For many young artists, this publishing offer is a “dream opportunity,” where he/she gets to quit their day job, so they can concentrate strictly on doing what they love best: working on their music. The idea that a publishing company (which is often affiliated with a major label) will pay for their demo costs, new studio equipment, some living expenses, and help shop you for a record deal, can be incredibly appealing.

There have been many artists who have benefited from this type of deal. Two current stars that come to mind are Beck and Paula Cole. Their respective publishers believed and invested in them at a very early stage, and these artists went on to become major acts, subsequently earning great royalties for themselves and their publishers.

Here’s how this deal usually works: a publisher will offer the young writer/artist an advance of about $25,000-$30,000 for a one-year deal, with options for two or three more years. In return, the artist assigns half (50%) of the publishing rights of all songs written during the term of the agreement. In most cases the publisher will retain their half of the rights for the life of copyright, with no reversion clause included in this contract. This is because the publisher is taking a chance on investing in a young artist, without any guarantee that this artist will even get a record deal, let alone have a hit and generate royalties.

In addition to providing the financial support, the publisher will try to work closely with the artist, offering valuable feedback and direction. The publisher may act in an A&R capacity, helping the artist assemble the best demo presentation to impress the labels when it is time to shop for a label deal. The publisher may also hook the artist up with a hit record producer to create some master quality recordings, and set up collaborations with other talented writers to come up with the best songs possible.

When the artist’s presentation is finally ready, the publisher will help shop the artist for the coveted record deal. At this point, the situation gets a little more intense. As the label execs start to give their definitive feedback, the artist and publisher get an immediate indication whether or not their publishing relationship (and all their hard work together) is going to result in the securing of the record contract.

If the artist does land the record deal, the publisher and the artist are on their way to establishing a longer-term, working relationship. The publisher will want to pick up their options for the publishing rights for the next several years, and they’ll be happy to pay the artist additional advances and bonuses. It is common for the publisher to pay an immediate bonus of about $20,000 when the artist signs their record deal, and advance another $20,000 when the album is finally released. The publisher can also be helpful in placing songs in films and TV shows, and in soundtracks.

If this publishing scenario sounds terrific for the aspiring artist, then it can be pursued. However, there are other factors to be aware of. First, by signing this type of development deal, the artist usually gives up reversion rights on these songs in the contract. Secondly, by going for the development deal first, the artist might miss a chance to ultimately attract a much larger advance ($100,000 or more) should they secure a record on their own. Of course, some artists simply want to keep all of the publishing rights, and not make any deal.

It is certainly not for every writer/artist, but this publishing development deal has proven to help many talented young artists. It is ultimately up to the artist to decide whether to give up publishing at an early stage to help boost their career.

By Dale Kawashima

Article Source: http://www.songwriteruniverse.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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A publishing career may not seem quite as glamorous as working for a record label, but it is just as creative, and often provides more stability and job security. When the corporate powers are deciding which employees should be fired at their struggling music divisions, they usually start with the top execs at the record label. This is because publishing has always been looked upon as a very long-term business, where the royalties and profits are projected to develop at a steady but more gradual pace.

Of course, the most popular job in publishing is the A&R/talent acquisition exec, whose duties are quite similar to an A&R person’s job at a label. This position has two, main objectives: (1) discovering and developing new songwriting talent (usually artists/bands or writer/producers); and (2) acquiring the available publishing of artists already on the charts or purchasing older, classic catalogs.

As could be expected, competition is absolutely fierce for these top creative jobs. Most execs start out as interns or assistants, pay their dues, and work their way up the corporate ladder. However, sometimes a person will prove their creative success in a related field (as an artist, manager, club booker, music journalist, radio programmer, etc) and jump right into a high-level, exec position.

Another, sought after creative position is that of a “songplugger.” This job previously entailed simply plugging songs demos for current recording artists who needed outside songs. But over the past decade, it has evolved into developing writer/producers, and setting them up to collaborate with artists, because most acts today insist on co-writing most of the material for their albums.

An additional, different type of songplugging has emerged, which is promoting songs for film, TV and soundtrack projects. Every major publishing company now has a staff of execs whose objective is to exclusively focus on this increasingly lucrative field. It can now be said that film & TV pluggers probably earn more income for their companies that the traditional record pluggers. The exception would be in Nashville, where placing songs on country artists’ albums is still far more lucrative than film and TV royalties from country usage.

