10 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE RELEASING A ALBUM OR SINGLE. AND THE 101 ON MUSIC COPYRIGHT / REGISTRATION / TRACKING 1. If you are hiring musicians (background singers, instrumentalists, etc.) to play on your album, you will need to make sure they fill out a musicians release agreement or talent release form. This agreement is not necessary for musicians that own their own record label, are performing on their own albums, and will pay for and release the albums themselves. It is used more for the “hired guns” than group members. 2. All writers and publishers involved should fill out a songwriter publisher share letter of agreement that spells out their writer and publisher shares. This agreement is a document that all writers and publishers should sign and keep for their records. Any money made from the songs (except for money paid to the writers and publishers by their respective Performing Rights Organizations) should be split up according to what is spelled out in this agreement. 3. All involved songwriters should fill out a form PA and register their work (the songs) with the U.S. Copyright Office . ( COPY RIGHT YOUR LYRICS..) 4. The artists or the record producer (or both), unless Musician Release Agreements have been signed, should fill out a form SR and register the album (sound recording) with the U.S. Copyright Office. (THIS IS THE BEAT AND LYRICS TOGETHER.. THE SONG) 5. Register for an Internatinal Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for your songs. The ISRC is a unique international identifier for the songs (tracks) on your album and functions as a digital “fingerprint” for each track. Unlike a Universal Product Code (UPC), the ISRC is tied to the track and not the carrier of the track (CD, cassette, etc). The ISRC is usually inserted onto the CD master during the CD mastering session. (YOU MUST DO THIS) 6. If you include songs on your album that you have not written yourself (i.e. covers), you will need to obtain a Mechanical License from the Harry Fox Agency (via Songfile ) that will allow you to manufacture and distribute up to 2,500 copies to the public. If you happen to know the songwriter(s) yourself, you can negotiate a fee directly with them or just write up a Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License and issue it to them. ( RAPPERS, YOU WONT NEED TO DO THIS MUCH) 7. If you wish to have your own UPC Bar Code, you can get one fromGS1 US . Several companies, for example CD manufacturers, will offer you a UPC Bar Code free with their services. Keep in mind that in these cases the UPC Bar Code will belong to the CD manufacturer. If you produce another album, it will not have a UPC Bar Code unless you get another one from them or someone else. Having your own Uniform Code Council account will allow you to assign all your music-related products a unique UPC Bar Code in your company’s name. (YOU WILL NEED THIS) 8. As a songwriter and/or publisher, in order to get paid for the performances of your songs on radio, TV, in nightclubs, airlines, elevators, jukeboxes, etc., you should join a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). In the United States, you can join ASCAP or BMI. Another U.S. PRO is SESAC , but affiliation with SESAC is by invitation only (subject to review by their writer / publisher relations staff). (YOU MUST DO THIS) 9. As a Sound Recording Copyright Owner (SRCO – e.g. artist, producer, record label), in order to get paid for non-interactive digital transmissions on cable, satellite and web cast services, you should join SoundExchange . (MIGHT WANT TO DO THIS IF YOU PLAN LEASING A SONG ON A TV, FOR COMMERCIALS OR FILM) 10. Add your songs to the Gracenote Media Database . When correctly added, song titles and artist names will be displayed on media players (e.g. home stereos, computer media players, satellite and terrestrial radio, mp3 players, cell phones and other wireless devices, etc.) that take advantage of the Gracenote Media Database data. Alternatively, you can use a freedb-aware program to upload your songs into the database. (YOU SHOULD DO THIS, BUT YOU DONT HAVE TO) What is a copy right? Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator (e.g. the photographer of a photograph or the author of a book) to receive compensation for their intellectual effort. Copyright is a form of intellectual property (as patents, trademarks and trade secrets are), applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.[1] It is often shared, then percentage holders are commonly called rightsholders: legally, contractually and in associated rights business functions.[citation needed] Generally rightsholders have the right to copy, but also the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. What is an ISRC? The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording, independent of the format on which it appears (CD, audio file, etc) or the rights holders involved. Only one ISRC should be issued to a track, and an ISRC can never represent more than one unique recording. ISRCs are widely used in digital commerce by download sites and collecting societies (ex. Ascap, Bmi) An ISRC can also be permanently encoded into a product as its digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments!!! What is ASCAP? Collective rights management is the licensing of copyright and related rights by organizations acting on behalf of rights owners. Collective management organisations, such as collecting societies, typically represent groups of copyright and related rights owners, such as authors, composers, publishers, writers, photographers, musicians and performers.[1] What is the RiAA? The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States.The RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D.C. Sales certification The RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies.[11] The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles and albums that reach $1,000,000 in sales. The criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales. In 1989 new criteria were introduced, with a Gold Award for singles that reach 500,000 in sales and a Platinum Award for singles that reach 1,000,000 in sales; and in 1999 a Diamond Award for ten million sales was introduced.[12] The awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000,[14] the RIAA also operates a similar program for Spanish language music sales, called Los Premios de Oro y De Platino. Currently, a Disco De Oro (Gold) is awarded for 30,000 units and a Disco De Platino is awarded for 60,000 units, with Album Multi-Platino at 120,000. To be eligible for this award, sound recordings must contain more than 50% Spanish language content. Digital sales certification[edit] In 2004, the RIAA added a branch of certification for what it calls digital recordings, meaning roughly recordings transferred to the recipient over a network (such as those sold via the iTunes Store), and excluding other obviously digital media such as those on CD, DAT, or MiniDisc. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to this branch of certification. Starting in 2013, streaming from audio and video streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube also began to be counted towards the certification using the formula of 100 streams being the equivalent of one download, RIAA certification for singles therefore no longer represents true sales. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish. As of 2013, the certification criteria for these recordings are as follows: Digital awards: Gold: 500,000 copies Platinum: 1,000,000 copies Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 copies Diamond: 10,000,000 copies
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015