Music publishing

Music publishing is the preparation, production, and distribution of printed or digital musical scores for performers, institutions, and the public. It connects composers’ works with the people and organizations that perform, study, and preserve them.

Music engraving: The practice of preparing musical notation for clear, accurate reproduction in print or digital formats. Engraving turns a composer’s notation into a legible score ready for publication.
Ottaviano Petrucci: An Italian printer whose 1501 publication Harmonice Musices Odhecaton was the first substantial book of polyphonic music printed with movable type. Petrucci’s early printed collection helped establish music printing as a publishing enterprise.
Sheet music: A printed or digital score intended for practical use by musicians. This is the principal product distributed by many music publishers.
Music publishing (copyright administration): The business of managing song copyrights and collecting income from compositions and their uses. The same phrase often names a rights business rather than the production of scores.
Music notation: A system of symbols and conventions for recording and communicating music. Published scores depend on notation systems that performers can interpret.
Music printing: The reproduction of musical notation through printing technologies, from early type to modern processes. Music publishing grew from technologies that made scores reproducible at scale.
Choral music: Music written for a choir, commonly published in formats for individual singers and conductors. Choral publishers prepare editions for rehearsal, performance, and institutional use.
Music recording: The capture and production of sound performances for playback and distribution. Recordings distribute performances, whereas score publishers distribute written musical works.
Critical edition: A scholarly edition that compares sources and documents editorial decisions to establish a reliable musical text. Editors use source comparison when preparing authoritative editions of works.
Pierre Attaingnant: A French printer and publisher associated with early single-impression printing of music in the sixteenth century. Attaingnant’s efficient printing method lowered the labor required to produce scores.

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