Music Publishing is one of the real money-spinning sectors of the music industry and understanding its significance is elementary for all aspiring musicians. To get paid for your music for example, from a  radio play, the music must be published by one of the music publishers and registered with a performing rights organisation. But music publishing isn't always easy, since it's sometimes difficult to know which publishing companies are legitimate and just what things you need to do to give you an edge over your competition. You can successfully get your song or composition published, but In order to achieve this, you must be knowledgeable about how to go about finding a publisher who will best benefit your needs. If you have made some good music and want to get it published, here are some guidelines to get your music published:

1. Get a sheet of the music piece. You should have a printed sheet of music when you contact a music publisher. Any song or musical work you write needs to be written down. If you don't know how to write music, put your work on tape or get someone else who is skilled at composition to write out your music for you. There is also musical software that can help you create a musical manuscript. Any manuscript you intend to send out to publishers needs to be as professional looking as possible.
2. Find publishers in your area. When searching for a publisher, make sure the publisher publishes the genre (type of music) that you have composed. Many specialize in specific fields, such as Rock, Classical, etc...
3. Be Flexible, (assuming they continue with you) they might tell you to revise some parts in the sheet music to fix mistakes, etc... Be Flexible and clean up the mistakes, and take it back.
4. Copyright, Make sure that before it's published, that the music company gets it formally copyrighted. This proves that you are the person who wrote it and protects you from having your work stolen or credited to somebody else. Musicians historically have been ripped off on publishing simply because they failed to do this one task. Take care of all of your legal obligations and apply the use of these new forums for getting your music published in addition to some of the older tactics and you could soon be reaping the rewards of publishing royalties.
5. Offer free download, If you are a beginner you can offer a 30 second demo for free download so that people may test your music before buying.

With the internet the music publishing game has changed. With sites/services like EditionPeters.com musicians can simply get a membership and have their music advertised or sold through their website.  Peters Edition has been publishing music since 1800 .They are a music publishing company for musicians, run by musicians. Music published by Peters Edition has been licensed extensively in public performance, CD, DVD, film, advertising, ballet, radio and television and we are able to offer a fast and comprehensive service for every licensing requirement.