Music Publishing Pt. 1

Music publishing will be your largest source of income in the business.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Top40 Charts/ Show Dog Records) - Singer, songwriter and entertainer Toby Keith has been named one of the world's best-paid music stars by Forbes. Keith ranks No. 3 on the list, behind the Police and Beyonce, with $48 million in earnings between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008. Following Keith in the top five are Justin Timberlake and Madonna.


Establish and administrate your own Publishing company with your songs with either ASCAP, BMI< or SESAC. They each handle the collection of your publishing royalties from traditional and digital sources. The reason is that you want to own your publishing rights and be able to license them to someone for a short period of time, not for them to own them with you for the duration of the copyright terms (see below). So if you do decide to step to a publishing house, you will already have your publishing company established before you do.

Also join the Harry Fox Agency that collects Mechanical Royalties, which a lot of artists don't realize (if they are signed) are owed to them at the completion of manufacturing of their album(cd), even before one album(cd) has been sold.If you were to get signed to a record distributor and one of their affiliate lables, each entity is going to get a share of those rights any way, right along with a seperate publishing house that you would have contracted with. When you have reached the status of a Michael Jackon, Garth Brooks, etc... and you have too many other responsibilites that tie down your time, then I would suggest hiring an established publisher to help administrate your publishing rights, but not in the beginning as a new or fairly new artist.

These are your rights for life (plus) (*see below). So for the duration of your life, and years after your death, do you really want a publishing house handling what you or your beneficiaries should be doing? Look at the Bob Marley family that doesn't own any publishing rights to his music.

I would also suggest joining NARAS and the RIAA, that have several conferences where industry professionals attend to seek out new talent, or you can be there and pitch your product to them.

I'm attending one in ATL on the 7th of February for the Grammy Association (NARAS) since I won't be able to attend the Grammys this year.

Go to any established conference where industry professionals attend.

*The Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998 extended copyright terms in the United States by 20 years. Since the Copyright Act of 1976, copyright would last for the life of the author plus 50 years, or 75 years for a work of corporate authorship. The Act extended these terms to life of the author plus 70 years and for works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier.[1] Copyright protection for works published prior to January 1, 1978 was increased by 20 years to a total of 95 years from their publication date.

Also read this article that I did not write, but I think is very informative, about Re-title Publishing. This is when a company takes your songs, re-records them with other musicians and/or singers (Hot Music), and re-titles your songs under a new name.(http://www.themusicsnob.com/2008/07/22/re-title-publishing/)

10 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before Seeking That Elusive Record Deal

The question is are you ready to be signed to a label, whether it is you or your record label?
You are going to have to show an exorbitant amount of sales on your own independently, have garnerd massive airplay, at least in your geographical location before the distributors or labels come knocking. Not trying to be negative, just showing you the reality of this business.


These are the questions you need to ask yourself first.

1. Is your record label incorporated within the state you reside in?

2. If you have production on your album, have you worked out all the contractual details with each producer/writer/studio owner/studio engineer?

3. Have you registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, and made sure that you own both the PA (idea, music, lyrics) & SR (sound recording master) copyrights?

4. Have you established a publishing company as a writer and publisher with one of the performance rights agencies (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)?

5. Have you signed on with the Harry Fox Agency to collect your mechanical royalties?

6. If you are generating sales of your album, are your songs/album registered with Sound Scan to have a reference to send the label to for proof of those sales?

7. Have you registered your songs with BDS, in order to show tracking of airplay, for the geographical markets that they are playing in?

8. Is your label logo(brand), and your professional name(stage name) trademarked?

9. Is your product marked with a upc code that you registered and own outright, not with cd baby (exclusivity contracts) or any other online retail source?

10. Have you joined the RIAA, which certifies record sale tallies of gold, platinum, etc?11. Have you joined NARAS, in order to vote for or be voted for a grammy?


These are all the things that you need to ask yourself, and most definitely a record distributor (SONY/BMG, Warner, EMI, Universal), who distributes record labels(Bad Boy, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, Cash Money), will be asking of you. And if you have not prepared yourself, trust me, their legal department will find out if you have or have not taken care of the above.

This is why artists get cheated out of their earning potential, and/or their careers, because they have not properly prepared themselves to have a chance to suceed.

