How Music Publishers And Music Royalties Work

Do you want to know how music publishers and royalties work when you get paid in the music business? You probably know that these two things have to do with making money with your music. But do you know exactly how they work?

 Today we are going to look at two important, but often misunderstood areas of the music business - publishing and royalties.

What Does A Music Publisher Do Exactly? Generally speaking, publishing deals with protecting your rights as a songwriter or composer. The three main duties performed by a music publisher are: song registration, licensing and collecting royalties.

Let's take a quick look at these tasks individually.

Song Registration

One of the publisher's primary tasks is protecting your intellectual rights. The publisher will register your songs for copyright and also with the appropriate performance rights organization (such as ASCAP or BMI in the US).

Licensing

Publishers also take care of the licensing for printed sheet music and may promote your music to performers, TV, radio and others who are looking for music for commercial purposes.

Collecting Royalties

This is a very important task, because this is where you get paid! Royalties are payments made to you as a songwriter for permission (a license) to use your music for commercial purposes. The publisher will track the use of your music to ensure that you are being paid the proper royalties due to you. They will also take action against anyone who is using your music without proper licensing.

The Four Types Of Royalties

1. Mechanical Royalties- Mechanical royalties are royalties paid out by record companies based on the number of records sold. The number of sales is determined by data from record sales reporting systems such as Sound Scan. In the US royalties are calculated at a set amount per song, whereas in other countries royalties are calculated as a percentage of sales.

2. Public Performance Royalties - Public performance royalties are royalties that are paid for permission to publicly perform or broadcast your copyrighted music. In the US these are collected via Performance Royalties Organizations (PRO's) such as ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. In order to receive payment from these organizations you need to join as a member and you (or your publisher) must register your songs with them.

Outside of the US, performance royalties are collected by government owned PRO's. These foreign organizations pay the American PRO’s which then pays the artist (you).

3. Synchronization Fees - Synchronization fees are paid to you for permission to use your music in an audiovisual format, such as movies, TV shows, commercials, etc.

4. Print Music Income - Print music income is paid to you or your publisher by sheet music producers for a license to print and distribute sheet music or songbooks of your songs.

A Final Note

Many musicians underestimate how valuable their publishing rights are. Be careful not to give yours away in a quest for a record deal!

I hope this lesson has helped you to develop a basic understanding of how a music publisher and music royalties work.

OFFICIAL RIPPED JEANS NATION BLOG : The Business Of Music: By A Full-Time Music Busine...

OFFICIAL RIPPED JEANS NATION BLOG : The Business Of Music: By A Full-Time Music Busine...: You may think that music is just a creative venture, but there are so many other aspects of this  music industry  that you really need to...

The Business Of Music: By A Full-Time Music Business consultant

You may think that music is just a creative venture, but there are so many other aspects of this music industry that you really need to consider if you want to make a career out of your passion. The primary thing that you need to think about is the business of music.

You need to focus on music marketing. You need to have a music business plan. These are things that are crucial if you want to success in music. Here are some things you need to know about the business of music to give yourself a better chance of success.

Music Business Plan

One thing that you should do is to make a music business plan. You should write everything down to begin with as a way to collect your thoughts. You need to take this seriously because you want other people to take you seriously. This is your chance to truly capture the essence of who you are as an artist, so really let your passion shine through here.

It can be a very daunting task to create your music business plan, but if you take a few bites out of it at a time you will be able to get it done without getting overwhelmed. You can follow the many templates online, which will help you discover how to properly write your own business plan.

Music Marketing Plan

Another important thing that you need is a music marketing plan. Your marketing strategy can really make or break your music business. One thing that should be a part of your marketing strategy is to leverage influencers in the industry.

If you are able to get a great social media following, you are going to have a much larger base for you to market your music to. Social media influencers are incredibly helpful here, as much as you do not want to utilize this. You could also consider doing things like podcasts. People love podcasts and as a music business owner, this is a great way for you to take control of your music and the marketing of it.

This may not make you a lot of money on its own but it can raise awareness for your brand. At the end of the day, the amount of people that you have in your network is going to determine how successful you are.

