Royalty Fraud

From cheating managers and promotors to IRS issues and straight up financial mismanagement, there are many reasons the list of music legends who have lost it all is a long one.  David Acosta, CPA is an expert in helping music artists navigate and protect themselves from the financial downside of the music industry. Here’s what he has to say regarding royalty fraud.

How does royalty fraud happen?

There are many variables when it comes to royalty distribution and the calculation of rates. It is an extremely complex and controversial process.  Not only do rates vary by type (CDs, digital, streaming, television and film, video games) but the calculation of royalties is different for songwriters, publishers and the recording artist. As Courtney Love pointed out in her letter to music artists, “Record companies also reduce royalties by “forgetting” to report sales figures, miscalculating royalties and by preventing artists from auditing record company books.”

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How to Monetize Your Following PLUS win a free online store

Wondering how to take advantage of you fan base but stuck on where to begin? 

In this article;

- Easy way to sell band merchandise straight from you Facebook page.

- 3 lucky bands will win a fully set up online store.

Imagine the opportunity to offer your online followers the chance to buy band merch right from your Facebook page.  Galloree offers just that.

There are no minimum order quantities or ridiculous price minimums.  Types of merchandise offered ranges from Tee’s to Hoodies to Skateboards.

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Artist's Expectations Need to Change, Too

I’ll start with a disclaimer made many times: “I firmly believe an artist should be paid for use of their music, after the artist proves their music is worth paying for.”

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Feed The Arts Introduces TIME Funding

FEED THE ARTS INTRODUCES TIME FUNDING WEBSITE FOR THE ARTS
ENTERTAINMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS BENEFIT AND BUILD THEIR BUSINESS WHILE HELPING ARTISTS

NEW YORK, NY (June 4, 2013)—

Feedthearts.com is forever changing the way art is funded by introducing its patent pending TIME FUNDING Model.  Time Funding is a cross between crowd funding and virtual rewards programs allowing fans to donate time instead of money.  Their time is what helps Artists get funded and allows funding of Creative Arts projects with fans earning virtual currency we call ?Helping Hands?.  Helping Hands are then turned around through an advertising revenue share and giving that currency to artists projects posted on the site.  This revolutionary model eliminates the risk of previous crowd funding and traditional funding models.

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6 Things You Can Do With $100 That Will Change Your Music Career

Money. Let’s face it: most artists aren’t very good with it. Most of us don’t have much to invest into our music career (relatively speaking), and when we do, we tend to throw it at some random opportunities without a larger strategy in mind.

Take, for instance, submission fees to music festivals. Each year, thousands of artists spend over $100 in application fees or subscription costs to EPK sites, in hopes of getting a show at SXSW, CMJ, Bumbershoot, or other large festivals. Personally, I think festivals are overrated in terms of importance for your career, but if you really want to get in, try reading this guide: How to Get Into SXSW.

You can easily spend $100 on strings, picks, or sticks. You could even buy a cheap electric guitar. Or, if you were riding in my tour bus, $100 almost covers the gas from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA.

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Free peek at broken system of music reporting rights

Dirty secret: Musicians and songwriters all know that if their music is being played commercially, the reports they are getting back are more than likely wrong. Cue sheets and affidavits are routinely entrusted to interns to fill out – sometimes by hand. One misspelled song title and the artists wave goodbye to their royalties.  In fact, over 80% of music played commercially is either unreported or misreported.

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Music Without Labels Seeking Submissions for New Web Series!

Hello Everyone!

I am the spokesperson for Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC.  MWL is an umbrella for many music projects, ideas and conversation. The MWL Live just wrapped up a on a 15,000 mile cross-country video tour covering the hottest summer musicians and artists across the country. We featured several great bands such as Portugal. The Man, Datsik, The Lonely Forest, Yann Tiersen, Carina Round, Vintage Trouble, Dry the River, Washed Out, Gardens & Villa, Fun. and many more! Check out the MWL Live Tour 2012 videos here. 

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When Running A Record Label, Don’t Forget To Budget For Recoveries

Nothing is more fulfilling than opening your record label, getting your artist in the studio, laying down some tracks and mastering your final project. You’ve gotten investors involved who really believe in your project as much as you do and they’re putting a significant amount of money behind your company for both production and marketing. The only uncomfortable part about the whole process is that they have accountants, business managers and financial gurus working for them behind the scenes and they need you to put together a budget

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BANDLOOT.COM - from musicians to musicians an app for band accounting

What started as a talk between co-workers at the company ”Earmaster” is now a free tool made by musicians, for musicians: bandloot.com

After a period of arguing with his band over financial confusion, an employee at Earmaster had an idea. An idea that his band – and everyone elses – could benefit from a tool to help keep the bandeconomy easy to handle. So after a talk during lunchbreak, a few co-workers started to develop an online app to keep tracks of the typical band finances. Who owes who, who payed for what, how much is left, etc.

