Your Gateway to Success in the New Music Industry
![FMC[1]](http://coast2coastblog.com/nit/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FMC1-150x150.gif "FMC[1]")
 42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn MoneyBy Paul Resnikoff Songwriter & Composer Revenue
Performer & Recording Artist Revenue
Session Musician Revenue
Knowledge of Craft: Teaching & Producing
Brand-Related Revenue
Fan, Corporate, & Foundation Funding
Other Sources of Revenue
|
In Urban music most new artists want that “Hot” feature on their record. That is all well and fine, but let’s start with the basics of getting the single ready for the feature. If you have taken the time to produce and write a hit song on your own, then a feature should only add to the single and not make the single. Have you taken the time to edit and mix the record to the best of your abilities? Do you have the pro-tool files of the session or track? (did you 2 track the song and think you can just do it that way?…that’s another column) If you do, then you have the right foundation and building blocks to create a great song with a great feature. Always record with a tracked out beat verses an audio file. Trust me you will save time and headaches later.
I know that Lil Wayne, Gucci and OJ have done so many features and mixtape features that there was and is an anticipation of their records…not the indie artist, nor yours. So think about that when you choose a feature. Yes you want someone who it hot, but you really want someone who will compliment your style, swag and song. Remember they are already stars, you are the one that must stand out. Make sure you shine positive and not negative. But, if you are determined to have a feature, you need to protect yourself, money and future career.
Example:
So artist XYZ has laid his/her hot verse on your single. You paid the money and they are on their way out of town. You think you are good because you have the session files and a phone number. Hmmm … not at all. What you have is noise recorded in a studio until you have the rights to put the song out. Just because you paid for the verse does not mean you have the rights to it. Most major artists have granted rights to all master recordings of them to whatever label holds the contract on them. If you did not get paperwork in order prior to this then you have to get it taken care of before you can launch the single or album with artist XYZ on it.
What you will need:
To start with you will need a side artist agreement. This is an agreement between you ( artist or company) and the featuring artist. In this agreement you need to state what you expect from the artist regarding the song, rights, money, splits, marketing and promotion rights, and label clearances. If you plan on shooting a video and want the artist in the video, you need to state that as well.
Next you want to make sure you do a song split sheet. This should be stated in the agreement with the artists regarding how much of the publishing/ownership of the song they will want. You will need this so that when you register the song from copyright purpose as well as with your PRO (Performance Rights Organization) you can have people paid properly.
Finally you will need a Record Company Wavier of Liability. This is a document that the label will sign that gives you the final rights based on the agreement that the artist agreed to in the Side artist agreement. This is a document even more important than the Side Artist. This allows you to market, promote and earn revenues on the song you spent so much on. If this document is not in place, you run the risk of the label sending you a Cease and Desist on your record. That could mean all the money and work you put into the song would be down the drain. Protect your assets. Get your administration in order.
The person you should be focused on is the manager or the artist. They are paid money from the artist to make sure all business is taken care of. Enjoy your time with the artist, but make a good connection with the manager or assistant that is at the session with the artist. They are who you will be dealing with to finalize your paperwork and help get the label to finish what needs to be done.
Remember: Black and White = Green!!!
Janie Jennings
Read more from Janie at www.industryworks.org
Coast 2 Coast New Music Industry Convention Announced for August 27th-29th in Miami, FL
Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes & Magazine announce the 2nd Annual Coast 2 Coast Convention to take place in Miami, FL August 27th-29th. The conference will be attended by a large list of music industry guests and sponsors such as iStandardProducers.com, Datpiff.com, AllHipHop.com, HipHopDX.com, HipHopGame.com, MusicDealers.com, Myxer.com and many more.
Miami, FL (PRWEB) 1, July, 2010 – The Coast 2 Coast New Music Industry Convention is a professional music networking event focused on the new music industry to take place this August 27th-29th in Miami, FL at the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort. The event will be hosted by J Hatch of iStandardProducers.com and feature presentations on marketing, promotion, new media, industry etiquette, production tips, music monetization and much more. Panelists from every major website and record label will sit alongside platinum producers and artists to inform fans and aspiring artists alike of the changing landscape of music.
