Keeping Up with the Information Age

For years new artists have been told that if they work on their craft they will get discovered, get an amazing record deal, and that then the money will come pouring in. They are taught that success is not possible without having your hand held by the woolly mammoth that is the traditional record label and distribution channels. Do you know you can do it yourself and make just as much (if not more) money than with their help?  Its not enough to create great music, someone has to hear it, and someone has to buy it. In the Information Age that we are in, the best way for you to do it on your own is through the Internet.

In his free eBook The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online, Andrew Dubber explains how to get your music into the hands of consumers. He believes that if you can understand and embrace these twenty ideas, you will be able to control the revenue your music creates. It’s all about marketing and promotion- but not in the ways that you are used to. Some of his tips include: not believing in the fantasy that industry uses to lure new artists, the power of giving away things for free in order to entice a customer into buying your music, getting people to like (and talk) about your product with authority, as well as being accessible, professional and ever present.

 One really good point he brings up is in the chapter about using your website as an environment where people connect with one another, rather than just a destination where people stop, look, and never return. (Chapter 6: Web 2.0). Another great section is Chapter 8 where Dubber talks about cross promoting and setting up your websites so that all roads lead back to your product. “Your online stuff is not a replacement for your offline stuff, and nor does it exist independently of it. Figure out how to make the two genuinely intersect.”

This book is so informative and he shares his information in a way that is simple, easy to understand, and relatable.  Download a copy and keep up with his blog and other strategies to stay relevant in the Information Age at his website www.newmusicstrategies.com

You can’t have it! It’s mine! ~ Copyright ownership and Collaboration

In the music industry, you will inevitably work with another party to create a product, whether it’s a band, a producer, or another songwriter. Sometimes the collaboration process is smooth and easy- you all get together in one place (typically someone’s basement in the middle of the night) and have an impromptu jam session. Everyone feels the same vibe and you decide to put pen to paper to create a hit, or better yet, you break out your nearest recording device and record a live session- just to have something to work with later.  Other times the process is a little more complicated- your label pairs you with a new producer or songwriter and you butt heads, or your bandmates disagree on the direction that your next album should take. Either way everything that happens after the creation of an original product can be complicated if the correct parameters aren’t set up first.

So now what? You all wrote a song and created a recording. Are they one and the same? Who owns the copyright? What happens when its time to sell this work? Who gets paid? According to Joy Butler in The Permission Seekers Guide Through the Legal Jungle, the rules are very clear. With every musical creation, whether by an individual or a group there are two distinct pieces that are copyrightable: The musical composition (lyrics melody etc.) that’s been written down and the sound recording. As a songwriter, you could own both: you wrote a complete song then went into the recording studio with your piano and guitar and created an awesome acoustic recording.

Or, it could go something like this: You wrote  (most of a song) and you need help finishing it. You bring it to a producer who creates a track for it and adds a bridge as well as tweaks the hook. At this point without a formal agreement, both of you own half. Now when royalties come pouring in, or someone comes to you with the amazing opportunity to   use this \recording as the soundtrack for a commercial, they have to get both of your permissions, even though in your mind the song is yours. You might say, “ That’s not fair! They didn’t write half of the song, just a line here and there! My voice is on the recording too! And now they have as much power, rights (and money) as I do?”

Can all of this be avoided, you ask? Yes. Although music is a creative process, get your business in order first. If you an your band get together and create a song, sit down right after and draw up an agreement as to who owns what, and what percentage. Oftentimes this agreement is called a split sheet. 

This way when it comes time to register your work for copyright, you have a plan in place. Everyone knows how much each party gets paid and for how long. The same type of agreement applies whether you are collaborating with a producer, band, another artist, or your best friend.