Performing Rights Organisations Worldwide

With any music, including royalty free music, public performances must be notified to your local Performance Rights society. You can usually do this through the broadcaster who's transmitting your production (by giving them a cue sheet), or you may contact them directly. If you aren't sure what a "public performance" is, ask your local society - basically if the public can hear the music, then it usually counts as a "performance" but there are different interpretations around the world. Follow the link to your local Performance Rights Organisation to check their local terms if you are unsure. Links are provided below for each country.




Argentina SADAIC


Australia APRA http://www.apra.com.au/


Austria AKM http://www.akm.co.at/


Belgium SABAM http://www.sabam.be/


Brazil UBC http://www.ubc.org.br/, ECAD http://www.ecad.com.br/


Bulgaria Musicautor http://music.bg/musicautor


Canada SOCAN http://www.socan.ca/


Chile SCD http://www.scd.cl/


Colombia SAYCO http://www.sayco.org/


Croatia HDS http://www.hds.hr/


Czech Republic OSA http://www.osa.cz/


Denmark KODA http://www.koda.dk/


Estonia EAÜ http://www.eauthors.ee/


Finland TEOSTO http://www.teosto.fi/
Greece AE http://www.aepi.gr/


France SACEM http://www.sacem.fr/


Germany GEMA http://www.gema.de/


Hong Kong CASH http://www.cash.org.hk/


Hungary Artisjus


Iceland STEF


India IPRS http://www.indiavibes.com/iprs


Ireland IMRO http://www.imro.ie/


Israel ACUM http://www.acum.org.il/


Italy SIAE http://www.siae.it/


Japan JASRAC http://www.jasrac.or.jp/ejhp/


Lithuania LATGA-A http://www.latga.lt/


Malaysia MACP http://www.macp.com.my/


Mexico SACM http://www.sacm.org.mx/


Netherlands BUMA http://www.buma.nl/
New Zealand APRA http://www.apra.com.au/


Norway TONO http://www.tono.no/


Poland ZAIKS http://www.zaiks.org.pl/


Portugal SPA http://www.spautores.pt/


Russia RAO http://www.rao.ru/


Singapore COMPASS http://www.compass.org.sg/


South Africa SAMRO


Spain SGAE http://www.sgae.es/


Sweden STIM http://www.stim.se/


Switzerland SUISA http://www.suisa.ch/


Trinidad & Tobago COTT


Turkey MESAM http://www.mesam.org.tr/


United Kingdom PRS http://www.prs.co.uk/


Uruguay AGADU http://www.agadu.com/


USA


ASCAP http://www.ascap.com/


BMI http://www.bmi.com/


SESAC http://www.sesac.com/


SOUND EXCHANGE http://www.soundexchange.com/

What is the best distribution deal for me?

It all depends on what type of distribution you are seeking.

There formerly were 6 major distributors called the "BIG 6", which consisted of the following:

SONY Music Group
BMG Music Group
MCA
Warner Music Group
EMI Group (Capitol Records)
Polygram Music Group

These six have now become four as follows:

SONY/BMG
Universal Music Group (MCA & Ploygram)
Warner Music Group
EMI Music Group

These distributors in turn manufacture, promote and market product for record labels in their distrbution network as explained below.i.e.A music distributor (Universal Music Group) links a record label (Roc A Fella Records) or independent musical group (Jeezy) to consumers. The record label (Roc A Fella Records) signs the group (Jeezy) and then oversees recording sessions, marketing, promotion and distribution of the group's (Jeezy) CDs to retail stores.

Major record distributors/labels usually have an in-house music distribution division or an ongoing relationship with an outside distributor, such as a "one stop", "wholesaler", "rackjobber", or "specialty store"(Source Interlink, Tower, Handleman, AEC One Stop, Virgin Megastores, IDN).A band without a major recording contract, like Devo in the mid-'70s, that had sold a large majority of units on their own, had garned a lot of "adds" on radio, had to find an independent music distributor (KOCH, TVT, BCD, Rock Bottom, Southern Music), to get its message and its music to its fans.

Now artists have an advantage over them with online distribution sources such as (CD Baby, Itunes, Amazon, ItsAboutMusic), but you have to be very careful with these sources and not walk into an "exclusivity deal".

