A music publisher (or publishing company) is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially.Through an agreement called a publishing contract, a songwriter or composer assigns the copyright of their composition to a publishing company, In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists, film and television.

Copyright signifies the ownership of an intellectual property of a person or group. A registration for a musical composition covers the music and lyrics (if any) embodied in that composition. But it does not cover a recorded performance of that composition. Likewise a registration for a sound recording of a performance does not cover the underlying musical composition.

A performing rights organization(PRO) is an agency that ensures songwriters and publishers are paid for the use of their music by collecting royalties on behalf of the rights owner. PROs collect public performance royalties . when a song is played in public, like on any kind of radio(AM/FM, streaming, or satellite), in a venue, or TV shows and commercials, it is required that they pay for the use. The PRO collects those payments and distributes them to the rights holder.