Friends and Favorites

http://www.musicfromangelfire.org

http://www.benfolds.com

http://www.thecomfies.com/

http://sydband.com/

http://www.matthewryanonline.com/

http://www.independentmastering.com/

http://dantyler.net/

http://www.claudiascott.com/

http://www.kevinwelch.com/

http://www.tammyrogers.com/

http://www.fugitiveglue.com/

http://www.bridgeofwings.com/

http://joemarcsbrother.com/

http://billworrell.com/

http://www.davidmead.com/

http://www.westernbeat.com/

http://www.lambchop.net/

http://www.sambakermusic.com/

http://gabedixonband.com/

http://www.alexharvey.net

Resources and Links

 

10 FREE web sites where you can post your songs. 
http://www.myspace.com/dahduke
http://www.garageband.com/artist/dahduke
http://www.purevolume.com/dahduke
http://www.urban-city.net
http://www.strumz.com
http://www.digg.com
http://www.betarecords.com/dahduke
http://www.radiofire.net
http://www.unsigned.com
http://www.indiecharts.com

Home Recording Advice

Setting up your room as a studio

Software

 

Why You Have To "Promote" Your Music To Radio (Valuable information from Airplay Direct) http://www.airplaydirect.com/

Now that you have taken the time to write, record and make a great record, you must put together a viable “plan of action” with respect to obtaining airplay if you hope to have any reasonable chance of success. One of the most misunderstood facts of marketing a record is how and why you must promote it to radio. Sending your release to radio, and actually getting airplay are two separate things. The most common misunderstanding of artists releasing music to radio is that they believe that if you send it to radio, and if everyone starts playing it, then it's a hit. And if they don’t start playing it, then it’s no good. This is not how radio works.

It is important to understand that radio is not going to play your music NO MATTER HOW GOOD IT IS unless you MARKET IT TO THEM.

Who Will Create And Execute Your Radio Campaign

The three biggest factors for you to consider are:

  1. The budget / resources available for radio promotion
  2. The amount of time you have to dedicate to your radio promotions campaign
  3. The end goal of your radio promotions campaign. What are you intending to do with these “radio results” to impact the rest of your “overall” music campaign / career? This is where you can really see the return on investment from your radio promotions efforts and results.

In any business, the more time and money you have to dedicate to a project, the bigger expectations you can have with respect to goals.

These radio results (spins, charting, station IDs, station interviews, station visits, and possibly... reviews in the radio airplay magazines) are best utilized to assist you in the on-going development and accomplishment of a more comprehensive and far reaching strategy for your music; such as selling CDs / merchandise, gaining a traditional (brick & mortar) distribution deal, a digital distribution deal, booking gigs or tours, CD / live performance reviews, to attract and/or impress professionals who can help your career; labels, newspapers, magazines, TV/film producers, managers, law firms, and investors who all know and understand the fundamental value of airplay.

As an independent artist or label there are two available options for planning and executing a successful radio promotions campaign for your music:

  1. You can retain a professional radio promotions firm to partner with you (for a fee)
  2. You can decide to be your own radio promotions firm

We recommend that you take the time to consult (consultation is typically free) with a professional radio promotions firm specific to your genre before you make this decision. AirPlay Direct can refer you to a reputable radio promotions firm if you do not already have one.

If you make the decision to plan and execute your radio promotions campaign yourself, below is a basic outline to guide you in your efforts. Keep in mind that this outline is a very basic self-help tool. Radio promotions firms and in-depth industry guides are much more comprehensive; however, this should provide some insight and guidance on the fundamentals.

Planning And Executing Your Own Radio Promotions Campaign

The planning phase of any successful radio promotions campaign is critical, especially if you intend to do it yourself. The steps below will guide you through the process.

  1. The first thing you need to establish are the goals for your radio campaign. Are you looking to achieve:

One is not necessarily better than the others; they have different purposes depending upon your goals. Below are some information / definitions that may help in your decision making process:

  1. Research
  1. Select an Add Date
  1. Don't Annoy Them!

 

Worldwide Music Distribution

AUSTRALIA
Only Blues Music
www.onlybluesmusic.com
and
Shock Records
www.shock.co.au

BENELUX
Munich Records
www.munichrecords.com
and
Bertus Distribution
www.bertus.com