Artists and music industry guests can register for the event now at http://www.coast2coastconvention.com as well as review the updated schedule, panelists, partners and sponsors.
Current panelists for the event include: Jill Strada (Assistand PD/MD HOT97 NYC), Kevin Shine (A&R – Jive Records), Steve Raze (Executive VP – AllHipHop.com), Vanessa James (MD 103.5 The Beat Miami), Larry Ryckman (MyStudio.net), Big Chuck (President – Poe Boy Records), Eric Sheinkop (President/Co-Founder – MusicDealers.com), KP (Datpiff.com), Cool (Cool and Dre – Platinum Producers), Baby Paul (Beatminerz – Platinum Producer) and dozens more.
The event will be covered in over 50 Urban media publications, blogs and websites with more partners added daily. Some of our main sponsors include: iStandardProducers.com, Datpiff.com, HipHopDX.com, Digiwaxx.com, AllHipHop.com, HopHopGame.com, NewIndustryTips.com, 2520 Clothing, MusicDealers.com, Jango.com, Scratch DJ Academy, Bottom Feeder Music, WordUpDJ.com and more.
Media partners for the event include: KevinNottingham.com, Makin’ It Magazine, Get Em Magazine, East Coast Digital Radio, Zingari Promotions, Soundcheck, Inc., Hip Hop U-C-IT, LLC, KeepItTrill.com, MixtapeWire.com, Ubanlax Entertainment, Get Signed Magazine, Lush Radio Online, Grindtime Magazine, Urban Relations, Ventilation X, BlackRadioisBack.com, Spate Magazine, Good*Fella Radio, Maad Management, HHH Magazine, BWD Promo, Official Street Radio, Exponent Entertainment, It’s Done! Marketing, 954 Magazine, 561 Magazine, Midwest Leak Magazine, Cherrit PR Buzz, Grynd Mobb Music, One Two Media Group, Groundupradio.com, 305 Media Group, MJA Fashion, Scoop Magazine, UMAC Canada, Analoghype.com, StopBeefinRadio.com and more.
To find more information on the event and a full updated list of panelists, sponsors and schedule please visit http://www.coast2coastconvention.com
DJ Coalitions have always been a staple of the music industry, mostly for behind the scenes. A record literally can NOT be broken to major airplay without the assistance of the DJs and by association, the DJ coalitions. In today’s industry, the DJ is ever more important as a fragmented industry has to be unified by the DJs and major tastemakers to bring records to the masses like they once were. The DJ represents all that is left of the traditional music industry, as power has shifted to the consumers from major labels, radio and distributors.
Also See:
What’s up to the seekers of knowledge (Guru Gong here)!
It’s been a while what I’m back with more ASCAP info. I noticed some of the questions on the comments of past articles and tried to answer some here.
Before reading this particular ASCAP Guru session, I recommend reading Guru Session #3 “The 9 Commandments of Title Registration”… Plus if you want to learn more read my other 2 Guru Sessions that have already been posted please check them out:
Guru Session 1 http://coast2coastmixtapes.com/newindustrytips/index.php/2010/01/rhythm-js-ascap-publishing-guru-session/
Guru Session 2
Guru Session #3 The 9 Commandments of Title Registration http://coast2coastmixtapes.com/newindustrytips/index.php/2010/04/rhythm-js-ascap-guru-session-3-9-commandments-of-title-registration/
Now that we covered the basics of title registration (see ASCAP Guru session #3) we can dive further into detail on the “what if” scenarios when you are registering your titles.
Again to be clear: Writing = 50% / Publishing = 50%.
IMPORTANT: Title Registration is completely separate from the newer Member Access System (members.ascap.com) that is in place. Your Member Access user name and password won’t work on Title Registration, it’s a whole other section.
