Mechanical royalty rates are going up… Or are they?
The Copyright Royalty Board announced plans to increase the mechanical royalty rates for product sales, which is great for songwriters. But will streaming rates do the same? Read the post.
digital music sales
Sell your CDs online: Stake a tent at Bandcamp
Ready to start selling CDs and merch online? Bandcamp offers a customizable solution with the independent musician in mind. Read the post.
The MLC’s $424 million royalty distribution conundrum
The music industry has long had a royalty distribution problem, AKA the infamous “black box,” which represents hundreds of millions in mechanical royalties collected on behalf of publishers and songwriters who have not been paid because they cannot be tracked down. Read the post.
The Indie Music Minute with Tony van Veen
The Disc Makers YouTube Channel has a new series of videos, called “The Indie Music Minute,” featuring Tony van Veen (CEO of Disc Makers) distributing bite-sized nuggets of actionable information to help you make the most of your career as an indie music artist. Read the post.
Music News: Adele breaks sales’ record, Willie Nelson gets Gershwin Award, Shrapnel records catalog acquired by The Orchard
Whatever you think of Adele’s decision to follow the likes of Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke and sidestep streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, she’s proven again that she has the star power and “four quadrant” appeal to change the trajectory of album sales for the industry this year. Read more.
How to run a successful record label (by giving away the music)
Jay Frank, a former VP at Country Music Television and Yahoo Music, recently launched his own record company, called DigSin. Based in Nashville, DigSin, which stands for digital single, has a very unique business model: It promotes free downloads for life and a “360 of the song” deal. Read more.
A guide to Apple Music for the independent musician
Apple Music is live and streaming, and for independent musicians who want in on the service, CD Baby is the go-to source to make music available on the platform. In addition to being an Apple approved aggregator, the editors at CD Baby’s The DIY Musician blog have embarked on a series of posts covering Apple Music. Read more.
Should your next music release be an EP or an album?
It’s not always easy to know what you should be releasing as a musician. Should you go all out and create a 14 track album right away? Should you release a single as soon as you’ve recorded your first track? Here is a plan I’ve seen work well for many independent artists. Read more.
ISRC, Gracenote, and CD-Text explained (and provided) here!
You’ve heard the term “ISRC” thrown around, but what is it, and why do you need it? An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-digit alphanumeric code that serves as a unique and permanent identifier for any sound recording or music video. So where a UPC is tied to the “carrier” of the track – e.g. the CD or LP – an ISRC identifies individual tracks. Read More.
Optimize your digital music sales on iTunes
As an indie, your plan should be to seek out social and digital distribution platforms that will cater best to you and your audience, but there is one platform that still dominates as the go-to for mass music purchasing. This platform is iTunes. As of 2013, iTunes accounted for 66% of all digital music sales. Read more.
iTunes Success in 12 Steps
How indie artist Making April went from 0 to 1,000 sales a week on iTunes in one year.
I recently was having lunch with my dear friend, music attorney extraordinaire Dan Friedman, who was in town to showcase a band he represents who he mentioned was selling 1,000 singles a week on iTunes. Read more…