4 Legal Protections for Your Band and Your Music Every Group Needs

The need for legal protection is much more critical in this technological age characterized by piracy. The good thing is that the law protects you to ensure that no one uses creativity illegally. If you and your friends want to start a band, you need to know your right and place in the constitution. Here is some legal protection that you need.

Click to read more ...

How To Set Up An Online Release Party

Release parties are a traditional way to promote your band locally. Why not take it online and get a wider audience?

Click to read more ...

How To Get Started In Music Publishing

Have you ever heard someone say I’m signed to BMI, ASCAP or SESAC so I’m set for publishing?

Registering with a performance rights organization (aka PRO) is an important step to collecting your publishing royalties, but there are three major types of additional publishing royalties that you are probably not collecting if your only step to collecting your publishing royalties has been affiliating with a PRO.

Click to read more ...

Getting To The Top Of The Pile When Submitting Your Music For Licensing

Guest post by Evan Zwisler. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

These days, music licensing seems to be one of the most lucrative ways to make money as a musician. Record deals usually just amount to distribution, earning money playing shows can be spotty, and merch sales are unreliable. But selling one of your songs to a movie, TV show, or video game is a great way to earn a solid chunk of royalties that could last the entirety of your career, if you’re lucky. If you’re someone who is able to write and produce your own songs, this is a particularly reliable way to earn a living.

Click to read more ...

Essential Questions To Answer Before You Finish A Songwriting Collaboration

In a music-theatre context, there are a number of questions that must be answered before any song can be completed. Often when lyricists and composers collaborate on songs for a new show, these questions may be answered unconsciously or internally by each collaborator or not at all. If one person were writing a show all by herself, that might be just fine. But in a collaboration with one or two other artists, it’s critical that everyone on the team articulate these questions together, discuss them and come to agreement on each answer. If this is done before starting work on a given song, it can save everyone a lot of extra work, frustration and other unpleasant feelings. Take the time to be just a little bit pedantic when it comes to songs you’re co-writing for a new musical and you’ll be much happier with the results.

Click to read more ...

Urgent Warning!: Time Is Running Out For Artists & Writers To Exercise Their Termination Rights Under U.S. Copyright Law

 1976 Copyright Act provides for the termination of copyright transfers – but authors need to act within a limited timeframe. Creators are entitled to reclaim their copyrights regardless of any contract stating otherwise after certain time periods. Therefore, even if an author, artist, musician, photographer or songwriter signed a contract which purports to transfer all rights in a work for perpetuity, the Copyright Act provides that the author of the work can terminate that grant and demand that the rights revert. Authors and creators are now entitled to terminate their contractual transfers and demand back control of their copyrights; authors can terminate their book publishing contracts, songwriters can demand return of their musical compositions from music publishers and recording artists and record producers can demand return of their sound recordings from the record companies.

Click to read more ...

Did Led Zeppelin Steal Stairway To Heaven?

I don’t think that any respectful musician should be proud of violating the copyright of another one. With all the social networks that exist nowadays, if someone makes a plagiarism, the news will spread worldwide in a matter of minutes. It is far too embarrassing of a place to put yourself in.

Click to read more ...

The Process Of Releasing Electronic Music In 6 Simple Steps

For anyone who hasn’t worked their way through my free course “Getting Started With Self Releasing Music” I’d like to simplify the process of going from having a few tracks made, right through to releasing your music and seeing it on iTunes, Spotify and everywhere else.

This process will be more suited to electronic musicians, although could feasibly apply to bands and solo artists too. This is going to be a very simplified process, but should help those who don’t know about it, understand things better.

Click to read more ...

10 Record Deal Red Flags

This guest post by Canadian entertainment lawyer Byron Pascoe originally appeared on the Bandzoogle Blog

When a band receives their first record deal, there’s a sense of accomplishment. Someone likes me! Where do I sign?

Before signing a contract with a label, it’s important to understand what you’re signing.

When I’m reviewing a record label agreement for an artist, it’s not uncommon for there to be a number of “red flags” – warnings to watch out for in the agreement and/or the relationship with the label.

The following list (in no particular order) provides some common red flags to keep in mind.

Click to read more ...

Legal Basics For The Diy World: Artists, Authors, Creators And Musicians

Under US copyright law, copyright (literally, the right to make and sell copies) automatically vests in the creator the moment the expression of an idea is “fixed in a tangible medium” (in other words, the moment you write it down, type it or record it on tape). With respect to music specifically, there are really two copyrights: a copyright in the musical composition owned by the songwriter and a sound recording copyright in the sound of the recording owned by the recording artist (but usually transferred to the record company when a record deal is signed). It is important to remember that you own the copyright in your work the moment you write it down or record it, and you can only transfer those rights by signing a written agreement to transfer them. Therefore, you must be wary of any agreement you are asked to sign. 

Click to read more ...

4 Tips For Songwriters Seeking Artists To Record Their Songs

This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

The goal of many a songwriter is to find artists to sing our material. And there are few things more thrilling than when you hear your music come to life. The first time you get to hear an artist’s take on a song you spent hours on, all alone in your writing room, is truly magical. The feeling exists somewhere in between hearing a very personal cover, and the ephemeral act of co-writing or collaborating with someone.

Click to read more ...

7 Things I Wish Somebody Had Told Me About Releasing Music

 About 10 years ago, a pretty awful music producer was sitting in his parents spare-room on his computer trying to make sense of Ableton Live, and the world of record labels, sales and music production.

That producer was me, and there are a few things I wish somebody had told me back then.

I’ve come a fair distance since those days, but many of the things I wish I’d been told are still as true today, so I’d like to cover a few for you.

Click to read more ...

The Return Of The Song Plugger - The Unsung Heros Behind Songwriting’s Renaissance In The Digital Age

By Thomas Scherer, EVP US publishing and international writer services at BMG

We’re in the middle of a golden age of collaboration in the music industry. The digital age has removed barriers for artists and writers teaming up to work together, contributing parts, ideas, lyrics and so much more. In the past twelve months, some of the biggest hits in our catalogue - such as DJ Snake’s “Let Me Love You” ft. Justin Bieber and Florida Georgia Line’s “H.O.L.Y.” - have been co-created by amazingly talented writing and production teams. Yet all of this creativity is underpinned by an unsung role that has never been more important within the music industry - the song plugger. 

Click to read more ...

Is Your Single A Flop?

“Oh well, there’s always the next single.”

“It doesn’t seem like anyone is interested.”

These are two things I often hear from bands following the first week of pitching media on a single. This is often after only seeing ten to 20 outlets cover the band. Did I mention it was after only one week actively promoting the release?

There’s often a sense of panic from musicians after that first week – the band invested a lot of money – and it’s already a flop.

It’s not, I promise.

Click to read more ...