The creative/A&R side of publishing might seem more attractive, but there are many interesting and rewarding jobs on the administrative and business affairs side also. The administrative and business departments provide an equally important facet of the company. For instance, the copyright staff performs a critical function: making sure the literally thousands of songs published by the company are fully protected, via copyright and renewals.

The licensing department works hand-in-hand with the film and TV staff to negotiate the best fees for each song usage, and to help close each deal. The licensing execs play a crucial role in the song placement process. They must develop great relationships with their licensing counterparts at the film and TV studios, or else many deals will fall through.

The business affairs department, of course, is of vital importance to any publishing company. The business execs draw up and negotiate all of the contracts, and are key in establishing a vision of the company’s overall operations. Most business affairs execs are attorneys, but there are other key positions where a law degree is not necessary.

Last but certainly not least, with usually the largest staff within any publishing house, is the royalty department. Numerous, well-trained employees are needed to meticulously collect and distribute song royalties from thousands of songs which are generating income from around the world. Every songwriter who ever had songs published by the company, must rely on the royalty department to deliver their hard-earned royalty checks to them, on time and with the precise amount.

In closing, there are truly a wide arrange of opportunities available in all facets of the publishing business, and you can explore and decide which department looks like the most interesting and suitable for your potential career.

By Dale Kawashima

Article Source: http://www.songwriteruniverse.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Careers-Guide.com

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There are more areas affected by music publishing than you might realize. Besides your own CDs, there are TV shows, commercials, the radio, video games, and more places where music is used every day. If you hear a song, the band/songwriter is getting a royalty check. Different performers’ rights associations collect payments for their members. That means, if your song is played somewhere other than in your own live performance, you should be getting paid.

How much you will actually get paid varies, since royalties vary. Your local college’s radio station will not pay as much as a commercial radio station. Not to mention that your song may get played more at one location than another depending on how popular it is. It also takes time in most cases for you to actually see the money, so do not expect to get huge paychecks the week after a song comes out.

There is more than one place that you can start getting your music published. Before, musicians were limited to local acts and pitches to radio labels and programmers that might have only been looking for a specific sound or song type. If musicians could not get into this group, then they were often limited to trying to get a contract by the major music publishing companies — which could be an elusive task at best.

Luckily for musicians, the internet has changed the face of music publishing. There are online sites and services where musicians can apply for membership, and once accepted they can have the offers sent to their mailbox or email. The process is much simpler, and today’s musician just has to find the right listing for his or her songs and make sure they get channeled through the right requesting companies for review.

Other services may only have you mail them a CD and they will review it. If they like the song or your sound, they will let you know and then post samples to their licensing system. This will allow people who are interested in licensing you to try out your music and even purchase it through a download.

No matter what process you decide will work best for you, you will want to enlist the help of a lawyer. Have the lawyer review all contracts so that you understand exactly what you are agreeing to when you sign, and how much money you will be making in advancements and royalties.

At the same time you are trying to get your music published, it is also important to get it copyrighted. Again, you can download all the forms that you need online. Copyrighting your work will help protect you in the long run from being ripped off, so make sure you take care of this step early on.

By making sure you understand all of the steps of the music publishing process, you will know all the secrets of how to make money in the music business. The more informed you are, the better you can launch your career, and the more potential your music will have.

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on music and songwriting have appeared on many websites. You can find more of these at http://www.songwritersguide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Cook

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For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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Choose a name for your company

Decide which Performing Rights Organization to join

“Clear” the name you’ve selected by checking with your PRO

Print up some letterheads on your computer

But owning the publishing rights and successfully exploiting the song are two very different things. Before you decide to become your own publisher, you need to honestly assess whether you have the necessary time, personality and resources to properly exploit your song. If your time is limited due to the responsibilities of working as “day job”, then the work you do as your own publisher is taking valuable time away from your songwriting. To successfully publish your own songs, on an ongoing basis, you need to:

Investigate who is looking for songs

Develop business relationships

Make tape copies

Type cover letters, J-cards and labels

Mail or deliver your packages

Follow up those pitches with phone calls

Handle administrative functions (applying for copyright registration, registering your songs with your Performing Rights Organization, keeping track of royalties, etc.)

In addition to the time investment, publishing your own songs requires an outlay of money. Expenses incurred by song publishers include:

The purchasing of tape duplicating equipment (probably a cassette dubbing deck, a DAT machine, and a machine capable of generating CDs)

Equipment maintenance

Office supplies (mailing envelopes, mailing labels, letterheads, etc.)