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Music Without Labels Live Tour 2012

At Music Without Labels & Beat-Play we know you want, and deserve, exclusive coverage of all of the best summer festivals and concerts; which is why MWL Live is embarking on journey across the United States! MWL spokesperson, Katie McVeay, and leading videographer, Shane Suski, are crossing state lines to showcase musical acts at festivals, small town concerts and everywhere in between, providing up-to-date photos, video interviews, and giving you the opportunity to interact with today’s top artists and musicians.

During Shane’s first year with MWL, he has had the opportunity to photograph over 75 artists including big names like Immortal Technique, GZA, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Young the Giant, and more! Katie McVeay started her MWL work in NYC where she interviewed numerous up-and-coming bands such as Caged Animals, Dustin Wong, The Beets and Canon Logic. In February, Katie relocated to MWL Headquarters in San Diego and has had the chance to interview talented acts such as Puscifer, Lost in the Trees, Rachael Yamagata, Talkdemonic and many more!

MWL Live will be traveling approximately 11,000 miles in 108 days featuring popular musicians at Sasquatch, Free Press, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot Music Festival and everywhere in between! We also know that not all of your favorite musicians are located near hub cities where their music can be properly showcased, reviewed or featured. Are you one of these artists? Do you know a great band in your location? We are reaching out to artists and fans! We want to visit you during the MWL Live Tour!

A trip like this takes funding! How much? $10,000! Right now we have $5,749 towards the project, but it’s not enough! Our Kickstarter goal of $6,000 helps cover the (high) price of gas, food, accommodations, tolls, festival fees, equipment and other expenses that we need to make the MWL Live Tour 2012 a reality!

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They didn’t know (From BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog)

“They didn’t know how to market me….”

“They didn’t know what to do with me….”

How many times have we heard GREAT artists say this?! Well as for me, I’ve heard it more times than I care to hear anymore. It is important for an artist to be surrounded by the right team that is willing to teams go that extra mile to  push quality artists to the mainstream.  Just because an artist does not fit into a specific mold does not mean that their career has to suffer and miss out on a promising chance. With that being said, artists must be receptive of constructive criticism and understand that they have a team of professionals who are experienced and knowledgeable in their craft.

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The Fame Formula

There are several secret ingredients to making a star shine and sparkle. A lot goes into defining and sculpting the X Factor that ultimately is the key to making them stand out so big and bold. We all know by now that it’s not an overnight thing. It’s a complete recipe and leaving out even one ingredient, or adding them at the wrong time – and the formula won’t work.

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Little Known Tactics for Greater Touring Profits

For many independent artists organizing do-it-yourself tours, a common question  is, “How can we make more money on tour?” One of the simplest methods: by spending less. Here are some ways you can cut your expenses while on tour which leaves room for more profit.

Whether you’re planning a national, international, or regional tour the goals are the same: earn income while promoting yourself in a familiar or new territory. Reaching out to fans and connecting personally at your concerts are the keys to gaining a dedicated fan base and generating buzz around your band. Admittedly, while overall comfort plays a key role in combatting tour fatigue and  maintaining performance levels, sometimes comfort isn’t an option. If tour expenses are outweighing guarantees, try implementing some of these cost-cutting  travel techniques tailored for the DIY, self-booking independent artist. 

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Managing Your Band Bank Account

So you’ve reached the point of making money from your band’s music and merchandise. Most likely a majority of this money will be poured back into your gas tank or will be put toward new merch items. An initial reaction would be to entrust a member of the band to hold on to any extra money in a personal bank account or in a merch booth money drawer. This method of accounting lacks transparency and can easily cause tension among band members. Even if you don’t have extra funds floating around it’s a good idea to create a bank account that keeps all band money separate of personal funds.

Opening a band bank account can be a sure-fire method of keeping money safe, well accounted for, and organized, but can still cause headaches if not managed properly. Poor organization and money management skills will almost always lead to uncomfortable conversations and cause tension within most bands. To provide some advice to get you started we’ve put together this list of tips for anyone interested in setting up and managing a band bank account. 

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