Music Business pdf Guides

This is a post for those who don't follow us on Twitter or visit the main site that often.

On Friday we posted about 2 free pdf guides to the Music Business written by the folks at Berklee College of Music.

Go to our main site to get these music business pdf's.

Copyright - the basics

Don't switch off and think that this is boring!

Understanding the basics of copyright is actually fundamental to all musicians. Only by knowing something about this will you know why your songs and recordings make you money.

I find that all but a handful of musicians know that there are 2 basic copyrights in every track that they make - the copyright of the composition (song) and that of the recording.

These are separate and each is capable of generating you money.

I am going to do a series on copyright and sampling on the main site in due course, but this article is a great primer.

I encourage you to read it, whatever stage of your musical career you are at.

So you’ve written a new song. It may have the potential to be a hit, but one thing is certain: it makes sense to properly protect your song if you hope to profit from its recording and public performance. How do music copyrights work? What is required to have ownership of your song’s copyright? Why should you register it with the Library of Congress? What are some of the common music licenses that generate income for songwriters?

Read the whole post here.

Sampling and what you need to know

I was a music lawyer many moons ago and I learnt the way that the music business works.

I wrote a definitive piece on sampling as it then stood (1994 this was), and I have cleared many samples that others thought impossible - I know what I'm talking about!

So do Tunecore in this article, which is a great primer.

One thing that it doesn't cover is the misconception that artists always tell me as if it's gospel. Most people believe that if they use a sample in a track and they get sued for the infringement, the damages that they would have to pay if they lost would be related to how much money the record made. This is NOT the case. There will be factors that determine the damages and these depend on what part of the world the infringement and the case take place in. BUT.....you can be sued for damages that outweigh the profits from the record many hundreds of times - enough to bankrupt you.

My advice - DO NOT have a hit with an uncleared sample!

Similarly, ignorance is not a defense. If you, create a derivative work without knowing or intending to do so - e.g., you put a riff in your work that is so similar as to be seen as a derivative work of another's copyrighted material, but you didn't know about this prior work - you are still infringing on the copyright holder's exclusive right to create a derivative work. However, if you can show that there was no knowing or intentional infringement, the damages will be less than if you intentionally and knowingly infringed.

Read the Tunecore article in full here. If you use samples you should know this!

How music companies discover, develop and promote talent

A reader of our main site mailed me some stuff yesterday including a link that led to this brilliant report on the music business written by the IFPI - a major trade body.

I've just read the whole thing - You need to read it!

One of the biggest myths about the digital age is that artists no longer need record labels. The internet allows them to reach their public directly, the myth goes. Live music and other revenue sources, like merchandising and advertising, will do the rest.Yet the reality is in fact completely different.

A very small minority of artists, mostly well known, established acts, are achieving success through this DIY route – they deserve good luck. But the vast majority are not. The truth is that artists are generally much better served by a record deal. They want the funding and the specialist support that indie and major record labels provide.

I don't agree with that in particular, but I've always said that perfecting your own talent and then building an online fanbase gives you the choice to go it alone or sign to a label or a new-model 'music company'.

What this pdf does though, and why you need to read it, is that it gives you a thorough explanation of how record companies work and what they do to break an artist. Whether you want to get involved in that circus with them or not you can learn a hell of a lot from this 30 pages.

Get the ifpi guide here.

AIM website has wealth of high qulaity training and information for Indie artists

We have been members of UK agency, AIM (the Association of Independent Music) for years. One of our many hats has been as a small group of independent record labels over the years. AIM is the UK trade body that gives such labels a voice, so membership is de rigeur.

But they just relaunched their website yesterday. It is full of awesome musician resources. Yes, you have to join or buy their information piecemeal (and I don't get paid for recommending it!) but it is put together by very serious knowledgeable people and I recommend it 100%. Much, much better than most eBooks or musician training (other than ours!) that you'll find on the web.

For example, their 600 page -The AIM Guide to Survival and Success in the Music Business - is probably the best £11.75 you could ever spend.

They also cover music news and run training events. If you're in the UK you'd be mad not to check them out and if you're anywhere esle then 90% of their info is just as useful.

Visit the AIM site here.

 

Billboard's 100 tips for maximum exposure

This week's Billboard has its annual list of 100 ways that a band can get 'maximum exposure'. Their reference guide to music promotion.

Of course, it is very US-centric and, disappointingly, it is also horribly backward looking. All of the 25 tips that you can read on their site without a subscription (come on - paywalls? Really?) are most suited to a signed act that already has a national level of success.

That's not to say that it isn't worth reading though.

I just wish that America's biggest industry weekly could delve a little deeper into what works for exposure for the aspiring artists on the rise.

There are more tools than ever to promote a new single or album. But which ones work best? To find out, Billboard presents its third annual Maximum Exposure list, which tabulates the 100 best ways to generate sales and buzz. We asked label and publishing executives, publicists, managers and branding experts to rank the most effective means to promote music.

Read the top 25 exposure tips on Billboard.

And NPR's blog take on it - similar to ours!

Hook up with serious music industry professionals

I just got tipped off to this site - Music180.com

I don't know a great deal about it but it looks like a refreshing way of being able to get direct help and connections with serious players in the game.

As we all know, if you want to make it in music, it's not just what you know, it's who you know.

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Being good isn’t enough... you need to be great. But you can’t become great alone. You need help and artist development.

Music180 gives you direct access to hundreds of the world’s top music pros to get help, get heard and get discovered.

Now you can meet and work with the same producers, songwriters, managers and other pros who have built careers for many of your favorite artists.

Go and check it out.