For Title Registration you must go to: http://www.ascap.com/cwrreg/login.asp
The What If’s
1. “What if I have a co writer for the song who’s not part of ASCAP,BMI, or SESAC, at all and he/she just started writing music”.
You have 2 choices with this. Choice A, the most ideal choice would be, “do the right thing” and wait for this person to join a PRO (Performing Rights Organization), and once their accounts are ready, THEN register the work. Or choice B – “I don’t want to wait for that fool!”. Ok. Put the member’s name down with their percentage and mark him/her as NS (no society). Once this person joins it will then be their responsibility to notify ASCAP or to contact their PRO.
2. “What if a co writer or producer is from another PRO (Performing Rights Organization)?”.
This is fine, you both can still co-exist on a song even though you are from different PROs. Just mark what PRO they’re from. However! Make sure the work is registered with BOTH PROs involved with the work and the percentages are consistent! The last thing you want is a percentage share conflict between 2 different PROs.
3. “What if samples were used?”
Ha Ha Haaaaaaaa (big sinister echos). Make sure it’s cleared before registering it unless you want a letter from an attourney. Once a sample is cleared… That’s only half the battle. Usually the original songwriter(s) from the original record gets a piece of the writing and publishing… YES, they get a piece of your royalties for sitting at home chillin while you program their song into your MPC or software you use!
4. “What if the sample wasn’t cleared yet?”
Don’t register it. Put it on your mixtape / demo/ etc. For promotional use, fine… But if you go and sell it, and register it for potential royalties, that may not be a good look for you.
5. “What if the song isn’t copywritten yet?”
That’s up to you… ASCAP doesn’t require you to copyright but does recommend it since that is the ONLY means to legally copyright anything… And NO, mailing music to yourself doesn’t always work. To copyright go to www.copyright.gov.
6. “What if the song isn’t on a major album?”
So what… You can still get tons of radio or tv play without being signed.
7. “How does ASCAP want me to split the royalties?”
Any way you want, however you need to follow the 50/50 rule of thumb (see ASCAP Guru Session #1)
8. “What if my music is playing outside the US?”
Register it with ASCAP anyway if you are a member. ASCAP has reciprocal agreements in virtually every other Foreign Society. What this agreement means is that the PRO in that country, let’s use PRS the “ASCAP” of the UK as an example. PRS gathers all of the music data in their own country. If any ASCAP members happen to be writers of any songs they pick up, they send that money over to ASCAP. ASCAP then pays out during the international distribution 4 times a year. Therefore, ASCAP members are taken care of for the whole world, no extra work on your part. Just register the title and make life easy for ASCAP employees like myself.
9. What if I have a BMI publisher but I’m an ASCAP writer, can I be a member of both?
Make sure you understand this answer and read it again if you have to… A BMI publisher can’t collect on an ASCAP writer’s behalf, or vice versa.. Example: If you are a songwriter with ASCAP, and your indy publishing company (whether its your own company or someone elses), is with BMI, there’s a problem. The solution here would be for the publisher to pay the 1 time 35 fee and join ASCAP. A publisher can be a member of multiple PROs if they are collecting on behalf of several writers from different societies. If you are a writer, avoid switching societies at all costs, it’s a headache and takes a very long time. Make the publisher join as opposed to them forcing you to switch to another society. It takes a few weeks for a publisher to join, it takes months for a writer to switch, even longer if you are a BMI member.
Expo
Oh, I need to share this… In other news… I recently got back from the ASCAP Expo the other week and had the pleasure of meeting the Godfather, Quicey Jones. Q had a wealth of wisdom between the lines of priceless verbal scat and legendary stories of music’s biggest names… Ever. He dropped some jewels – here’s a clip from his interview here:
If you haven’t caught the videos from the Expo I suggest you stop by:
http://wecreatemusic.ascap.com/expo/
The veiws and opinions in this article are soley expressed by ASCAP employee Rhythm J
Twitter me – @RhythmJ is you have any questions about this blog, if you ask a question on the blog comments I may not get back to you right away.
