Publishing administration is the service of registering songs with PROs and CMOs, collecting royalties globally, issuing licenses, and accounting to the songwriter — typically for a 15-25% commission, without taking ownership of the copyright. Unlike a traditional publishing deal, an admin deal does not transfer rights or pay an advance.

What an admin handles: PRO + MLC + SoundExchange + foreign society registration (~40+ international CMOs), CWR work registrations, claim filing on unmatched royalties, royalty accounting and payouts, and basic sync license intake.

What an admin typically does NOT handle: active sync pitching (a publishing-deal service), creative direction, A&R, or co-publishing advances.

Major publishing administrators in 2026 include Producer Tour (writers keep 80%, 20% platform commission, no setup fee, bundled with $9.99/mo Pro tools), Songtrust (writers keep 85%, 15% commission + $100 setup), TuneCore (~20% commission), and Kobalt's AMRA (invite-only at certain tiers).

For most independents, an admin deal is the right starting point: full global royalty collection with no rights transfer.