How to learn specifics on business side of music?

[Sound Asleep]

I'd like to learn current information on how the music industry works, how to make money say as a songwriter for other artists, how royalties work, how to make sure you have all the correct paperwork and everything like that so your work is copyrighted and safe, and so that you collect when you're due.

I'm currently wondering specifically what sort of deal would be expected or reasonable if you have a great song and want to keep ownership, and production rights and all of that, but let a singer perform it as one of their songs. What would a deal like that look like?

I'm not interested in things like how to make great songs, or" firstly, make sure your song is great", or anything like that. I'd like information based on the assumption you have a catalog of solid songs ready for distribution, and what sort of paperwork etcetera you need, and what sorts of arrangements are common in the industry.

[BertKoor]

Lesson 1: the chances of you (or anybody) earning one single buck in the music industry is about one in a million.

Do you still want to continue with lesson 2?

[BertKoor]

Lesson 2: Copyright is automatic through publication according to the 1886 Berne Convention. You can register your works locally (so where on the planet do you live?) but you have to seek for breaches of your copyright yourself and bring them to court yourself. This is only worth it when big piles of money are involved.

[BertKoor]

Lesson 3: most artists make the majority of their money by gigging, touring, selling merchandise. Selling records makes not that much, even when they have written music & lyrics themselves. Distribution of wealth amongst artists (and song writers) is very uneven. The majority can just get by financially, there's not that many millionaires.

[BertKoor]

Lesson 4: the business model: screw or get screwed. You can opt out the screwing game by doing everything yourself, no deals with established companies. Good luck on streaming then, or having your songs played on the radio.

[bermudagold]

-First you copyright it...different procedure in every legal jurisdiction
-Then you decide whether you want to function as the publisher or hire someone to perform as publisher for you (record deal)
-To self publish need to register with Performing Rights Organization (different according to legal jurisdiction/In USA BMI or ASCAP )and notify them of every song you've copyrighted. If a collaboration or group, you need to first decide how you are going to split the publishing right and the masters right, and submit this agreement to your PRO.
-As publisher you then can issue Public Performing Rights, Public Performance License, Reproduction Right, Mechanical License, or Synchronization License to third parties such as singers/performers; or have your publisher (publishing agency/record label) do it on your behalf.
-Your PRO only collects performing right royalties, you have to collect mechanical royalties and sync fees yourself or hire someone to collect them for you (label)
-Whether with an individual artist or a label, be careful with writing a song specifically for someone upon request, before clarifying publishing...because in the USA “works made for hire,” as they are called, the employer is considered the author, and the copyright/publishing right can be considered to be owned by the employer, and runs for either 95 years from the time the work was first published or 120 years from the time you created it, whichever is shorter.

[excuse me please]

Well, if you want to sail the ocean, you can't avoid water. No matter what, you have to deal with the record guys, eventually.

[Unaspected]

Maybe find a short course that focuses on business studies related to music.

There is definitely money to be made in song writing and ghost producing.

If you are prolific and making waves then you might make it.

One thing that will be expected is that you have your portfolio of songs produced to a professional demo standard. So you'll likely need to enlist/pay for the help of others that can perform, record and engineer your music.

Stay passionate and good luck!

[Sound Asleep]

-As publisher you then can issue Public Performing Rights, Public Performance License, Reproduction Right, Mechanical License, or Synchronization License to third parties such as singers/performers; or have your publisher (publishing agency/record label) do it on your behalf.
-Your PRO only collects performing right royalties, you have to collect mechanical royalties and sync fees yourself or hire someone to collect them for you (label)

How would I go about doing this? Also, I'm curious about what sorts of deals people will make. Like if I write a song, and I meet a singer, and I want them to perform my song, and I want to collect all the royalties minus the performer royalties, what sort of deal would traditionally be made with the songwriter, and how to I make sure the paperwork is done correctly so that all the royalties are paid to the right people?

[Dasheesh]

RIAA owns you, and everything you do, end story.

[Hink]

RIAA owns you, and everything you do, end story.

not quite the end of the story, then you die a riaa

[bermudagold]

Like I said above...in america, there isn't much agency or self determination...Songwriter royalties are the only income stream in America dictated by the Federal Government! Songwriters cannot increase their mechanical and performance royalty income even if the cost of doing business increases
-For performing right royalties, the rate is determined by your PRO and negotiated by them with the industry groups that own the performing vehicle...festivals,concert venues,terrestrial radio,satellite radio, internet radio, streaming services, nightclubs, restaurants, airports, etc.
You have no involvement at all, they get whatever they are willing to put in the work to track down and they send you ur cut.
-If the singer you ask records the performance of your song and sells it, that is mechanical. For mechanical royalties, the current rate is 9.1 cents to the owner of the publishing for every sale of the song regardless of medium (CD,download,interactive stream). This rate is set by a Copyright Royalty Board made up of 3 judges who meet every 5 years to set rates. Like I said, you have to collect that yourself, or pay a publishing agency to, unless the singer is signed to a record label cause they will. Most mechanical transactions in america involve The Harry Fox Agency, issuing mechanical licensees , as well as collecting and distributing the associated royalties. The only way to get more than the standard 9 points is to record, manufacture and sell the performance yourself (be the record label), but obviously that involves costs.
-For sync fees (commercials, television, movies,video games). The royalty is freely negotiated in the marketplace and is typically split 50% to the publishing owner and 50% to the artist and record label.
-If you want an artist to sing your song, you have no leverage,...if an established artist wants your song, they will be bound by the constraints of their record deal and label desires, and you still have no leverage.

[BertKoor]

How would I go about doing this?

That differs a great deal around the world. It would help us tell you the right things and leave out many wrong things if you'd like to share that with us. I could throw a tantrum that Harry Fox is unknown in Europe, but ...

Also, I'm curious about what sorts of deals people will make.

The simplest deal is you sell all the rights. Collect say $30.000 from that DJ with more money than talent and let him put his name under it as the writer. Yes, ghostwriting does happen. Paper trails? Who cares apart from tax revenue office.

So maybe having your name under the song is important enough. Figure out what your time is worth. You can sell the rights for a fixed sum, or a percentage of the revenue, or a mix of both.

There's a story where the artist-writer wanted a high percentage of revenue made beyond a rather high threshold. Record company thought they had a good deal (not having to pay a lot while sales are low) but it turned out the artist had hit gold.

What's a fair deal? John Doe does not get the same deals as Ed Sheeran for example.


Homework assignment: what's TAFKAP again?

[bermudagold]

That differs a great deal around the world.

It all comes down to entertainment law statutes...naturally law statutes differ per legal jurisdiction, so in theory this is true...but not in reality
For example, Europe uses the PRO system as well...In Europe, there are 25 collection societies for the 27 countries in the European Union, and each one acts as the sole society for that country...the only real differences are
-European PROs collect both performance AND mechanical
-European artists can't choose their PRO or publishing representation. Essentially, they are government-affiliated monopolies that collect all of the money in a designated country expecting exclusive administrative rights.
-Europe allows a percentage of performing royalties in cases deemed "creative reinterpretations of other artist’s work", where America doesn't.
-Ringtones are performance royalties in Europe, where they are mechanical in USA
-Europe PROs have more transparency on the algorithms and metrics used in deriving rates.

Example Adele is a UK citizen based in UK, but she is registered with an American PRO (SESAC)...you're notion of leverage based on stardom is also a lil misleading...Madonna and Janet Jackson were global stars for over a decade before they were getting anything over the standard mechanical royalty stipulated by law that any non famous joe blow was getting.

[BertKoor]

Artist vs writer. And again US vs EU. It matters!