Talent Is Never Enough

You do need a great deal of creativity and talent in order to find success in the music business, but you have to remember that it is all just a business. You can only get so far on just your talent. It is so important to have a plan for your business just as you would in any other industry.

Creating a business plan for your music business and developing an amazing music marketing strategy will ultimately determine how well you do in this industry. As long as you show off how passionate you are about your music, you will be able to stick to whatever plan that you may have.

What Are Neighboring Rights And How Do Musicians Collect Them?

If you spend any amount of time in the music world, you will have discovered that the question of royalties and ownership can be a difficult one; it is not as simple as a person writing a song, then selling it to the public and collecting a specific amount of cash for that song. The song will continue to be played, and therefore the artist can continue to benefit from it.

Usually this is done through downloads or CD purchases, but there is another revenue stream as well. Neighboring rights is a term which refers to royalties paid out to musicians and sound recording owners whenever a track is broadcast in public.

Neighboring Rights Collections Agency

For example, when you are in your car and the newest top song comes on the radio, the radio station will usually be paying the artist and the record labelroyalties. This makes sense; they own the music, and the radio station is getting more listeners by playing that popular song, so the artist and owners benefit. However, sometimes it can be difficult for artists to keep track of who is playing their songs, how often, and whether they are owed royalties.

This is where neighboring rights collecting societies come into play; radio stations and other media report a log of their played songs to the society. The society then checks this against the tracks they have registered, and will pay the royalties out to the appropriate party.

It Is Difficult In The U.S.

However, there is an added complexity to this arrangement; the USA does not recognize neighboring rights by law, so collecting them can be more difficult. However, a quick Google search of ‘does soundexchange collect neighboring rights’ will show you that there are organizations working to combat this problem.

Soundexchange neighboring rights collect royalties on streamed songs on behalf of the artists, although they call it ‘digital performance royalties,’ rather than neighboring rights. It can only be collected from digital radios, online streaming, etc., meaning that music being played in bars and cafes is still exempt from paying royalties.

There is a similar arrangement in the UK, with Kobalt neighboring rights being a subsidiary of the overall Kobalt company. Kobalt explain the concept of neighbor rights and why it is important for countries to come to agreements about them; many US artists cannot claim neighboring rights even in countries which pay them, because the USA does not. This makes for a very complicated legal situation, and leaves US artists and record labels unable to benefit from platforms which are using their music to make money.

Conclusion

Collecting neighboring rights can be difficult, and they are a surprisingly complicated concept, particularly when looked at on a global level. However, they provide valuable income for the artists and record labels, and should not be dismissed as a revenue stream.

Just as films and other media are protected from being shown in public without permission and without royalties, musicians have a right to protect and profit from their music.

5 Reasons You Should Never Buy Spotify Plays, Listeners, Or Followers

All businesses and artists should grow organically, that means that your followers or your fans have a genuine interest and appreciation of what you are making. However, many artists, especially on Spotify, find themselves more often than not ‘buying plays’ or listeners and followers for that matter.

And there are a few reasons why this should not be what you are doing for your music. First, we do want to make a distinction between music promotion and buying plays

.TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS!

We have rounded up a few of these to give you a bit of guidance if you are either new to the site, or are trying to generate a more active and loyal following for your content.

1. HOW TO SPOT FAKE SPOTTY PLAYS

There are some sure fire ways to tell if a service is fake:

• If they tell you they can deliver a specific amount of plays within a specific amount of time. The best any real Spotify promotion company can do is give you a range of expected plays.
• If they keep saying the plays are 'safe' rather than explaining how the service is done
• If they guarantee a certain amount of 'saves' by listeners (This number should be completely organic because you don't know who will actually like your music when promoted)

The success of a good Spotify promotion depends on the song. Whenever you're getting organic music promotion, not every song is going to get the same amount of plays, and that's how you want it to be!

Fake plays don't bring in real fans.

Be careful with Spotify services that have checkout pages like this

2. FAKE FOLLOWERS DON'T GIVE YOU REAL SUPPORT

It's a good thing if you order music promotion on two different songs and they don't get the same results.

