5 Things Every Independent Artist Needs to Learn!

I’m going to simplify this topic as much as I can. I’ve also created a playlist on YouTube called Music Business 101. It’s a detailed step-by-step version of the 5 topics I’ll discuss here. The 5 topics are:

1.       Music Copyright

2.       Music Publishing

3.       Digital Distribution and ISRC

4.       International Royalty Collections

5.       Licensing and Royalty Types

1.       Music Copyright

After you’ve developed your talent and have successfully written a song, it’s time to do your 2 copyrights with the Library of Congress (www.copyright.gov): PA- composition copyright and SR- Sound Recording Copyright. The PA copyright protects your song idea. You can have this written on sheet music, recorded a melody jingle or a voice note of the idea. You can copyright 1 song for the current rate of $65 or 1 collective work (i.e. album/EP) for $65. Watch the copyright.gov tutorials on how to do it. The Library of Congress is the ONLY OFFICIAL place to get your legal copyrights. Anything else is a scam. You will want to register your songs officially with the Library of Congress because it’s the only legal form of ownership if you every have to prove your music in a legal case.

Once you’ve finished recording, mixing  and mastering your polished professional sound recording, it’s time to do the SR copyright. It’s your sound recording that we call, ‘The Master.’ This is what everyone hears on radio, streaming services, TV, etc. The cost is the same as the PA; You can copyright 1 song for the current rate of $65 or 1 collective work (i.e. album/EP) for $65. Ideally, you want to own 100% of your copyrights. The current processing time of certificates is about 6-12 weeks. They are probably back-logged and overworked due to changes caused by A.I. Music.

2.       Music Publishing

Next, you will want to register with a performing rights organization (PRO) like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, or GEMA. They all basically do the same thing: they collect your royalties from sync and performance (e.g. radio stations, shops, performing venues). They will pay you what you’re owed based on the agreement you have signed with a company/publisher.Each song you register will have as ISWC number. This number is basically the social security number of your song. Just like with copyright, there are 2 parts to publishing: Writer’s share and Publisher’s share to total 100%. You register yourself as an artist to receive the writer’s share. You can either create your own publishing and/or work with a more established publisher to receive the publisher’s share. You can decide how you want to divide your catalogue. You can choose to have 5 songs exclusively with 1 publisher and 10 songs on your own publishing . You don’t have to be “ALL IN” with anyone. Just like with a stock portfolio, you can diversify. It pays to know that you have options.

3.       Now that your music is registered, it’s time to release it. There are 2 ways you can release your music for public listening: Digital Distribution Providers (DSPs) and/or Direct-to-Consumer. Make sure you have some legal advice from a music attorney preferably to help with contract jargon; Entertainment lawyers can help but their knowledge of the music business is limited in some cases. Some DSPs are CDBaby, DistroKid, TuneCore, Landr, etc. Going direct-to-consumer can be done by selling your physical album on Bandcamp, your website’s online store or an online marketplace like BeatStars, Shopify, etc.  In both cases, you will need an ISRC. This ISRC code is like the phone number to your song’s master recording. Every single time your song gets called (played) you will get paid for it. If you don’t care about getting an ISRC code for your songs, that’s ok. You still have the ISWC code to get paid if you aren’t on streaming platforms. The payment/fee you receive will depend on the agreement between your DSP or the set price you have when selling to consumers.  If you’re with a DSP, you will see this amount in your dashboard when you login. It gives you the caller ID (e.g. Spotify) and how many times it was called (e.g. 1000 plays/streams). But what if you get an international call? Who pays you then?

4.       International Collections Agencies and Sub-Publishers

These are organizations that help you get paid for your national and international royalties that DSPs don’t usually collect. Organizations like Harry Fox agency, Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), Sound Exchange, SongTrust, etc. Some of them may require you to pay for a 1 time membership fee and/or take a percentage of your royalties (on average about 15%).

5.       Licenses and Royalty Types

There are many types of licenses and royalties (income) you will encounter in your creative career if you are more than a serious hobbyist.

The most common royalty types are:

·         Mechanical: money you receive from streaming and physical sales being sold at stores.

·         Performance: money you receive from venues, radio and live performances (You CAN get paid performance royalties from playing your own song at a public venue, like Madison Square Garden).

·         Sync: money you receive from having your music paired with visuals like TV, Film, Video Games.

·         Print: Money you receive from people buying your sheet music.

The most common types of Licenses are also similar to the types of royalties with the addition of a Theater, Master and Blanket License

·         Blanket license: most commonly purchased by radio stations, public venues, etc. These companies will pay 1 fee to a publisher to have full access a part of a publisher’s catalogue. Ever wonder why you hear the same songs played in a café after 2 hours? That’s because they have a blanket license to use those songs.  

·         Master License: It gives someone permission to use the copyrighted master recording version of a song. Often used with a Sync License  

·         Theatre License: It gives someone permission to use the copyrighted song in a theatrical performance.