Until next time
Producers: Don’t forget to check iStandardproducers.com for all of your producer needs and submission opportinities.
Welcome back ASCAP members and future ASCAP members. Now that we have Writing and publishing out of the way (See Guru Sessions #1 and #2) we can focus on what gets us money n the first place… The MUSIC!
TITLE REGISTRATION
Probably the #1 reason why music makers don’t make any ASCAP royalties even if they are getting substantial radio and TV play: You didn’t register any titles… It’s a sad world we live in sometimes… It’s like winning the lottery and you threw out the ticket.
“How do I register titles?”. Don’t laugh, you’d be surprised how many times I hear this daily… I shouldn’t get any more calls on this either… Link to Title Registration – for current members only: http://www.ascap.com/cwrreg/login.asp
YOU WILL NEED YOUR MEMBER ID (aka Member Code, Member Number, Card Number etc) to register titles. If you have never done this before click on Create Your Account
“But I’m a member already” – Yea no $h&%… create a password so you can get into title registration…
Once on that part of the site ad your password is set up, you will need to enter the following things:
Title of the song
Who are the writers
Who are the publishers
How much is everybody getting?
9 Title Registration Commandments
“Follow these rules you’ll have mad bread to break up” – that is if these songs are actually being played substantially. Don’t go calling ASCAP all angry because you didn’t get your royalties for your video that played for 5 seconds on public access.
This concludes the ASCAP knowledge for now…
Check the ASCAP Expo which is right around the corner, Quincy Jones, Just Blaze, Bill Withers, Dre and Vidal, plus 100s more will be in the building. Get to know your fellow ASCAP members!
ASCAP I Create Music Expo in LA April 22.-24 http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/
Producers, you can also submit for the iStandard Producer Showcase at the ASCAP Expo http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/2010/istandard.aspx
Can’t make it to LA? Submit beats to be in the iStandard Producer Showcase in NYC, PHI, CHI, LA, MIA, Boston or the city near you.
http://www.istandardproducers.com/index.php?t=show_submit
Hit me on twitter @RhythmJ for any ASCAP Guru questions you may have.
Rhythm J
There has been a recent influx of businesses that are using online services to create legally binding agreements with clients. Not only is this easier and simpler for me, it is much easier on the company to both get the contract out as well as signed by both parties. I have used two of these services but definitly prefer the EchoSign solution as a cleaner and simpler way to do business. However, the DocuSign service was used by a much bigger company so I feel they may have a “more” legal version of the online signature system. Either way, in most of our lines of work this agreement will suffice.
Some examples of when and how to use this service would be for sales, independent contractors, licensing, publishing, record deals, along with any proposals that should have a binding agreement. For those that use contracts regularly the sites estimate up to 90% reduction in operating costs, etc. so it should be a no brainer for just about anyone. You can even embed frequently used documents on your site for clients to sign without you even emailing them!
What’s up music self educators? You are making this industry better each day you learn something. Previously on my last ASCAP Guru Session, we touched upon the importance of publishing and why EVERY songwriter, whether they are signed or not signed to a publishing deal, should have both a writing and publishing account with ASCAP. Knowing that, the first question that needs to be answered is: (and you would be surprised how much I’m asked this). What is writing and publishing as far as ASCAP is concerned? After you read below…I shouldn’t get any more calls like this:
WRITING AND PUBLISHING DEFINED – FINALLY
Writer – The person/people who create the music… this includes songwriters, producers, instrumentation, hooks, verses, the dude in the background who came up with that funny ass phrase in the second verse, etc.
Publisher - The person or party that takes the creative material (songs or instrumentals) and works to get that music placed on radio, tv, film etc. If YOU are that person or party that is pushing the material then YOU are the publisher. Therefore, YOU must make up a publishing name and register it with ASCAP
“Do I have to start an LLC or Corporation?” No.
“Do I need a tax ID?” No.
“How much?” 35?
“That’s it?” Yup.
“What’s the catch?”. Make sure the name on the check says YOUR name, not your publishing name and you’re good – this change can be made any time…. Preferably before you receive any money.