All that means is that people like one song better. Thus, you can plan your promotion budget around that song and release it as a possible single for your album!

Also, fake people can't give you real money. Spotify technology is getting better and better, so it's spotting fake plays more often.

If they notice a dramatic spike in plays then a sudden drop off, it's like a red alert for them. It's different when there's a spike and a gradual drop off.

3. YOUR DISTRIBUTOR COULD SUSPEND YOUR ACCOUNT

Music distributors like Distrokid, Tunecore, Awal, & Ditto want to keep a good relationship with streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and Deezer.

If they keep sending songs to the streaming services that are using fake plays, that means Spotify has to keep paying profits that are unjustly due.

No company in the world wants to do that!

So they start telling the distributors to hammer down on the bad customers, and eventually this could end in your songs or artist account being banned from the service!

Now ask yourself, is it really worth it to try and order cheap plays for Spotify instead of getting a real playlist placement or organic promotion?

Yes, it may cost a little more to go with the real deal, but the benefits outweigh the costs.

4. REAL SPOTIFY PLAYLIST PLACEMENTS VS. FAKE PLAYS

Like we said earlier, there's a BIG DIFFERENCE in buying fake Spotify plays vs. getting organic music promotion through Spotify playlists.

Essentially it works like this:

• Independent Spotify curators make playlists that they upload and market to their audiences. This could be a music blog, Twitter personality, indie musician, whomever...
• As more and more people follow the playlist, the top spots in these playlists are highly coveted and drive a good amount of natural plays to a song
• Once a blog starts getting so many music submissions, they start putting together playlist promotion packages based on exposure
• If a blog has a Spotify playlist with 30,000 followers, they can trade with other blogs who have similar sized playlists to get you into more and bigger playlists! (e.g. 60,000 followers through 2 playlists or 300,000 followers through 10 playlists)
• Labels, big artists, and musicians use this method to naturally and efficiently grow their Spotify songs!
• 
• f you just skimmed through this article, the main point is, don't buy fake Spotify plays, listeners or followers.
  Instead, invest in organic music promotion through getting playlist placements! The placements lead to getting natural plays and exposure vs. bot plays. 
  We happen to have one of the top ranked Google services! Click the button below to check out our Spotify promotion options 
• 
  

7 TIPS FOR NETWORKING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Something that comes up frequently in my music consulting work and talking to artist is the topic of music industry networking. This is one of the most important skills you must have in order to take your music career to the next level, because there are many talented and skilled musicians fighting for the same gigs. So, as a prerequisite for taking the advice in this post, you should already be a badass musician who has put in all of his or her 10,000 hours preparing for the “big show”. If you haven't done this work, networking won't really help your cause. So without further ado, here are my
 7 quick tips to help you network in the music business.

1) Stop Talking About Yourself – OK, this may seem counterintuitive to some, but most people don’t want to listen to you brag about your achievements.  Instead, they would rather talk about themselves. So, if you want to “get in” with someone, ask them questions about their lives and be genuinely interested in what they have to say. Don’t pretend to listen while checking your Twitter feed or text messages either, really listen and keep them talking.  Networking in the music industry is all about making friends, because friends will hire you for gigs or refer you down the line. So just be an awesome person and an awesome listener...easy right?

2) Don’t be Pushy – Appearing overeager and pushy in your networking endeavors will not help your music career.  If you don’t know someone, avoid pushing your business card, your demo or any other piece of promotional material until they ask for it. Remember, you are trying to make friends in the industry, so acting like an unsolicited spammer will definitely turn people off.  Try to think of networking in the music business like the inbox of an email account, spam usually goes directly to the junk mail filter.

3) Go out and Hang – If you are at home watching a “House Hunters” marathon instead of attending a music industry event, gig or party, you're really doing yourself a disservice.  You must go out and hang, because that’s how you make friends. And if you check out another musician’s gig, don’t show up at the end of the last song just to show your face.  This will expose you as a transparent networker who is not interested in supporting other musicians.  So, you must put in the time to get to know everyone in the scene and soon you'll be sitting in, joking around, getting called for gigs and more.