CANADA
YDGS Imports
contact
sheila@sricanada.com

IRELAND
RMG Chart Entertainment Ltd
www.rmgchart.ie

FRANCE
Socadisc Distribution
www.socadisc.com

GERMANY
Rough Trade Distribution
www.roughtrade.de

ITALY
IRD
www.ird.it

SCANDINAVIA
Border Music
www.border.se

SPAIN
Popstock
www.everlastingrecords.com

UK RETAIL 

Proper Distribution http://www.properdistribution.com

Pinnacle Distribution
www.pinnacle-entertainment.co.uk

Cadiz Music Limited
info@cadizmusic.co.uk
www.cadizmusic.com

UK WHOLESALE

Proper Distribution http://www.properdistribution.com 

Cadiz Music Limited
info@cadizmusic.co.uk
www.cadizmusic.com

USA
Burnside Distribution Corporation
sales@bdcdistribution.com
www.bdcdistribution.com

 

Music Magazines and Sites

American Songwriter

Bass Player

Billboard Magazine

Dirty Linen

Downbeat Jazz

Drum Magazine

Finger Style Guitar

Guitar One

Guitar Player

Guitar World

Hyperactive Southwest Music Magazine

Inkblot Magazine

Jazz Improv

Jazz Online

Keyboard Mag

Mix Mag

Modern Drummer

Musicians Atlas

Performer Mag

Performing Songwriter

Pro Sound News

Rolling Stone Magazine

RootsWorld

Sell My Music

Sing Out

Vintage Guitar

Copyright Basics for Musicians

Disclaimer : I am not a lawyer, nor an expert on international copyright law, nor am I claiming to be, so although every care and caution has been taken to put this page together it is strongly recommended that you use other sources to clarify and confirm to your own satisfaction before acting on anything contained in this document. No responsibility will be admitted in any event.

A copyright is defined  as "exclusive right given by law for a term of years to author, designer, songwriter etc or his assignee (i.e. publisher) to make copies or give performances of his original work." What the rest of this discusses are the ways to to protect yourself if someone infringes that copyright. 

International copyright law is derived from an international treaty, commonly known as "The Berne Treaty"  There have, over the years, been many myths surrounding the various parts of copyright and some of them are covered very nicely by Templetons.  You need acrobat reader for international copyright issues. 

If you are worried about somebody "stealing" your unreleased song you will need to prove three things in court, namely

ACCESS. This is the first thing to consider. Can you prove that somebody has heard your song? There is no offence committed if any similarity is coincidental. So what you need to do is to keep a record of who has heard the song, when they heard the song, where they heard the song. If you can't prove access you won't win any court case. So,  keeping a paper and/or electronic trail will improve your chance of winning a legal action. There is an interesting article on creating a paper trail from Wallace Collins.

SIMILARITY. This relates to the words and melody only generally speaking, unless the riff/chord sequence is distinctive. It does not relate to the title of the song unless it is utterly distinctive (there's plenty of released songs called "I love You"). It's no good relying on your drummer's opinion, you will need a musicologist or two's opinion to back you up. A musicologist is a talking head musician and not a former member of Talking Heads. The following links explain, quite briefly how complex a subject this is, firstly, probably the most famous plagiarism case of all, George Harrison's My Sweet Lord and then the Repp -v- Webber Phantom Song/Til You . If you still want more information try Columbia University's discussion and questions, which includes a list of cases.

OWNERSHIP. This is probably the least important part of any plagiarism suit, but the most talked about. Different countries have different ways of dealing with it. I will recommend now that you should look to advice from a PRO (Performing Rights Organisation) in your own country to see what they recommend. The United States and United Kingdom are covered briefly below.

Some talk of posting to oneself in a self-sealed envelope (more commonly known as "poor man's copyright"). My colleagues and I have been unable to find a court case revolving around this in the United States, United Kingdom, or Australia. The failings of this system are it is too easy to tamper with. Proof of date and ownership is only the third thing that needs to be proven i.e.  if you have proven access (see above) to your song you have probably also proven date of creation and ownership already. By all means post yourself a copy of your works, but if that's all you are relying on you are wasting your time and money.

I shall cover two countries only for this, The United States, which has a government organized copyright office and any everybody in America and possibly anybody dealing with the States should read their FAQ. For the more adventurous readers you can read the whole US Copyright Act. The only further to thing to do is to point you in the right direction for The U.S. Copyright Office Library of Congress. One little tip, you can register a number of songs together as "a folio" rather than registering each song individually. I should also mention that registration at the US Copyright Office has no more legal standing than any other date stamping device it merely allows US resident song writers only to bring an action in their federal court as opposed to a state court. It also entitles them to seek the remedy of punitive damages, that is all. It has been pointed out in Billboard that not all songs in the Billboard top 100  are actually registered at the US Copyright Office, but, I daresay, they  all registered with the relevant collection agencies!