With the independet distributors you more than likely will be responsible for manufacturing or even possibly promotions & marketing, usually, but not always.You can have a multiple set of scenarios when it comes to distribution, you just have to choose what is best for you and your career.If the major distributor is involved in manufacturing, promotions & marketing, they will be looking to be compensated. So you might sign a 50/50 deal, a p&d deal (pressing and distribution), an independent label deal (and have an enormous amount of sales on your own) so they will be more than willing to negotiate one of these deals with you.

HOWEVER:

You must ask yourself these questions...

If you are thinking of accepting a distribution deal, before signing the dotted line it is important to ask questions such as:

• Does the deal include any publicity or promotional advantages to the artist?
• Are there any payments I must make, statutory, collective or otherwise?
• What percentage of royalties will I receive, and how are payments handled?
• Can I be provided with an estimation of how profitable your distributive methods are?
• What are my rights in terminating the contract?
• Am I solely responsible for tax declarations on my net income?

Other things you must check before signing are the ‘exclusivity’ terms. These could greatly inhibit your freedom. Does a deal involve licensing your music digitally (via preferred online formats) or does the deal also include physical sales? Some are highly exclusive in nature whilst others give you rights to proceed with marketing your music via other channels.

Bear in mind that many reputable and authorised distributors, such as CDBaby for one, will not allow an artist to exploit other distribution channels, as the two parties run the risk of putting your music on the exact same sites. A hassle major retailers and distributors can do without, and an understandable clause too.

You must read the terms of an agreement in full. It is absolutely essential that you fully understand what is expected from you as well as what is being offered!

Why Do I Need A Manager?

Once you have gotten to a certain level in your music business career, you will not be able to be in many places at one time, nor will you be able to to continually tour, make appearances, work on your music, book shows, run your website, handle the day to day operations of your company (if you've developed one), and be the end all by placing all your hats in one basket. You will need a manager.

However, just because someone has label contact does not mean they will be a reputable manager,. or even the right manager for your career. Look at Prince'sand Michael's career in the beginning, and you will understand why I say this.


ARTIST MANAGERS
An artist manager represents an artist or act, overseeing and guiding all aspects of the artist's career. This may include contract and business negotiation with other agents, career development and advancement and financial management. Artist managers require excellent interpersonal and communication skills, an in depth knowledge of the music industry and industry networks, good business and management skills and the ability to negotiate the best deals and conditions on behalf of the artist.

Artist managers are usually self-employed and work freelance, but may be employed or contracted by an organisation or recording company. People are usually expected to have some skills before they enter the job and prior experience in accounting, business management, administration and working with people are an advantage. Networking with people in the industry is an important factor in getting work.

This is why it is so important that you gain as much viable knowledge about the business/industry as possible, before you begin to work with anyone. How can you know you are being cheated if you don't know what you are signing, or the resources of income that your music earns?


Do you or will you need a:, Business Manager, Personal Manager, Touring Manager, Music Manager, Publicist, Entertainment Attorney, Accountant (Conference Of Managers)? Eventually you may need one or more of these professionals.



Yes there are sharks out there, so be aware of them. Read this very informative article and what to avoid from these "Con Artist Managers"
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/706133/debunking_con_artis...)

In the beginning of your career, I would suggest hiring or retaining a professional consultant, until you have signed with a legitimate manager or management company. It is good that when you begin talks with a label that you have good representation, an entertainment attorney, and a manager. If not, then you will fall in the category of most artists today, "Non recoupable", if you don't knwo what you are negotiating and signing. I've seen it happen over and over again in this business.

Hiring of Your Friends and/or Family Members
Don't hire your friends you grew up with, producer, or dj to be your manager if they have no knowledge of the business. This is another mistake a lot of artists make as well. There are so many resources on the internet, there is no excuse why anyone should be getting ripped off today in the business.

I know some might refute all of this and say it's a headache letting someone else handle your business, but on the other end of the spectrum, it's an even bigger headache when you have poured your life into this business/industry, and someone else is reaping the benefit of that hard work because you did not handle your career as a business first.

What is the difference between http and https?

All business merchants and consumers need to read this and understand it.

What is the difference between http and https?

MANY PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE THAT:
**The main difference between http:// and https:// is It's all about keeping you secure**HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol.

Which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) For information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients. The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.

The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure". If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site. This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website! But if the web address begins with https://, that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on. You understand why this is so important, right? If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://. If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter sensitive information like a credit card number.