Blank tape

Postage

Photocopying (lyric sheets and correspondences)

Long distance telephone charges

Demo production expenses

A computer and fax machine are also tremendously helpful, if not mandatory. While many of these expenses may be tax deductible, they still add up to a considerable amount. Perhaps the most important factor to consider when deciding whether to represent your own songs, is your personality type. Song publishing (like song writing), requires long-term persistence and the ability to withstand repeated disappointment and rejection–without losing faith in your songs. Successful publishers have the ability to discern which songs are best suited for particular artists. They also have the tenacity and the ability to forge the relationships necessary to get your songs considered by the professionals who call the shots.

Publishers need to have excellent communication skills, both over the phone and in meetings. If you’re shy or nervous about making cold calls and “selling” yourself, then self-publishing is probably not for you. Many songwriters publish their own material as a temporary measure, while looking for a publisher to represent their songs. During the period when I did that, I was frequently making tape copies and typing letters and lyric sheets after midnight. I didn’t have much success self-publishing, but that was due as much to the quality of the songs I was writing at that point in my career as anything else. Songwriters who love the business side of the music business and fit all of the criteria listed above, may enjoy great success publishing their own material. But those who are self-publishing because they can’t find a legitimate publisher to represent their material would put their time to better use by concentrating on honing their songwriting skills. Remember: 100% of nothing equals nothing.

Article Source: http://playgrind.com/blog/?p=43

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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What is music publishing, and why is it so valuable?

Most of us think of publishing as something that happens when words and music are printed on paper, but in the music business, a song can be published without ever having appeared in a printed version.

A song is considered to have been published when it has been made available to the public for sale or other transfer of ownership.

In the pop music world, this can be accomplished in many ways, but the most common way is to include the song on a commercially released recording.

Who has the right to publish a song? The owner of the song has the right to publish it, and the first owner is usually the composer. The owner can decide who can make the first commercial recording of the song, as well as whether a song can be used in a commercial or movie or with a video game. Each new use of the song has the potential to earn money, of course.

People in the music business have known for a long time about the potential to make money through song publishing.

In 1992, singer Whitney Houston recorded a song called “I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” a movie in which she shared star billing with actor Kevin Costner. Houston earned money as an artist from album sales, but country singer Dolly Parton must have been smiling whenever she heard the song on the radio or saw the album sales soar. Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1974 and she collects publishing income for every album sale and radio broadcast of the song, no matter who sings it.

Singer Michael Jackson’s income as a singer/dancer has certainly dropped in recent years, but he was able to maintain his wealthy lifestyle in large part because he purchased the publishing rights to nearly 200 of The Beatles’ songs for $47.5 million in 1985.

The publishing for those same songs is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion today, so Jackson made a smart move when he bought the rights to the songs nearly 25 years ago.

Forbes Magazine recently identified Madonna as the “cash queen of music,” saying she was the richest female musician in the world. She earned $72 million from publishing, touring, merchandising and fashion.

How does music publishing earn so much money and to whom is publishing income paid?

The composer of a song is the first owner of the song (unless it’s a work for hire). The composer owns all the rights to the song, and can license the song for commercial exploitation including use in movies, commercials and for performance and recording by other musicians.

But how can you convince movie-makers and others to use the song so it can earn money? Often, composers will give up ownership of their songs to publishers so the publishers can “exploit” the song by convincing other people to pay for the privilege of using the song commercially.

How much money can a song earn?

The music business is known as a “penny business,” because most royalties are calculated in pennies. The royalty rate for putting one song on an album is 9.1 cents, but if 100,000 albums are sold, the publisher has earned $9,100.

And if the publisher has 10 songs on that album, the publisher has earned $91,000. If the song is played on the radio, more royalties are generated, and if the song is placed in a movie, commercial or other audio or visual use, even more royalties are earned. Some songs, like The Beatles’ songs, continue to earn money for many years.

Songs are protected by copyright for the entire life of the composer, plus 70 years after the death of that composer. As long as a song is protected by copyright, the composer and publisher can earn money from that song. The next time you request a song to be played on the radio, you’ll be earning money for the publisher of that song.

If you’ve ever thought about writing music, this might be a good time to get started. Publishing your music takes hard work, but it can certainly be worth the effort.

Dr. Janet Nepkie is a member of the music industry faculty in the music department of the State University College at Oneonta.

Article Source: http://www.thedailystar.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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