American Publishers and Labels could not care less whether or not you've registered your copyright with the Copyright Office. Publishers don't care, either. That's their job once they've secured a recording of the song.  Publishers never register copyrights for songs until they've been recorded, and even then, they often neglect to take care of this piece of business. 

The United Kingdom, and most other countries, do not have such a government-sponsored copyright office, and, strictly speaking, it is not necessary to have one. However, I note there are firms on the internet who offer short-term protection at rather extortionate rates. One of these doesn't look like it's going to be around long enough to satisfy the 5 years they promise. However, if you still feel you'd like a third party to hold your evidence of creation for you, there are two songwriter organisations who will do this for free - subject to you becoming a member at a reasonable fee. These are Guild of International Songwriters and International Songwriters Association - both have been around a number of years and look like surviving for many more and both offer tips where to pitch, ideas and interviews with songwriters, A&R men etc. For those that like to read the legislation the relevant UK legislation it is called Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48)

Further myths. Music business people don't accept unsolicited material mainly because 1) they don't have time to listen to everything from everyone who wants to submit and 2) because they are afraid of frivolous lawsuits from amateur songwriters. 

Contrary to some rumors you might have heard, the music business is generally as honest as any other industry, so yes, there are one or two dubious characters, but the rest are fine, upstanding individuals who understand the difference between right and wrong. Make sure you get the right advice at the right time - which means INDEPENDENT advice which can cost money.

 Publishing basics

The following article was copied, with permission,  from Irene Jackson's . Please be sure to check Irene's other  helpful articles.

Irene Jackson's Home Page

First of all, I want to emphasize the fact that my experience with publishing has to do with having my music on television series, which is different in some ways from having a song contracted to a publisher. Most of what I've learned has been through connections with other published writers or publishers themselves. But I do occasionally get emails asking what publishing deals are, or how to "sell" their songs (you don't outright sell your songs, but more on that later)...and of course most people are curious as to how they can get a deal! Let's start at the very beginning and discuss what exactly it is. Warning: Music biz lingo ahead! I'll try to explain the terms that may be unfamiliar to you.

First of all, let's discuss what a publisher does. A publishers' main job is to create a catalogue (collection) of songs that they can pitch (promote) to artists or producers, anyone who might potentially get a song recorded or on a project. Larger publishers are often also connected with, or even a branch of, a record label. Kind of an "all in one" package. In this case, if a performing songwriter is signed to a label, her/his songs are usually published through that record label's publishing branch.

But many publishers are strictly in the business of creating their catalogue in the hopes of getting one or more of their songs on a hit record. Why? Because part of the money that is made from a successful recording goes to the publisher. This is how it works:

When a song gets on the radio it earns royalties. You've probably heard the word "royalties" before. Simply speaking, the song being "exposed" to the public in some way, either on radio or television, in a restaurant...wherever you hear music publicly, earns money. Any company or organization that uses music in some way as part of their business, has to pay a lump sum fee to a "performing rights organization" such as SOCAN, ASCAP, or BMI...every country has its own performing rights organization (PRO). This PRO collects information on when a song was played and how much, and distributes this money to its members (publishers, songwriters, etc.). The more exposure a song gets, the more money the publisher (and songwriter) makes. Bingo.

For the songwriter, the advantage to having a song with a publisher is that the publisher will hopefully have some good music business connections and will work hard to get the song on an artists' recording. They are interested in finding great songs! This is where you come in because you've got the great songs! But how do you find the publishers? How do they know about you?

One book I recommend you get yourself is called Songwriters' Market. Check your local bookstore, or buy it online from any number of online sites. Not only does it go into detail as to what a songwriter can do to get her/his song heard by publishers, but it actually lists names and addresses of publishers to send your songs to! There are articles written by people in the business and it gives you some standards to adhere to as far as looking and sounding professional (very important!) This book is a great place to start gathering information on the business side of songwriting.

How do you get a deal with a publisher? Well, first of all, let's discuss what a publishing deal is. There are basically two types of deals: a single song deal and a writer's deal. The single song deal is easier to get, and simply involves signing only one of your songs with a publisher. The writer's deal is extremely difficult to get...this involves essentially working for a publisher where the rights to all of the songs you write during this tenure are assigned to them. You do get paid, but only as an advance on potential future royalties. In other words, your songs have to eventually make money or they'll dump you! These days a writer's deal is even MORE difficult to get. Many labels and publishers are doing the ol' "downsizing" and employing fewer writers.