2 companies to lay off 550 in South Florida

2 companies to lay off 550 in South Florida

A Coral Springs-based company and the Miami office of a global company have announced mass layoffs.

BY HILARY LEHMAN
hlehman@MiamiHerald.com

Layoffs by two local companies will eliminate 550 jobs by May, according to documents filed with the state this week.

A Coral Springs-based company that distributes CDs and DVDs will cut more than 400 workers. And the Miami office of a global market research company will lay off 88 workers.
Source Interlink DVD/CD Distribution informed the state Friday that it will lay off 462 workers at its Coral Springs distribution center by May 4.

Employees whose jobs are eliminated will be offered jobs in Kentucky, said Cynthia Beauchamp, Source Interlink's group vice president for human resources and labor relations. But Source Interlink also plans to contact employers in Coral Springs to make arrangements for those who choose not to relocate.

Source Interlink bought Coral Springs-based Alliance Entertainment in 2004 and now plans to combine the local firm's distribution center with its own in Kentucky.
About 90 percent of the eliminated jobs are warehouse positions, Beauchamp said. The other eliminated jobs also will come from the distribution center, including supervisors, maintenance workers and security.

Source Interlink sells DVDs and CDs to retailers, and the Coral Springs warehouse had been its sole distribution site. The distribution jobs will be moved to Shepherdsville, Ky., where Source Interlink built a distribution center to merge its magazine distribution with its DVD and CD operation.

The magazine-distribution department of Source Interlink, which was already located in Shepherdsville, moved into the new facility in June.

The Shepherdsville building is 150,000 square feet larger than the Coral Springs facility to accommodate both distribution centers, Beauchamp said. Beauchamp said the layoffs will come gradually. They will start March 16, according to the document filed with the state.
Source Interlink will still have an office in Coral Springs after the layoffs, Beauchamp said.
Meanwhile, Synovate Inc., a market research company, will cut 88 jobs in its Miami office: 86 part-time telephone interviewers and two managers, said Greg Ouimet, Synovate's global director of telephone data collection.

The layoffs resulted from the ''economic climate'' and a company-wide review of its North American call centers. Synovate decided to focus on its centers in California and Iowa, Ouimet said.

The company will keep a small account group in the Miami office but is seeking new office space in Doral.

Employees will have the opportunity to relocate, Ouimet said.

Introduction To Radio Airplay

Radio Airplay 101 - BDS / Mediabase / Soundscan

You've probably been educated on "reporting", as it is done manually by a person filling out a fax or email and sending it to a radio magazine. This is how non-commercial stations, and commercial stations in small and non-rated markets, do their reporting. But the larger commercial stations (the ones with the most listeners) have their reporting taken care of automatically, through a system called "monitoring".

Monitoring is a system that does not rely on what the PD/MD says is playing... instead it listens to what the station actually plays. It is a high-level system, and due to it's cost it is used mostly by medium and large labels... but it definitely is something you should know about.

BDS (BROADCAST DATA SYSTEMS): This system uses computers to listen to the large stations throughout the country. The information is tabulated and sold to subscribing customers... most of which are medium and large labels, management, radio group owners, and others which absolutely have to know where a record is playing, because the decisions that need to be made are going to cost thousands of dollars per market. Subscribers can log on at any time and find out exactly where and how many spins any record is playing, and what time of day it played.

MEDIABASE: This system is similar in concept to BDS, but instead of using computers to listen, it uses people. Also, since a human is actually doing the listening, that person can make notes of special things, like if the music was heard in a advertisement, or if the artist was talked about by DJs, or other things that a computer would miss.

BDS is used to make all the Billboard airplay charts. MediaBase is used to make many of the charts in Radio & Records (except for the specialty and "indicator" charts, which are still done manually.) I should repeat this one point about specialty: Although MediaBase does detect specialty spins on the stations it monitors, this info is not used for the specialty charts in R&R... instead the specialty charts are made using manual reporting. MediaBase subscribers could still, however, search for and find a specialty spin if they wanted to.

MediaBase and BDS monitor about 80% of the same stations; therefore you may need to get both in order to get proper coverage.

The other major charts, FMQB and CMJ, use manual reporting for both the specialty and regular-rotation charts, and thus they are more suited to the beginning label.