4) Get Some Skills – Having useful skills that aren’t 100% related to your craft can be very useful. For instance, if you understand how to build websites (php, html, wordpress, etc.), repair a motorcycle or fix a broken computer, you might be able to meet important music industry people under different circumstances. These are just 3 random examples, but essentially networking is based on give and take relationships and having non-music skills to offer gives you an advantage over the sea of musicians trying to “make it”.  So, if you happen to be chatting with a high-profile music producer at a bar and he or she mentions that their MacBook Pro or Ducati died that morning, you can offer to help them out. This will get their attention much quicker than telling them about your hot new tracks or your prowess on the guitar...trust me!


5) Tell the Truth – Now, I know you want to portray yourself in the best light possible, but don’t lie about your credits and/or contacts. Eventually someone you are trying to impress will call you out on your BS and your name will be tarnished within the scene. People don’t take kindly to liars, especially in a tight-knit music scene where word travels fast.

6) Utilize Social Media Properly – Social media is a powerful tool for musicians networking in the music business, but you must use it wisely. In general, you should consider social networking as an extension of your regular networking practices, meaning that you shouldn’t try to sell yourself all the time. Think of it from an outside perspective. If someone posted only Viagra ads on their Twitter wall, would you want to follow them?  This is really the same as a musician constantly promoting themselves, their album, etc.  You must intersperse your personal advertising with fun or resourceful posts, otherwise nobody will want to be your fan or follower.  So, be likeable, witty, unpredictable and don’t come off like a salesman.  Also, don’t @mention people unless it’s relevant to your post. If you @mention people frequently in the wrong circumstances, they will stop reading your notifications which will hurt your marketing efforts.

7) Be Cool – Most musicians want to hang out with fun and cool people, so try not to come off too arrogant, too competitive, too depressed, etc.  In all the big music cities, there are many musicians who can get the job done, so attitude is often the defining factor in getting the gig.  Remember that as a musician, you might be required to hang on a tour bus for months or sit in a studio collaborating for hours on end, so you must be likeable and have awesome people skills.  And no matter how good you think you are, there’s always someone who can do the job just as well right around the corner (and they might be more fun to be around). So be cool!

7 Reasons Christians Are Not Required to Tithe

Many think believers in Christ should tithe (defined as giving 10 percent of one’s income), and many use the language of “tithes and offerings” in worship services. Others are equally convinced tithing is not required for believers.

Which view is more faithful to God’s Word?

This certainly isn’t a matter over which believers should break fellowship. Love is far more important than our view on tithing (1 Cor. 13). Still, I would argue tithing isn’t required or even encouraged for believers in Jesus Christ. But such a stance needs to be explained.

TITHING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

What does the Old Testament say about tithing? Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils of war to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20), and Hebrews appeals to this account to support the superiority of Melchizedek’s priesthood over Levi’s (Heb. 7:4–10). God met Jacob at Bethel and promised him covenant blessings; the patriarch promised God a tenth of everything granted him (Gen. 28:22).

A tenth of Israel’s seed, fruit, and flocks were given to the Lord (Lev. 27:30–32; Deut. 14:22–24; cf. 2 Chron. 31:5–6; Neh. 13:5, 12). The people gave a tenth to the Levites to support them (Num. 18:21–24; cf. Neh. 10:38; 12:44), and the Levites, in turn, were to give a tenth to the chief priest (Num. 18:25–28). Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal. 3:8–10).

Though we might assume Old Testament Israel gave a total of 10 percent, it’s actually difficult to discern how much was given. We can’t linger over details in this short article, but some think the Israelites gave 14 tithes over seven years; others believe they gave 12. Regardless, when we add the required tithes together, the amount certainly exceeded 10 percent. In fact, the number was probably somewhere around 20 percent per year.

WHY TITHING IS NOT REQUIRED TODAY

There are seven decisive reasons for saying Christians are not required to tithe.