“Where do I go to do this?” http://www.ascap.com/about/howjoin.asp
“Thanks Rhythm J” That’s why I’m here…
DO IT ON YOUR OWN PUBLISHING VS. GETTING SIGNED WITH ONE
For those of you that have an agreement with a major/independent label, management or publishing company, be sure that you fully understand the terms of your contract. A company you have an agreement with that did not write any part of the music should NEVER receive writing royalties. EVER. If they suggest that… they are robbing you. This doesn’t mean avoid all publishing deals at all costs. Depending on how effective your company is on getting your music placed on radio stations, TV shows, or films, it may not hurt you so much to have a deal with that company.
50% of something – a 50/50 publishing deal for example…is better than…
100% of nothing – working on your own unsuccessfully with your own publishing account and placing 0 songs.
One common mistake I always see is when people call and say “yea I’m getting 50% percent of my publishing,” when in reality they are getting just their writing (50% of total royalties) and NO publishing (the other 50%). See Guru Session 1 for more details on this. Songwriters need to clearly know if the split of the agreed “publishing” percentage is based on either ALL of their performance royalties (writing + publishing) or based on publishing only (essentially half the total royalty). Read that part again if you need to… it’s important.
Bottom line: If you have a publisher getting placements for you – it may worth it to give them a piece of the publishing half if they are working connects you don’t have and are putting the time in to make placements happen for you. It’s really a judgment call. Just be sure to read your contracts carefully.
That just about does it for this Guru Session, catch me next week as I’ll be breaking down the all important details to letting ASCAP know what songs you have written so you can earn the money for your placements.
The ASCAP Expo is right around the corner, Quincy Jones, Just Blaze, Bill Withers, Dre and Vidal, plus 100s more will be in the building. Get to know your fellow ASCAP members!
ASCAP I Create Music Expo in LA April 22.-24 http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/
Producers, you can also submit for the iStandard Producer Showcase at the ASCAP Expo http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/2010/istandard.aspx
Can’t make it to LA? Submit beats to be in the iStandard Producer Showcase in NYC, PHI, CHI, LA, MIA, Boston or the city near you.
http://www.istandardproducers.com/index.php?t=show_submit
Hit me on twitter @RhythmJ for any ASCAP Guru questions you may have.
Rhythm J
What’s up to all the heavy grinders, hard working, and struggling artists, producers, musicians, managers, and DJs! Many of you may know me from my production, or my work with the iStandard Producer Showcase / istandardproducers.com; however, I still get a surprising reaction when mentioning my involvement with ASCAP. Once someone finds out I work there I get this:
“Oh woooooord?! You work for ASCAP?!? (long pause) oh…. That’s cool… (light bulb goes off) Oh ok…. So then how do I (insert question here)… “ And so it begins!
As I don’t mind helping anyone who approaches me in person about their ASCAP account or any other Performing Rights Organization they’re involved with (BMI or SESAC), it has come to my attention in the last couple of years that there is a glaring gap in the knowledge of many industry personnel that needs to be filled when it comes to this aspect of the industry. The most disturbing thing is that it seems people involved in the urban music genres are the ones that know the least about how to handle their PRO (Performing Rights Organization) business. I have helped managers, attorneys (as scary as that sounds), established artists, platinum producers, publishing company founders, and countless others.
Being that this is the first blog a lot of people want to know what ASCAP is… what does it do really? We can all sit here and say “I got my ASCAP set up I’m straight” but what does that really mean? I’ve had people spend the money on the account… and then call me and ask me what does it do? There have been people who have been members for 10+ years and never touched their account and expected to magically get a check.
STEP 1 – WHAT TO EXPECT – So what does being a member of a PRO do exactly? ASCAP BMI and SESAC collect royalties based on the amount of music that you wrote and/or published that is mainly played on Radio (commercial, satellite, internet, digital, NPR, college etc) and TV (network, cable, local, satellite, etc.) – Does this mean EVERY SPIN, EVERY AIRING of your music? Of course not. So keep this in mind going in! It would be humanly impossible to cover every single thing that plays everywhere. The PRO’s also pay royalties for a limited amount of ringtones, airlines, musak (elevator/ doctor’s office music), internet, etc.