Larger labels that have several projects going at once (and who are already selling 200 to 300 albums per week) might want to take a look at a BDS overall-package that let's them log on at any time to check spins. Smaller labels will have to get the limited one-title package that just emails you the results every Monday. Mediabase, since it can be accessed at any time with even it's smallest package, is a good starting point for smaller labels.

Mediabase has a special section for the indicator stations, called R&R Tracking. This sub-section of Mediabase is good if your genre has a lot of indicator stations, but, it's non-real time; the results can only be had once a week.

SOUNDSCAN: This system should not be confused with BDS or MediaBase. Soundscan is not for radio... it is for retail sales. It is the system that is connected to the barcode scanners at retail stores; it tabulates the sales data, and sells it to subscribers at a lofty price.

A note about who owns whom: Soundscan and Billboard and BDS are all owned by the same company. MediaBase, on the other hand, is owned by Clear Channel, the largest owner of radio stations (1200) in the world.

New Songwriter/Publishing Mechanical Royalties

On October 2, 2008, the Copyright Royalty Judges signed a ruling which determined what the permanent download and CD / physical recording rates would be for a 5 year period (i.e., retroactive to January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012).

CDS: The compulsory mechanical CD royalty rate will be 9.1¢ per composition (sometimes called the "minimum statutory rate) or 1.75¢ per minute for songs over 5 minutes (the latter timing royalty being sometimes referred to as the "long song" rate).

This statutory mechanical rate represents the songwriter/music publishing royalties payable for songs contained on all physical audio recordings which are made and distributed from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012.

This royalty rate applies unless the music publisher and songwriter have agreed to a lesser rate in the mechanical license or controlled composition clause of the recording artist agreement (e.g., 75% statutory).

These monies are paid by the record company to the music publisher, which then pays the songwriter his or her share of the royalties per the terms of the songwriter agreement (e.g., 50%, 75%, etc.).

Digital Downloads: The songwriter / publisher rate for permanent digital downloads will also be 9.1¢ (with 1.75¢ per minute for songs over 5 minutes).

This digital rate will be effective for the years 2008 through 2012

Yikes! I Signed A Bogus Contract, What Do I Do Now?

These are some excerpts from the book that I am currently writing, with some changes to fit this discussion.

All artists, need to realize that there are many sharks who also set up boiler room operations just like in big corporate schemes with these contests and auditions. There are so many companies out here trying to make a patsy out of you (if you are one of the first artists they contact). They will draw you into their web, snare you, and convince you to bring other artists along for the ride, only to trick you into signing your life away, do nothing for you at all, or "create" a few appearances for you (studio, club, concert, etc.).. Remember, they may already have received your contestant or audition fee, so they no longer need you, unless it is to attract other artists to pay that fee.

They look good, smell good, drive good, eat well, and dress good, but they are not there for you to like them, they are there praying you walk right into their trap. I know you are anxious and hungry, but you have also got to be smart about it. Just because someone is pushing a big body Benz, wearing an Italian suit, "talks the talk and walks the walk", you artists keep making the same mistake by thinking that this guy in this suit with all the money in the world is your ticket to becoming successful. Yes, for those who want to know, there are sharks in the Gospel music industry also, so be prepared to run into them as well. I know a lot of brothers and sisters that work for these labels, and various companies, that are not pushing a big body Benz, earn a check every week, but can do more for your career than you ever could have imagined. Get out of the house or your basement studio, and go to some conferences and industry events and you will definitely find them there.

Now don't go run out and start passing around that someone from Earth Brothers Entertainment told me that all contests and auditions are scams. There are some legitimate contests and companies out there, you just have to weed through them all to get to the good ones. Ask for references. Have them show you artists they have worked with in the past, and what they have done for them. Have them checked out by the Better Business Bureau. Just put your thinking cap on and be aware.


Just because you may sign a major record deal, it does not necessarily equate to success to each artist. What works for one may not work for another in this business?

