Coldwave Blog - Music Tips For Independent Artists

Blog post originally from SymphonicBlog . The compulsory mechanical license is a mechanism that allows anyone to record and distribute your composition (or allow you to make a cover of someone else’s work). There are several requirements and conditions that you need to know about regarding Recording Covers and Mechanical Licenses. Legal Background As in many facets of the recording industry, the compulsory mechanical license has its foundation in copyright law. In 1909, Congress created the first compulsory license to allow anyone to make a mechanical reproduction (then a player piano roll) of a musical composition without the consent of the copyright owner. The legislature crafted the law due to a concern that the right to make mechanical reproductions would become monopolized, so Congress created the “compulsory” license, which would allowed anyone to make “similar use” of the musical work upon payment of a royalty. There were responsibilities for both parties: the copyright ...

Blog post originally from the SymphonicBlog . The music industry means that every individual has rights to productions that they create. The rights and ownership that you have over a production means that you can further monetize and exploit your material in many areas. As with everything in the music industry, there are a lot of complexities, but we’ll attempt to highlight some of the important factors of publishing administration that you can take advantage of while continuing to educate. In this first part of this series, we’ll be talking about publishing. In the music industry, publishing refers to the ownership, control and commercial exploitation of musical compositions. It further refers to the collection of all royalties ensuing from the usage of musical compositions. As a couple of examples, if your song is publicly played by a band in a concert and/or used in a commercial or movie, you will be making publishing income but only if you are registered with a PRO or a per...

Post originally from the Symphonic Blog . The next part of our rights management series will focus on  Neighboring Rights. Neighboring Rights refer to the right to publicly perform, or broadcast, a sound recording. Sound recording owners (record labels and performing artists) collect Neighboring Rights royalties whenever their sound recordings are publicly performed on satellite radio (such as Sirius XM), internet radio (such as Pandora, BBC), cable TV music channels, TV outside of the USA, terrestrial radio outside of the USA, and much more. Neighboring Rights royalties are collected by Neighboring Rights collection societies. In order to collect the neighboring rights royalties you are owed, registering your individual master recordings directly with each collection society in the territories you are getting radio play in is absolutely essential. Something worth noting, the Neighboring Rights law differs internationally. Basically, in almost all territories outside of t...

By Kaitlyn Raterman Originally from SymBlog Being a musician is not as simple as writing a song, recording an album, selling it, and getting money from your sales. As an independent musician trying to learn a real living off of making music, it’s vital that you understand what kinds of royalty streams are out there. The first thing to understand is that in the most general sense, there are 2 parts, or 2 “sides,” to every “piece” of music. 1) Master The master is the sound recording. It’s the thing you hear when you play an mp3, vinyl, CD, YouTube video, etc. 2) Publishing The publishing side has to do with the underlying musical composition, which is embedded within a sound recording. The “publishing side” refers to the notes, melodies, chords, rhythms, lyrics, etc. to the piece of music. The “publishing side” is the musical composition. Various usages of each “side” to a piece of music generate their own royalties. If you write your own song, r...

A Guest Post by  Symphonic Distribution Originally from  MusicClout Licensing music is a much more involved process than just selling music. On your part as the content creator, it requires education, knowledge of copyright and publishing basics, extreme organization, and some annoying but highly important prep work that will set you up for potential success. Before you begin your venture into this exciting part of the music industry, read our 5 crucial tips below. 1. Make sure your music actually SOUNDS good. What the heck qualifies music as sounding good? This has absolutely nothing to do with subjective tastes in music. We mean that in the most general sense, the music must be well-produced music with high-quality instruments (whether acoustic or electronic) and high-quality sound design. Heads up: Not all music is licensing-friendly. Music that gets licensed for the medium & large tier opportunities hits mainstream audiences. Music that hits mainst...

Did you know that there is more to music than playing live shows and selling? Royalty collection is a complex business, but as an independent artist, knowing your rights and what kinds of royalties you may be earning is crucial to maximizing your income. Music Publishing is the business of collecting royalties for the usages of songwriters’ musical compositions. EH Midia offers a worldwide Publishing Administration service to make one of the most complicated aspects of the music industry simple. Check out our top 5 reasons on it’s importance. 1. You have money waiting to be collected. Collection societies around the world collect money from your music every time your tracks are played in digital stores, played in a streaming website, performances and more. If you don’t have a Publishing Deal, you will never see these royalties, and if left unclaimed, these funds will be allocated elsewhere. 2. You keep ownership of your music. EH Midia’s Publishing Administration serv...

A Guest Post by DiyMusicBiz.com , originally found at  Music Clout How to make it in the music industry … Such a popular question, one that’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue that enters as well as those who’ve been in for a while without any success. Those who don’t know are confused and those those who understand pretend there’s some sort of secret sauce. I have 117 emails sitting in my in box right now with this phrase meshed within a pool of other questions. So I figured I’d give my insight on the topic, clear up a few things and point you in the right direction. First, what does “making it” mean ? What does it mean TO YOU? Is it making a good living in the industry or does it mean reaching celebrity status? Is it getting a Record Deal?…What is it? This is an important question because the answer will determine how complex your road to success will be. If money is the target, that’s easy as there’s plenty of opportunities out there for you to capitalize on...