Focus on making more money from music this year
Here are 10 posts from the Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan (AKA The Music Money Guys) that will help you make more money with your music in 2020. Read the post.
copyrights
Should I copyright my song?
Per the Copyright Act of 1976, as soon as your song is in a fixed form, you own the copyright. So usually what people are talking about is registering the copyright when they ask, “Should I copyright my song?” Read the post.
Six legal pitfalls to avoid in your music career
Avoid these tax and legal pitfalls as you launch your music business and navigate the industry as a songwriter and creative. Read the post.
Why you should use split sheets when writing and recording music
When writing and recording music, use split sheets to capture vital information and make sure you avoid legal disputes, boost promotion, and generate money-making opportunities. Read the post.
A look at the Music Modernization Act
Music creatives of all types, along with the entire digital music ecosystem, celebrated the signing of the Hatch-Goodlatte Music Modernization Act into law on October 11, 2018. Read the post.
Work For Hire agreements from a musician’s perspective
In a follow up to our Work For Hire post that looked at these agreements from the producer’s perspective, this post gives advice to musicians being asked to perform/record and sign a WFH contract. Read the post.
Work For Hire agreements: The producer’s perspective
If you’re hiring musicians (or other contributors) to work on a music project, these tips from a music industry lawyer can help you navigate a Work For Hire agreement. Read the post.
How cue sheets help you get paid for TV and film placements
A cue sheet is a written synopsis of the music used in a production and is one way to ensure all the stakeholders in a song are compensated adequately. Read More.
Copyright termination: McCartney, Duran Duran, and the YMCA.
Copyright termination is giving music artists the opportunity to reclaim the rights to their songs. The stories of Duran Duran, Paul McCartney and The Village People’s Victor Willis tell the tale. Read More.
Music news: Happy Birthday’s disputed rights, vinyl vs. streaming, and the last CD-R for Taiyo Yuden
“Happy Birthday To Me:” a complicated history – and future – for the world’s simplest song; vinyl sales continue to make headlines, with sales generating more revenue than free Spotify, YouTube, and VEVO combined; JVC and Taiyo Yuden to stop producing optical media – FalconMedia remains a reliable option. Read more.
So you want to be a music supervisor?
A music supervisor’s job is to find, place, and link music with multimedia based projects that need outside music. In order to become a music supervisor you must be knowledgeable about music licensing, have a grasp on the different industries that are in need of music, and possess excellent networking skills. Read more.
CD Baby Pro: Get Every Penny You’ve Earned In Music Royalties
CD Baby has launched CD Baby Pro, a new service for independent music artists that helps collect the songwriting and music royalties you’ve earned worldwide. Even if you’ve registered your works with a PRO, it’s virtually impossible to collect all the publishing royalties owed to you every time one of your songs is purchased, streamed, or played in a public setting. CD Baby Pro solves this problem and makes it easy for you to get paid what you’ve earned. Read more.
Making Money With Music Licensing – Part 2: Creating Value and Income
When striving to understand how the music licensing business operates, one key fact is that the music licensing marketplace determines value on a daily basis. What this means is that to make any money licensing your music, your songs must have value in the eyes of the marketplace. The following qualities will help determine a piece of music’s relative licensing value. Read more.
Making money with music licensing – Part I: Copyrights and revenue
To develop an adequate understanding of the path to earning money with your original music, four essential areas make up the key foundational knowledge, and we’ll explore them in three posts. In this first post, we’ll look at the different copyrights and the basic blueprint for how revenue is generated by licensing your music. Part two will address creating value and earning income through licensed music. In part three, we’ll explore the diversity of buyers for original music, and the all-important connections you will need to develop to begin to make money from your original music. Read more.
Music publishing and how Michael Jackson came to own The Beatles’ songs
Music publishing has its lore and legends. The story of Michael Jackson coming to own the rights to The Beatles’ catalog is high on the list. It started when Jackson contributed to McCartney’s Pipes Of Pan album, when McCartney opened Jackson’s eyes to the notion of song copyrights as an investment. Read more.