I know an artist out of Detroit, that will remain unnamed. This artist has been completely independent his entire career. He started his company out of the basement of his grandmother's home. He went on to sell millions of albums before the labels came for him. One label that I am very familiar with, due to my brother working for them at that time, sent airline tickets to him and crew to fly them to Miami. My brother had contacted them for the label. Once they arrived in Miami, they were given the 5 star treatment. When they sat down and began negotiating a deal, half way through the meeting, he got up and told them that he was not interested. You see, the label thought they were some street boys who didn't know the game. They became very upset because the upfront money that was offered to them was peanuts compared to what they were already doing independently. After arriving back home in Detroit, he sent the label a check to reimburse them for the airfare, hotel and all accommodations. He eventually did ink a "distribution only" deal with an independent major, but it was for that purpose only.

There are no "standard" contracts in the industry. It all depends on what you negotiate. If you don't know what you or someone else is negotiating for you, how do you know you have gotten the best record deal for you? How do you know what is legit and what is not legit if you can't even comprehend what you are reading or someone else is reading for you? Get the knowledge first, and all else will fall into place. Then and only then will you know who is legit and who is just blowing smoke up your "you know what". I am so tired of hearing all of these horror stories and artists becoming so disenfranchised about remaining in the business, and have given up on their dream because they were ripped off. Reality is that a lot of you will not make it in this business, and a very small amount of you will. But don't set yourself up for failure right out of the gate by not taking care of your career, treating it as a business, and gaining that needed knowledge.

You need to know or have a working knowledge of what is being said to you by any professional in this industry. It is the only way to guarantee your self that you won't be ripped off or used.

DO NOT WAIT until after you have signed because they threw some money, jewelry, a wardrobe, and other things at you, only to find our later down the road that you were misled and being ripped off. Some artists never recover from that, and their careers are destroyed. Why go through all the trouble of recording that "hit album" if you are not going to treat this as a business?

No record label, Management Company, or entertainment attorney is going to teach you the business. Not saying that some won't, but insure your self of a good start by reaching out to some professionals that will. Most of them want you to stay ignorant of the business, so they can continue to steal, rape, rip off, plunder, and destroy your individual earning power as an artist, while they reap millions off of your hard work. That is reality!!!! Find me someone that can dispute that, and I will quit the industry today, right now.

Word of advice: (Use both copyright form PA (lyrics, music, arrangements, etc.) and SR (sound recording "master") for full protection of your work). Most artists make the mistake of only filling out the PA form thinking their work is fully protected. Labels have legal departments that look for these loopholes. If you do not own the SR (master), trust me the label will try to negotiate ownership directly from you, or indirectly through that contract they hand you.
1. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
2. Any person or company that requires you pay a fee for an audition, are usually not legitimate. Have them checked out first, and if you find that they are a scam, run for the door!
3. If you do not understand the business, don't sign anything at all until you understand for yourself. Do not depend wholly on what someone else tells you, and by then (gaining knowledge), you will know it was bogus to begin with.
4. Most established entertainment attorneys and/or management companies, not all, work hand in hand with the labels. What does this tell you?
5. Anyone dropping names is probably just that, a namedropper and little of nothing else.
6. Any contract that is one sided, that reads throughout the contract, "the company this", "the company that", is a contract you shouldn't be signing. If you can renegotiate some terms in your favor, then I would suggest going ahead with it (signing).
7. Stop depending on other artists who probably have about as much knowledge as you do, and give you misinformation. You can only blame yourself if you do not follow up, and get the needed knowledge before you sign a contract.
8. Anyone or any company constantly bugging you to sign with them, is probably out for their own best interest, and definitely not yours.
9. Read, read, read, read, read, read the resources out here, get with some of these legitimate professionals with references on out here in the business. I will suggest you read up on what each part of the "Artist Recording Contract", "Mechanical Rights Contract", "Publishing Contract", Production Contact", Etc.. is, and what each means to you as an artist.
10. No one has all the answers. But there are some trustworthy professionals out here. The music business landscape is constantly changing from hour to hour, day to day, so you need to stay in "the know" of all things that affect your music business and career.
11. If any contract is thick enough to be a book, do not, I repeat, do not sign it, and run for the hills. Do you realize how many legal loopholes in favor of the company (Label) they can place in a contract that large, especially if you do not know what you are signing in the first place?


I Want to Sign A Huge Multi-Million Dollar Contract

Reality is that labels are no longer handing out 50/50 deals or p&d multi-million dollar deals any longer. They all want to rape as much from the artists as possible. Such as the 360 deal which gives the labels multiple rights concerning the artist, such as event ticket sales, merchandising, etc. Live Nation will be here to stay with the 360 deals, because labels are tired of losing revenue from music piracy. So be prepared, all new artists, to have this be a mandatory part of your recording contract.

