Recently in music Category
Wedding Videography and Sync License
Pre-Loaded iPods: Part Two
- Agents of Fortune (Blue Oyster Cult)
- Donovan's Greatest Hits (Donovan),
- Greatest Hits (Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66),
- Mirror Conspiracy (Thievery Corporation),
- Focus (Stan Getz),
- My Aim is True (Elvis Costello),
- Louie Louie (Angel Corpus Christi),
- The Last Soul Company: Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective
- L'Avventura (Dean & Britta)
- Full Moon Fever (Tom Petty)
- Alfie (Sonny Rollins)
- Clandestino (Manu Chao)
- Loc-ed After Dark (Tone Loc)
- What's Going On/Let's Get it On (Marvin Gaye)
- Ptah the El Douad (Alice Coltrane)
- Car Wash (Various Artists)
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (Angelo Badelementi)
- The Idiot (Iggy Pop)
- The Latest Drag (El Destroyo)
- Dummy (Portishead)
Dividing Music Income
Dear Rich: I have read your book, Music Law: How to Run Your Band's Business, but there is an issue that still confuses me. My bandmates and I are at a loss as to how to divvy up the various possible income streams (MP3 sales, CD sales, TV sync license fees, and royalties, etc.). I am the sole songwriter in the band. We record music and are trying to market it through various means (online and brick and mortar). If there is no record company to take a share of sales income, how, generally, is that income split up? What about songwriter royalties and publisher's royalties? What about SoundExchange royalties? Who gets a cut when we sell something? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. I'm so glad you asked. One simple way to look at things is to divide up the revenue sources into two groups: music publisher/songwriter income and band (or non-songwriter) income. Your band has a few choices for dealing with songwriter income (as discussed in the book). The main decision is whether the songwriter keeps it all, or divides it among band members -- for example, you can create a music publishing entity and split that income based on an agreed-upon percentage, perhaps rewarding the songwriters with a higher share of the pot. As for band (non-songwriter) income, that's usually split equally after deducting expenses and payments to the usual suspects (manager, tour manager, agent, etc.) In the new edition of Music Law, I'm going to break down the sources of music income into more detail. Since that won't be out until August 2009, the Dear Rich staff has prepared this table that summarizes the common income sources based on whether it is songwriter or non-songwriter income.|
Type of Income |
Source |
|
Live Performance |
Payment to band from club owner or booking agent. |
CD Sales |
Payment to band, either: direct payment (if sold from website or at shows); store payment (if consignment); distributor payment (if you have a distribution deal); or record company payment (if you are signed). Payment by record company to music publisher/songwriters for mechanical license fee (per unit). |
|
Digital Downloads |
Payment to band either: direct payment (if sold from your website); or distributor payment (if you have a distribution deal). Payment by record company to music publisher/songwriters for a mechanical license
fee per download. |
|
AM/FM Over-the-Air Radio Play |
Payment to music publisher/songwriters from performing
Rights Societies (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). |
|
Webcast or Satellite Station Play |
Payment to music publisher/songwriters from performing Rights Societies (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). Payment to band (or sound recording owner if you have a record company) from SoundExchange. |
|
Movie/TV Soundtrack |
Payment to band from movie/TV production
company for master use license; additional payment(s) if sound track recording is released. Payment to music publisher/songwriters from movie/TV production company for sync license; payment from performing rights societies (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) to music publisher/songwriters when television show is broadcast or movie is shown; payment to music/publisher/songwriters if soundtrack sold as DVD or CD soundtrack for mechanical license fee (per unit). |
|
Endorsements/Corporate
Sponsorships |
Payment (or other compensation) to band from corporate sponsor. |
Advertisement Featuring Song |
Similar to movie/TV payments with additional twists if song is used in nontraditional ways (free downloads, etc.). |
|
Subscription Sales |
Direct payment to band; or, if managed by third-party distributor, treated like digital downloads. |
|
Video Game Featuring Song |
Treated like movie/TV
soundtrack payments. |
|
Ringtones |
Payment to band/record company by ringtone distributor for master use license fee. Payments to the music publisher/songwriter by ringtone distributor for mechanical royalties (per unit); additional payment made by ASCAP or BMI to the music/publisher songwriters. |
|
AdSense or Affiliate Payment |
Payment to band from online company (Google, Amazon, etc.) for ads or links that appear at band-related sites. |
Using Music from iTunes at a Website
Ahh... right, your question. The iTunes terms of service does not permit you to use downloaded music at your website (considered a "public performance" under copyright law). You can obtain a website license from ASCAP (around $300 minimum) or from BMI (less than $300, but dependent on traffic and revenue from your site). Of course, you can only license BMI artists from BMI and ASCAP artists from ASCAP. Each site lists their repertoire. Although it is risky (and you would still be subject to legal action) some sites bypass the permissions process. This may succeed if you stay below the legal radar of music publishers -- for example, by only playing the music at a low-trafficked noncommercial website, and by not offering downloads or any other tagged references to music that's playing.