1. Believers are no longer under the Mosaic covenant (Rom. 6:14–15; 7:5–6; Gal. 3:15–4:7; 2 Cor. 3:4–18). 

The commands stipulated in the Mosaic covenant are no longer in force for believers. Some appeal to the division between the civil, ceremonial, and moral law to support tithing. Yet these divisions, I would observe, are not the basis Paul uses when addressing how the law applies to us today. And even if we use these distinctions, tithing is clearly not part of the moral law. It’s true the moral norms of the Old Testament are still in force today, and we discern them from the law of Christ in the New Testament, but tithing is not among these commands.

2. The examples of Abraham and Jacob are not normative patterns. 

Some think tithing is required because both Abraham and Jacob gave a tenth, and they both lived before the Mosaic covenant was in place. Such examples hardly prove tithing is for all time, however. Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek was a one-time event; there is no evidence he regularly gave God a tenth.

Jacob’s giving of a tenth signified his gratefulness to God for promising to be with him and to protect him. His gratefulness and generosity still speak to us today, but a historical description of what Jacob gave doesn’t support the idea that all believers must give God a tenth of their income.

3. Tithes were given to the Levites and priests, but there are no Levites and priests in the new covenant. 

Levites and priests were tied to the sacrificial system of the old covenant. Now all believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6), with Jesus as our Melchizedekian high priest (Heb. 7).

4. The tithe is tied to the land Israel received under the old covenant. 

Israel was supposed to celebrate a tithe every three years in Jerusalem. But that requirement cannot apply to Christians today. It related to the Jews as a nation—to Jews who lived in the land of promise. With the coming of Christ, the Jewish nation is no longer the locus of God’s people, though individual Jews are part of the church through faith in Jesus.

The earthly Jerusalem is no longer central in God’s purposes (Gal. 4:25). Believers are part of the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26) and look forward to the city to come (Heb. 11:10), to the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:1–22:5). Abraham isn’t heir of the land of Israel, but of the whole world (Rom. 4:13).

5. If tithing is required today, how much should we give? 

As noted above, the number was certainly more than 10 percent and closer to 20 percent. Those who advocate tithing should probably settle on 20 percent.

6. When Jesus affirmed the tithe, it was before the dawn of the new covenant.

Some defend tithing by saying Jesus praised tithing, even if he said it was less important than other things (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). This argument appears strong, but it’s not persuasive. Jesus also mentioned offering sacrifices in the temple (Matt. 5:23–24), but Christians don’t think—even if the temple were rebuilt—that we should do that. Our Lord’s words are understandable when we think about his location in redemptive history.

esus spoke about sacrifices and tithing before the cross and resurrection, before the dawn of the new covenant. He used tithing and sacrifices as illustrations when addressing his contemporaries. He kept the law since he was “born under the law” (Gal. 4:4). But we can no more take his words as a commendation for tithing today than we can his words about offering sacrifices.

7. Nowhere is tithing mentioned when commands to give generously are found in the New Testament. 

When Christians are instructed to give to the poor, they aren’t commanded to give “the poor tithe.” Instead, they are instructed to be generous in helping those in need (Acts 2:43–47; 4:32–37; 11:27–30; Gal. 2:10; 1 Cor. 16:1–4; 2 Cor. 8:1–9:15). For example, 1 Corinthians 16:1–4—a passage often cited in popular circles in support—doesn’t mention tithing; it relates to a one-time gift for poor saints in Jerusalem.

GIVE GENEROUSLY

Even though tithing isn’t required today, it does not follow that believers should hoard their possessions.

We are commanded to support those who preach the gospel (Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:6–14; 1 Tim. 5:17–18). And while we should enjoy the good things God gives us, we are also called to be generous to those in need (1 Tim. 6:17–19; 2 Cor. 8–9). Wealth can so easily become an idol, leading us to abandon the Lord.

Since God is to be our treasure, believers are to give generously and freely. For many in the West, this will mean giving more than 10 percent.

Still, Scripture doesn’t command Christians to give a tenth—and Scripture, not tradition, is our rule and authority.