Although it is good advice to be independent initially, everyone can't be Master P, Cash Money, or the few lucky artists that have been discovered on My Space and sites like it, but you can put yourself in a better position, as an independent artist by gaining that needed knowledge, utilizing it for your benefit, creating a demand in the marketplace for your products, and eventually maximizing your negotiating leverage with the majors.

I am a music business consultant and will work with all budgets to help set up your business, create a solid music business plan, and pass on to you some needed information for you, your career, and business.

Copyright – Earth Brothers Entertainment LLC 2009 – All Rights Reserved

Why Is Smooth Jazz Dying?

The jazz stations have been changing their formats to attract listeners for the last several years, so it's been going on for quite some time now. It is not only dying, but has been phased out completely in a lot of markets across the country. No longer can you hear this genre of jazz in several of the major markets. I live in Miami, where as of December 30th of last year, Love 94 fell victim, and also WJJZ in Atlanta. So now, only LA, Chicago, Detroit & San Diego are the only remaining major markets with smooth jazz radio formats. Many of the smaller markets still have their stations, but they are too small to attract the amount of listeners that would save this dying format.

When this form of jazz first took the country by storm years ago in the 70's, a lot of pure jazz traditionalists, critics, and listeners were negative toward it and the artists that chose to either jump ship and change their style, or included maybe a tune or two on their albums.

The genre is dying because advertisers are looking for those stations that have listeners that are active in the station's format. So you ask the question, "how does any radio station pay it's bills"? From the ad revenue it gains from their advertising partners.

Working at a music distributor I can give you this insight. The labels all have shifted toward more economically productive projects as far as artists are concerned. They are only pouring money into and promoting those pop-u-lar music artists that have mass appeal, can possibly move a ton of units, and have the promise of longevity. Smooth Jazz artists just don't move the units like the pop-u-lar artists do. You can point out Kenny G in the 90's, even Najee in the 80's, or many artists like them both, but even those artists had to change their style of music(jazz) to (smooth jazz) in order to reach a mass appeal. If you even look at the "Smooth Jazz" tribute to Beyonce, and so many other projects like it, the labels are more interested in putting out a cd with a "smooth jazz" concept from an artist that already has an established audience of consumers.

In today's volatile market place with piracy (bootlegging, downloading, copying/burning cd's), an economy on it's last legs, and Live Nation (360 deal) about to change the way we all do business, the business has shifted from labels taking risks on new artists with a new sound, to signing a few new artists and modeling them after what is already out in the marketplace (Omarion, Neyo, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, etc.). You already would have had to establish a wide mass appeal, and have moved some serious units independently, to even be considered. Yes there new artists popping out all over the place, but look behind those artists, and I guarantee you that it is usually someone who has already established themselves in the industry.

With this new business model the labels are trying to create with Live Nation, I can guarantee you that the independent market is going to explode as it did in the early 80's. Artists and companies that have gained knowledge of this (360deal) are not going to be willing to give up multiple rights. Artists in this genre have to start networking, helping each other, sharing resources and information, putting compilations together, creating forums, and make a path for themselves, same as the hip hop and gospel industries have.

I would suggest looking at foreign markets, where jazz is very huge, such as Japan, China, the UK, and South America. There are but a few labels in the states that even put out smooth jazz artists, or jazz artists period of any jazz format. You can still find quite a few stations that stream smooth jazz on the internet(domestic & foreign), and tradional stations that play the genre as well. In Scandanavia and parts of France there is a new movement of jazz called “the European.” It is influenced by electronic artists. Although it has been around for a few years, St Germain is one of the acts that is a face for this new jazz. I put out a mix cd in 2001 on Rykodisc/WEA with this type of jazz on it, "World Chillage, A Step Beyond".

There is a new form of jazz laced with the elements of funk, r&b, and jazz. In some areas of the globe this "new" form of jazz is called Liquid Funk, but it was/is/has been called jazz-funk, soul jazz, nujazz, jazz fuzion ( electro-jazz), jazztronica, and lounge, due to all of the similarities in the stylings of the music, in various areas of the globe depending on where you are.

I thought I would at least share these resources with you, and maybe it will help you in getting your music out there.... I can help with the marketing and promotions if needed.

