Music publishing gets talked about as a single thing, which is part of why it stays confusing. It is really two jobs that happen to sit under one word, and they require different work.

Administration is the collection side. Registering the works, keeping the splits accurate, filing with the performing rights organization, tracking down what has been earned and making sure it arrives. Hathor handles the administration function, and the performing rights organization is SESAC. It is unglamorous and it is where most of the leakage happens, because money that is never registered is money nobody is looking for.

Exploitation is the other half. Going out and creating the uses in the first place: placements, syncs, covers, samples, partnerships. It is the part people picture when they hear the word publishing, and it only pays off when the administration side is already in order.

An artist who does only the first half collects on what happens to come along. An artist who does only the second half creates uses they cannot properly get paid for. The two halves are not optional alternatives. They are one job.