Music Contract Jargon

by: Ty Cohen

 

Seeing that you are a musician, there is a good chance that
you are not a lawyer as well. This definitely puts you at a disadvantage when it
comes to reading, reviewing, understanding, agreeing to and signing

music contracts.

Music business contracts can be complicated and confusing if you are
not trained with a legal background. Over the next few minutes, we will review
and define some of the common jargon of music

recording contracts.

 

The first phrase-the deal is obviously the agreement you
are making with the label. It will essentially define what royalties you will be
paid from the profit of your music. Some

recording contracts may include a pay advancement. This allows the
artist to get the ball rolling. They can get new equipment, new wardrobe, voice
lessons, a car, a home, whatever you desire to get you going. Keep in mind, this
money has to be paid back with future earnings, it is a loan not a gift.

 

Cross-recoupment or cross-collateralization is the recovery
of advances, costs or losses from other projects. Exclusivity is a word you may
run across quite a few times in

music business contracts. This includes all of the things that are
exclusively owned by the record company. They may want to own your present work,
past work and future work. They most likely will own your logo, website, all
merchandise, images and names.  All of those things will be exclusive to their
company, understand?

 

The territory of your

music contracts is important and needs to be defined. Laws and rules
are different in every country and you need to make sure you music and rights
are protected world-wide, ideally. As I mentioned before, different countries
have different laws about copyrights and things to that effect. Just be sure the
music business contract defines this.

 

How long is your contract for? This is referred to as the
term of the contract. Is it two years, seven year, two albums, eight albums? It
is crucial to define the longevity of recording contracts as soon as possible.

 

recording contracts can contain a great deal of jargon. You may have
to read over it several times or consult the help of someone who know what they
are doing. Make sure you understand copyrights, publishing deals, recording
agreements, promotion terms, and all the other ins and outs of your

music contracts before you sign. If you must, consult the help of a
trusted friend in the industry or maybe a lawyer if you have the extra dough.

 

About the Author:

 Ty Cohen, the online music industry's most recognizable
voice is the former owner of a successful independent record label, current
owner of Platinum Millennium publishing and nation-wide music industry seminar
speaker and panelist. He is also the author and creator of over 40 best-selling
music business books, reports, courses, audio products and other music industry
"How to" resources, that have helped tens of thousands of individuals like you
to successfully find their way in the music business. Visit

http://www.order-yours-now.com/ for more information on Music Contracts,
Recording Contracts and Music Business Contracts.

 

The Songwriters Challenge

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This article discusses the challenge any songwriter has in finding
the right buyer for his music.  We will discuss the issue of
finding the right kind of independent musician to use our material
as well as ways we should use to actually make contact, establish
relationship and build a long term sales customer relationship with
the musician who will be buying, producing and performing our songs.

Introduction

Songwriters occupy a special place in the heart of the music
industry.  Because, let's face it, if there were no songwriters,
there would be no songs.  And if there were no songs, there would
be no music industry.

Of course, songwriting is not the end all and be all of the process
of producing music.  A song has to go through a lot of transition
and pass through many hands before it becomes a piece of music that
is enjoyed, and bought by the music loving public.   But that
moment of creativity, that spark of divine fire, that magical thing
that causes a song to go from not existing to existing which is
only the domain of the songwriter - that is what makes it all happen.

If you are a songwriter, you know this.  You know how crucial your
role is in the life of the music industry.  Why is it then that
songwriters sometimes feel excluded?

It might because writing by its nature is a somewhat lonely
activity.  The moment of composition comes to you, oftentimes by
yourself.  Of course we say the moment of composition but we know
that the process of writing a song is sometimes a process that may
go on for sometimes hours, days, weeks or months!

Songwriting also very often occurs in a group setting.  If someone
in the band writes the songs, then it can be a collaborative
process.  But very often there is one creative "spark" who guides
the process through to completion.  One of the most productive
styles of songwriting is the songwriting team.  So if you are a
part of your own "Lennon and McCartney", you know how enjoyable,
and sometimes how frustrating, that collaboration can be.

So there are lots of challenges to being a songwriter.  There is
writers block where you know there are good song ideas in your
creative machinery and you just cannot get them out.  There is the
loneliness if you write songs in a solitary way as we spoke of
earlier.  And there can be some real challenges to writing with
others that are just as daunting.

But no doubt one of the biggest challenges a songwriter faces is
how to get this new song you just created and that you believe so
much in to be turned into an actual song that is being produced,
performed and sold.

By the same token, there are talented musicians out there working
independently, as the majority of musicians do, who may have a God
given talent of taking a song and breathing life into it but do not
have that creative chip to write songs.  He or she is also in a
frustrating position because they know the kind of material they
want to produce but they don't know how to get the songs that will
make up the substance of their performances.

This challenge is what we are taking on today.  We want to find
some methods, some tools, some approaches to this challenge that
will enable you to get your songs into the hands of artists who can
take then that next step by turning them into music to be heard by
many.  Moreover, these connections provide the valuable service of
turning that song into revenue for you.  Because after all, you
have to sell your songs to continue to be counted as a professional
musician who can make a living in the music industry.

So let's examine this problem together and find ways to sell your
songs to independent musicians in need of good material.

Love the Ones You're With

In the beloved movie "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy was confused on
how to get to the Emerald City to meet the wizard.  Glenda the Good
Witch gave her some sage advice that can also help us launch our
quest to find independent musicians to whom we might sell our
songs.  Her advice was -  "Well it always best to start at the
beginning."