The web is especially growing with their royalty payouts. There are so many things in court at this point that a lot of these cases are waiting to pan out to set standards for the future…. This is why the popular sites like youtube or myspace don’t pay out for your webhits.
If you are anticipating a heavy volume of radio play, or anything that’s going to be play on NATIONAL TV (this doesn’t mean your local public access station) then it would be a good idea to join: http://www.ascap.com/about/howjoin.asp
I would recommend joining as a writer AND a publisher.
If one thing sticks on this blog – go home with this:
1 song = 50% writing, 50% publishing
If you just join as one – you are getting half your money. Plain and simple.
We can go further with publishing deals and how keeping all of it vs. signing some away may or may not work to your advantage. We can also get into music libraries and what their exchange is in return for publishing.
There are many routes we can take moving forward – SO if you have any questions regarding ASCAP – whether you’re a current member or would like to join… feel free to twitter me your questions @RhythmJ and I will either answer you via twitter or another blog posting, depending on what you are trying to find out. Welcome to your new source of PRO FAQ!
Lastly – for all artists, producers, managers in the game who are trying to network, check out the ASCAP I Create Music Expo in LA this April. http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/
Producers, you can also submit for the iStandard Producer Showcase at the ASCAP Expo http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/expo/2010/istandard.aspx
Synchronization royalties (‘synch licenses’) are paid for the use of copyrighted music in audiovisual productions, such as in DVDs, television, movies, commercial, and advertisements. Music used in news tracks are also synch licenses. Synchronization can extend to live media performances, such as plays and live theatre. They become extremely important for new media – the usage of music in the form of mp3, wav, flac files and for usage in webcasts, embedded media in microchips (e.g. karaoke), etc but the legal conventions are yet to be drawn.
A synchronization license is needed for a song to be reproduced onto a television program, film, video, commercial, radio, or even an 800 number phone message. It is called this because you are “synchronizing” the composition, as it is performed on the audio recording, to a film, TV commercial, or spoken voice-over. If a specific recorded version of a composition is used, you must also get permission from the record company in the form of a “master use” license. The synchronization royalty is paid to songwriters and publishers for use of a song used as background music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.
Synchronization royalties are due to the composer/song-writer or her publisher. They are strictly contractual in nature and vary greatly in amount depending on the subjective importance of the music, the mode of production and the media used. The royalty payable is that of mutual acceptance but is conditioned by industry practice.
Fees for song usage range from $500-$15,000, with superstar tracks reaching up to $20,000-$250,000. That amount usually includes master rights for broadcast and most other media rights, with a time frame ranging from three years to perpetuity. An additional home video fee is equal to or greater than those quoted. Synchronization rights are negotiated separately, with master and sync rights usually split 50/50, unless the song is a cover — a situation that favors the publisher ?
The price tag for iconic, well-known tunes can be staggering: Tracks by the Who and the O’Jays, used in the opening credits of CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and NBC’s “The Apprentice,” respectively, generate six-figure deals annually.
Example sync licenses fee’s from the NBC television:
CELEBRITY APPRENTICE
“For the Love of Money” – O’Jays – ($6000/week)
CHOPPING BLOCK
“Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash – ($11,000/week)
ER
“Shadows and Regrets” – Yellowcard – ($6000/week)
HEROES
“Together” – Krystal Meyers – ($5000/week)
THE JAY LENO SHOW
“Hold On, I’m Comin’” – Sam & Dave – ($8000/week)
“Life Is a Highway” – Tom Cochrane – ($2000/day – $8000/week)
“Mess Around” - Ray Charles - ($6000/week)
See attached Sync License for: Synchronization Example
Marc Smilow
Thanks for taking a minute to read my Blog and I hope you found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me anytime at expert@newindustrytips.com
Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes Blog