes. I believe it is because the benefits surely outweigh the cons of this organization. Plus, there's so much hard-earned revenue that you can get without breaking a sweat with the help of Songtrust. So, I'd highly recommend you use it as an artist.

Songtrust is a completely legitimate Publishing rights management company and is used by amateur and professional popular artists around the world. While there are competitors like CD Baby Pro and TuneCore, I believe the best option is Songtrust.

If you want to use Songtrust, go for it because it is time you get the royalties you deserve from your music. You can def trust them as a professional and reliable music publishing company. I hope you have a great time working with Songtrust while getting all the earnings that your music makes all over the world, so you can become big in the music industry as an artist or producer!