In other words, to find the Emerald City and her vision of success
and happiness, Dorothy had to start where she was.  That is where
we would start to begin building our path, one yellow brick at a
time, to our network of musicians who can become a steady and
reliable customer base for the songs we write.

It may surprise you how well connected you already are.  As a lover
of music, you may already be a regular at local venues where such
music is being performed.  If so, you are in line of sight to that
very select group of individuals you want to turn into buyers of
your songs - musicians who can perform your music.

Take a fresh look at the other relationships you have in the music
business.   Sometimes we tend to downplay who we are in the context
of the music industry.  That is why it sometimes takes an outsider,
like this article to point out that...

YOU ARE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING

OF THE MUSIC COMMUNITY!

You no doubt have your musician union card.  Take it out every now
and then and look at it.  That is a good time to remember that you
pay your dues, you make a contribution and you have a right to
access to the venues and networking opportunities citizenship
conveys.  For example...

*         The Musicians Union is a union.  There are local
chapters
who hold meetings.  Those fees you pay are used to help you as well
as everyone else in the music industry.  Check out the services
they offer because unions often offer placement services, web page
portals, etc.

*         Your genre will have associations.  In addition,
there
are other associations by genre that have clubs that meet routinely
to promote their craft.  Start looking around for musicians only
organizations devoted to your genre.  An example might be The
National Country Music Association, etc.  These organizations can
open myriads of door for you to promote your music.

*         Your skill may have similar organized groups or
associations.  There are dozens of organizations devoted to
particular skill sets in the music industry.  You can find clubs
and associations that are dedicated to songwriters and the craft of
songwriting.  These organizations are natural clearing houses for
talent and for musicians to are looking for writers to work with.
One example of many is the International Songwriters Association
(http://www.songwriter.co.uk/ )

*         These associations have "list services."  A
listserv, as
its commonly called, is nothing more than an email dialog.  Usually
membership is limited to those who are qualified to be in the
organization.  Once you are in, the moderator will allow topics to
be posted that are of particular interest to your profession.  Seek
out such listservs for songwriters and earn your membership to
them.  Then, once the emails begin to flow, participate in the
discussions so you "make friends", in an online way, with others in
your profession.  It is very common for work to be posted and
shared on these services.   And they are almost always free.

Who Are These People Anyway?

We are creative people so we tend to shy away from "business terms"
if we can help it.  So when we talk about writing music, we don't
like to think of the writing process as "production" and the
outcome of our creative work as our "product".

But in terms of this thing we love, our music which is captured in
this song we want to find a buyer for, it really is our product.
And to be honest about it, finding the right independent musicians
to approach to become our "customers" is what those business people
call "market research."  And to carry the rather yucky analogy to
its logical conclusion, the musicians who will become our partners
in the creative process by buying and then producing and performing
our music are, in strict business terminology, our "target audience."

The reason I forced us through that unpleasant exercise in word
play is simple.  Despite the fact that we see ourselves as artists
and we are working with artists to produce this magical thing
called music, we do have to identify who are the most likely
musicians we should try to contact.  To do that, we look at the
basic characteristics of that "target" independent musician in need
of good

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

#####

 

101 MUSIC BUSINESS CONTRACTS!!!

 

Put It In Writing!

 

U.S. January 20, 2008 -- Ty Cohen,
the owner of Platinum
Millennium

 

Publishing is at it again! Ty and his
company are
re-releasing their 101
Music Business Contracts package with an unbelievable
offer. This product will only be released to 40 people at an incredible
price
via the web at http://www.musiccontracts101.com
.

 

101 Music Business Contracts will be
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anyone in
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Ty Cohen and Platinum Millennium
Publishing are so sure that
you will benefit from their music contracts
software that they are offering it on a Free 30 Day
Trial Basis. All you will pay is shipping. As if that weren't enough,
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Platinum Millennium has been around
for ten years and has
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succeed. All you have to do is
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addition to being up-todate, these contracts are simple to edit. Visit
the
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included.

 

For information: http://www.MusicContracts101.com

 

Email: Support @
PlatinumMillennium.com

 

Phone Number: 866-752-9968

 

Ty Cohen, the online music industry's
most recognizable
voice is the

former owner of a successful independent record label,
current owner of

Platinum Millennium publishing and nation-wide music
industry seminar

speaker and panelist. He is also the author and creator of
over 40 best-selling music
business books, reports, courses, audio products and
other music industry "How to" resources, that have helped tens of
thousands of individuals like you to successfully find their way in the
music
business. Visit http://www.MusicBooksByTy.com 
and http://www.MusicContracts101.com
 for more information
on this great product.

Earlier this week I told everyone on my list

(yes all 189,374 of you :)

that I was giving away 4500 copies of

my 101 Music Business Contracts software

that was here: Free
Music Contracts





And long story short, I just had to shut it down

quick fast in a hurry, you'll never believe why.





Visit the site below to see why, you'll be surprised:

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And believe it our not even after everything

I went through with the "101 Music Business

Contracts" Free giveaway, I have

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The problem is, with the music contracts giveaway

I had 4500 to give away, with the one you'll

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(I know they'll be gone in an hour or so)





Take a look here:
http://www.tycohen.com/holiday_package.2.htm





Then go here to see what happened with the

Free contracts Giveaway:
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Talk to you soon and enjoy your weekend,





Ty





P.S. You really won't believe what you see here:

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