So let's assume that you're only looking for a single song contract. You make your list of publishers to send your demo tape to, you ship them off and you wait. You get a call from a publisher (hey, if that happens the FIRST time you send your song out, consider yourself either LUCKY or an incredible, undiscovered writer!!). The publisher says he's interested in the song and thinks he can pitch it to an artist who's in the studio right now and looking for more songs to consider recording. What happens next? The publisher sends you a contract, you are hopefully smart enough to take it to an entertainment lawyer (!!), you decide it's a good deal, you sign the contract, and voila! You have a publishing deal. Does this mean that the money starts rolling in? NO! The contract only gives the publisher the right to exploit the song for a period of time. "Exploit" seems like a dirty word, but it is the term used for trying to get a song heard. If during that period of time nothing comes of it, the contract runs out and the deal is off. That's it.

If, however, the publisher manages to get someone interested in your song...what happens next? Does this mean the money starts rolling in now? NO! The producer/artist/record label has simply put the song on "hold". A hold means that the publisher promises not to pitch the song anywhere else until the artist/producer, or whoever, decides if they want to use it. It sits in limbo until the decision is made one way or the other. If they decide to record it, you're in business! Does this mean the money starts rolling in? Not yet. Once the song is on a CD and then manufactured, the first money you'll see is a part of the mechanical royalties. Usually there is a contract between the writer/publisher and record label or artist for these royalties. The last I heard, mechanical royalties are just a little over 7.5 cents per CD. If they manufacture 10,000 CD's, you'll get a part of $750.00. In some cases, the publisher splits that with you. Doesn't sound like much, does it?

What about radio airplay? Since most royalties come from that, you'd be really interested in your song getting on the radio, wouldn't you? But that only happens if your song is chosen as a "single". The record label decides which songs would be good as singles, songs that are chosen to represent the CD. If your song is not chosen as a single, you won't see much in the way of royalties, certainly not to begin with. OH, it's a long and complicated process, isn't it? :-)

Next, if the song DOES get some airplay, eventually you might see some royalties. Might? Well, you have to get a LOT of airplay for your song to be noticed. In Canada, where I live, radio stations send in a sample log to SOCAN (the PRO) once a month. What's a log? It's a stack of papers that show the songs and commercials and everything that was broadcast on that station for a day. The log that they send in has to have your song on it, in other words, it had to be played on that radio station that day for it to even show up as having had airplay. If your song played the day BEFORE, well, you're outta luck! Doesn't sound very promising, does it? Sometimes it takes months for a song to catch onto the listeners out there...sometimes a radio station will give up on it long before that. Not only that, but politics are involved. Record labels work hard at convincing radio stations to play their artists latest recording, but the programming managers at the station have to like it. Arrgghhh....! Let's get back to the publishing deal...

All single-song contracts should have what is called a "reversion clause" written into it. Be aware of this! A reversion clause means that after a period of time (could be 6 months, could be two years) if the publisher is unsuccessful in exploiting your song, you get the publishing rights to the song back. Then you start all over. There are many songwriters out there with single song contracts, getting the song on a recording is much more difficult. A lot of publishers these days are working on getting songs placed in movies...this is another way for the song to earn money. Although movie theatres do not pay royalties like radio or television stations do, the song would be recorded on the soundtrack as part of the movie promotion. Just about every movie has a soundtrack these days! Getting your song on a television show is another way that you can earn royalties. I wrote music for several television series'...everytime that music plays, I get royalties! The beauty of my situation is that I am my own publisher, so the most I end up doing is paying a part of the publisher's portion of the royalties to the producers of the series. This is a slightly different situation than the publishing deal you're likely in search of. But as you can see, there are all kinds of possibilities out there.

Some things to be aware of:

If a so-called "publisher" asks you for money to record your song, or for any other reason...RUN THE OTHER WAY. This is NOT what a legitmate publisher will do. You should NEVER pay money to a publisher for anything! If they want to re-demo the song, they will do it themselves.

If a publisher wants to "buy" the rights to your song...again, RUN THE OTHER WAY. A legitimate publisher knows that you can't buy people's rights from them. It is not done. Well, maybe in some countries, but don't be fooled!

Most publishers listed in Songwriters Market are legitimate...occasionally you'll come across one that isn't. How do you know? When they start making all kinds of promises to you. The old saying "If it sounds too good..." you know the rest. For the most part, it is not in a publishers' best interest to start a bad reputation! They want to develop a good relationship with you, one that will benefit everyone.

Most publishers will want ALL of the publishing rights to your song. You may have heard of situations where songwriters own some of their own publishing. They are usually well-established songwriters who have a little more clout and can negotiate these kinds of deals. In the beginning, expect to compromise to some extent. Do you want a deal, or would you rather not? This is often what it comes down to. Later on, when you're a famous writer :-) you can get yourself a better deal!