Streaming Web Stations(Domestic & Foreign)
www.sky.fm/smoothjazz
www.smoothjazz.com
www.shoutcast.com
www.radiotower.com/cat-smooth-jazz.html
www.gotradio.com
www.allaboutjazz.com/music_directory/smooth_jazz_radio.php
www.live365.com/stations/softjazz
www.wnjl.comwww.977music.com
www.1.fm
www.jazzworldquest.com/europe.shtml
www.jazzlinks.net/jazz-radio-in-the-world.html

Guides To Smooth Jazz Stations(Traditional Radio & Web Radio)www.music.aol.com/radioguide/jazz-radio
www.iheard.com/genres/jazz
counterpoint-music.com/links/radio.html
www.radiorow.com/stations/jazz.htm
www.musicgoal.com/stations/search/?search=swissgroove+-+groovy&...
www.jazzlinks.net/jazz-radio-in-the-world.html

Electronic Uptempo Smooth Jazz(Liquid Funk, Jazz-Funk, European, Uptempo Smooth Jazz, NuJazz, Jazz Fuzion (Electro Jazz), Lounge)Liquid Funk
www.di.fm
www.dnbradio.comwww.last.fm/listen/globaltags/liquid%20funk
www.vombatradio.com
radio-windows.com/techno-radio.htmJazz-Funk
www.internet-radio.org.uk/stations/funk
www.radiorow.com/stations/jazz.htm
www.onlineradiostations.com/music-genre/jazz-funk/jazz-funk-was-an-...
www.smoothvibes.com/radio.html
iacmusic.com/station.aspx?stationid=1095
www.internet-radio.org.uk/stations/funk

(European and Jazz-Funk)
www.musicgoal.com/stations/search/?search=swissgroove+-+groovy&...

(NuJazz, Acid Jazz, Lounge)
www.shoutcast.com/genre/NuJazz
www.jazzylounge.comhttp://groovera.com
www.allaboutjazz.com/php/entity.php?id=6406


Copyright - Earth Brothers Entertainment LLC 2009 - All Rights Reserved

Debunking The Poor man’s Copyright

Protect Your Rights - Copyright Your Work

As one who can testify to you that protecting your "work" is vital, I strongly suggest that you read this.

Question: "I hear that the poor man's copyright provides enough protection., can't I just use the poor man's copyright?" "Can't I just send myself a copy of my work and the postmark will be enough to prove the copyright?"

Answer: No! - and there are two main reasons why the poor man's copyright isn't worth the cost of the stamps: The poor man's copyright has no legal effect. There are no cases in which the poor man's copyright has been successful!

The poor man's copyright has no legal standing anywhere! Any knowledgeable lawyer can show you it's easy to fake!

How to Fake a Poor Man's Copyright: Mail yourself any CD without sealing the envelope (a manila envelope with fasteners works best). Then put any brand-new CD in the envelope and seal it. Look! You may have a sealed envelope with a new CD in it with a postmark from before the CD was published, but you don't own the copyright to the new CD. It works the same way with any copyrightable material! Many of the benefits of registration are not available with the poor man's copyright. You must copyright your work to collect your royalties.

Without registration within three months of publication, you can't collect any damages or attorneys' fees for infringements that occur before registration or in that three-month period.

You can lose a ton of money while trying to enforce your rights unless you register your copyright before the infringement occurs! You can't collect statutory damages without any proof of financial harm -- it makes the case much easier to win! The only real way to protect your work is to copyright your work with The US Copyright Office, http://www.copyright.gov/

Use both the PA form (music, lyrics, arrangements, etc..) and SR form (Sound Recording [masters]) This is the only legal way to protect all the rights afforded to you by the Copyright Law.

Tip 1: To save yourself money, copyright as many songs at one time as possible. Title them Bozo's collections of songs, poems, instrumentals, etc., this will insure that each individual song is protected within the collection. Bozo is just an example, you can name it whatever you'd like, but just remember to include collection in the title.

Tip 2: Do not pay extra money to have a company register your works for you either. This is protection for the rights to your works, always remember that. Would you let someone hold your atm bankcard? I don't think so.

As of July 1, 2006, it only costs 45 dollars to register.


Copyright - Earth Brothers Entertainment LLC 2008 - All Rights Reserved