Bands, LLCs, and Income Taxes
Start a Music Label (or Not)?
Investigating Potential Music Royalty Ripoffs
Dear Rich: My Dad is a musician who played on some records in the 1970s that still get played on the radio. I'd like to help him investigate any money he is owed for these old recordings. How do I go about it? I'm so glad you asked. The short answer is that you may have to hire someone to help you with your investigation. According to the Dear Rich staff, determining whether your Dad is owed money depends on several factors. These include: (1) whether your Dad contributed to songwriting, in which case he may be due money from a music publisher or a performing rights society, (2) whether your Dad performed as a union musician on sessions, and (3) whether your Dad signed recording agreements with record labels as a featured artist (or member of a band).
Getting Paid from Webcasts and Satellite Radio
If your band hasn't decided how it will treat songwriter income, you'll need to work that out. Then the songwriters (and publisher) must sign up with ASCAP or BMI, register the songs, and wait by the mailbox (or bank, if you choose direct deposit). But unlike over-the-air radio frequency performances (AM and FM radio), a webcast or satellite radio station also pays a royalty fee to the artist. That payment is collected and paid by SoundExchange. (You should download the paperwork from their website and register as a featured artist.)
How Do You Get Music on iTunes (and Avoid Illegal Downloads)?
Whale Rider: Making a Musical Without Permission
- consider using only material from the book (to reduce the chances of the movie company coming after you)
- indicate on promotional material that the program has not been authorized by the author (it won't prevent a lawsuit but at least you're not misleading consumers)
- follow the steps you mentioned as those are all mitigating factors -- that is, don't charge admission, don't publish the musical, and don't distribute video or audio copies, and
- make sure that the administration at your school is aware of your course of action (CYA).
Song Recording in South Africa
Re-Selling iPods With Pre-Loaded Licensed Content
Can a Co-Writer License at Less Than Market Value?
Dear Rich: If two songwriters collaborate and co-own their copyright in a song, can one writer issue a license for the whole song (assuming she accounts to the other for her share)? What if the other writer believes that the song was licensed for less than the prevailing market rate for that use? Can that writer sue the co-writer for destroying the value of the copyright? I'm so glad you asked. As to your first question, the co-owners share the legal rights to the song (assuming there is no agreement to the contrary). As joint copyright owners, each writer can separately grant permission (a license) for someone to use the song, provided that each writer shares the income with the others. Although each co-owner is entitled to receive money from the song, this doesn't mean that the two writers have to share money from the song equally. One writer may receive 30% of the income and the other may earn 70%. Each writer's share is usually based on the value of their contribution. This is a matter that is agreed on by the two writers. If the writers do not agree and the issue turns into a lawsuit, then a court will decide on the value of each writer's contribution. Courts often start with the presumption that all songwriters contributed equally.
As to your second question -- whether one writer can sue the other for licensing the song at less than market value -- we believe that it will be difficult to successfully assert this claim. Copyright expert Melville Nimmer reportedly argued that a co-owner has a duty not to "waste" a copyright. (This concept is borrowed from real property law in which a life tenant has a duty not to injure or waste the property.) However, our nation's leading copyright expert does not believe that a co-owner can assert this kind of claim. Even if you could make such a claim, keep in mind that you will have a heavy burden demonstrating that the value of the copyright has been depleted.
The Dear Rich staff believes there may be one caveat to these rules and that is if one songwriter licenses the first use of a song without the consent of the co-writer. Although copyright law does not explicitly require all writers to consent to the first recording, we believe that this approach is required because after the first recording, this first use triggers the rights of others to record the song under compulsory license rules.
(P.S. Here are some additional tips for songwriters.)