Is a publishing deal all it's cut out to be? That's up to you. In my case, I'm a performing songwriter and not as anxious to get published because I perform them myself. That doesn't mean I won't in future, but for now, it's not in the cards. If you are not a performing songwriter, the only way you're going to get your songs heard is by somebody else performing them. You may be able to find a group or an artist on your own! That's the sign of a savy songwriter! But if you've decided you'd prefer a publishing contract, and after this article STILL think you want to pursue it, here are a couple of other resources you might check out:

For a more thorough description of royalties and how to get 'em, read Nancy Reese's article for the Muse's Muse...Publishing 101.

Robert Carter has also written an article for the Muse's Muse explaining the sources of Publishing Income.

In fact, for a whole bunch of questions about publishing and copyright, why not take a cruise through Nancy Reese's many Q&A articles for the Muse's Muse...you might find your answer right here!

Here is a massive list of contract samples! Band Radio has compiled a huge list of all kinds of contracts, including a publishing contract. Look for "Single Song Option (reversion)" near the bottom. This is and addendum to the publishing contract with the reversion clause I mentioned. There are also sample "mechanical rights" contracts.

Want a little taste of what it's like to actually sit in front of a publisher? Here's an article called the Oooh Factor. If you're still gung ho after this read, you're halfway there!

Hopefully, this information will give you a little insight into the mysterious world of publishing...Good Luck!

Legal & Support

In this bunch of links you should be able to find the answer to every legal question regarding copyright, ownership, together with songwriter/musician support organizations. 

Copyright/Royalty Collection Agencies

Songwriter & Musician Organizations

Legal Advice/Sites

UK specific sites

 

Collaborators' Agreement

 

 

 

Songwriting Partnership Agreement

 

This agreement dated this            day of                               ,  200    ,    

 

Made between

 

(1)………………………………………………..…………………………              

 

Whose usual residential address is

 

 ……………………………………………………............................……

 

(hereinafter called “the first party”) and,

 

(2)………………………………………………..…………………………

 

Whose usual residential address is

 

 ……………………………………………………............................……

 

(hereinafter called “the second party” )

 

in respect of the musical composition known as :

 

………………………………………………………………………......................................

 

(hereinafter referred to as “the Said Work”)

 

 

WHEREAS IT IS HEREBY AGREED as follows:

 

1.    The parties to this Agreement shall own the Said Work jointly.

 

2     All monies, receipts, benefits, benefits in kind or other remuneration, whether of money’s worth or otherwise received in respect of the said work shall be divided between the Parties in the following proportions:

 

50% (fifty percent) to the First Party, and

 

50% (fifty percent) to the Second Party.

 

3.    The Parties to this Agreement may jointly make any alteration to the Said Work, or allow others to do so, but any such amendment, alteration, or otherwise shall not affect the contents of clause 2 herein.

 

4     The parties to this Agreement may jointly or separately promote the said work, or allow others to do so, but neither party may commit the other party to any expense, loss of earnings from the Said Work without the consent of the other party, save that no reasonable request for consent shall be withheld.

 

5     The period for which this Agreement shall remain in force is 5 years, or is mutually cancelled by the consent of both Parties in writing, or this Agreement is superseded by a Publishing, Recording or other Contract with a Third Party.

 

6      At the end of the five-year period, either party shall be entitled to demand the return of their component part in the Said Work, by notice in writing, posted in an pre-paid envelope and sent by registered post within a period of thirty clear days immediately following the fifth anniversary of the date of this Agreement.

 

7.     Any further changes to this Agreement shall only be validated by  written agreement signed by both Parties and duly witnessed and dated in a like manner to below.

 

In witness to this said Agreement: -

 

Signed (by the First Party) ................……………….............………………….

 

Witnessed this day by (signed) ……………………........……………………

 

Name and address of Witness:

 ………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Signed (by the Second Party) ……………………………………………….

 

Witnessed this day by (signed) .............……………………………………...

 

Name and address of Witness:

 ………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Promotion, uploading songs

So you think you are ready to go public with your music - here's a bunch of sites to help with getting opinions, places to get people to hear and places you can promote yourself or your band.

Critique Boards

Places to upload your music

How to stream songs from your own webpage.
you create a text file called songname.m3u, and place it in your web audio directory. The file contains the absolute reference for the songpath, e.g.

http://www.yourwebsite/audio/songname.mp3

then you hyperlink your html to songname.m3u

Promotion

 

Creative

For the Wordsmith

 

For the Music Master

General Songwriter Advice/Groups