Why Mogul asks this question
When you're working through the Fix Issues flow to register a song, Mogul asks whether the song was part of a publishing deal. This helps us understand who has the rights to collect publishing royalties for that song, and whether Mogul should register on your behalf, or whether another entity is already handling it.
Answering incorrectly can lead to either missing royalties (if you say "yes" when you should say "no") or conflicting claims (if you say "no" when a publisher already has rights).
What counts as a "publishing deal"
Say YES if:
You signed with a full publisher (Universal Music Publishing, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, etc.) who owns a share of the song
You have a publishing admin deal (Songtrust, Sentric, BMG via TooLost, TuneCore pub admin) where another company is actively collecting publishing royalties on your behalf
Your song is signed to a sync licensing library that explicitly retains the right to collect publishing royalties, not just license the song for placements
Say NO if:
You're self-published with no publishing company or admin involved
Your sync library agreement is a non-exclusive sync license only; they can pitch your music for placements, but you (or your PRO) still own and collect the publishing royalties
Your distributor handles your music distribution but not your publishing
The sync library gray area
Sync licensing libraries vary significantly in their terms. Some (like full production music libraries with exclusive agreements) do collect publishing royalties on your behalf. Others (non-exclusive "pitch" libraries) only take a commission on sync fees and leave publishing royalties with you.
To determine which applies to you:
Check your agreement with the library. Look for language about "publishing rights," "publishing royalties," or "rights to collect royalties."
Check whether your songs are registered at your PRO under the library's publisher name or your own.
If the library pays you "publisher's share" in addition to licensing fees, they are collecting publishing royalties on your behalf (answer YES).
If you collect your own PRO royalties independently for these songs (answer NO).
Still not sure?
Contact support via the chat bubble and tell us the name of the library or publisher. We can help you figure out the right answer for your specific situation.