What they'll never tell you about the music busines : the complete guide for musicians, songwriters, producers, managers, industry executives, attorneys and accountants / Peter M. Thall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thall, Peter M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music trade--Law and legislation--United States.

Music trade.

Music--Economic aspects--United States.

Music.

Music--Economic aspects.

Band musicians.

Music trade--Law and legislation.

United States.

Copyright--Music--United States.

Copyright.

Copyright--Music.

Band musicians--Legal status, laws, etc--United States.

Popular music--Writing and publishing.

Popular music.

Physical Description:

xiv, 401 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : Ten Speed Press, [2016]

Summary:

This insider guide discloses the hidden dynamics and often unfortunate consequences of what really happens when a deal is prepared, contracts are signed, and promises are made--and alerts musicians, attorneys, songwriters, and anyone else interested in the music business to the potent dangers lurking beneath the surface of this incredibly competitive industry.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Selecting the Right Attorney 2

Personal Representation 3

Deal Makers: Why You Need Them 4

Deal Blockers: How to Get Past Them 5

Staying the Course or Calling it Quits 6

2 Investors The High Costs of Low Finance 8

The Costs of Being Heard 8

Of Investors and Investment Agreements 9

Finding the Money 9

Internet-Specific Offerings 12

The Safe Harbor Disclaimer 12

Getting the Right Advice 13

Paying It Back 13

Overcalls and Conversions 14

Commissions 15

Crowdfunding 15

Should He Who Pays the Piper Call the Tune? 16

A Backer Who Knows What He's Doing 16

3 Advances Why They Seem a Lot Like Loans (and Vice Versa) 18

A Sad Story and a Happy Story About Advances 19

Is One Person's Money Another Person's Motivation? 21

4 Royalties Some Unvarnished Truths 22

How the Royalty Pie Is Sliced and Who Gets the Pieces 23

Recording Costs 24

United States CD Album Royalty Calculation 25

Payment on Less than 100% of Records Sold 26

"New" Technology? 26

"Special" Categories 27

Two Diabolical Deduction Devices 30

Reducing Mechanical Royalties 31

Special Issues Regarding Controlled Compositions 32

The Beat Goes On: Other Important Deductions 33

Prepayment of Royalties 36

The Myth of Royalty Escalations 37

Free Goods 37

Lost or Misplaced Royalties 39

Chipping Away at Post-Term Royalties: Synchronization Licenses 39

Accountings, Audits, and the Statute of Limitations 40

How Responsible Should Record Companies Be? 42

The Effects of Digital Downloading on Pricing and Royalties 43

360 "Deals" 50

The Digital Evolution 57

5 Personal Management The Whys, Wherefores, and Watch Outs 65

What a Personal Manager Should (and Should Not) Be Expected to Do 66

Managing the Five Stages of an Artist's Career 67

Remakes 70

KMMA: Keep My Music Available-At All Costs 71

Choosing Your Manager 74

The Question of Clout 75

Paying Your Manager 78

The Term of the Agreement 82

Extending or Terminating an Artist-Manager Relationship 83

Breach of Contract in Artist-Manager Agreements 87

6 Managing Your Business and Your Financial Future When "Show Me the Money" Isn't Enough 89

What a Business Manager Does 90

Finding the Right Person 90

Certified Public Accountants 90

Auditing the Auditor 92

What Kind of Business Is Being Managed? 92

Should You "Do Business as" or Form a Partnership? 93

Money Means Options: Resisting the "Keep 'Em Poor" Philosophy 98

Managing Your Money 99

Investing: Is Anyone in Charge Here? 100

Making It and Saving It 103

7 When Your Job Is More Than A Gig Employment Agreements and Disagreements 108

Term of Employment 108

Duties 108

Reporting Lines 109

Confidentiality and Competition 110

Stock Options 112

Perks 113

Termination 114

Working in a Foreign Land 117

Relocation and Re-Relocation 118

Visas 118

Disability and Death 118

Provisions That Survive Termination 119

Vacations 119

Release and Settlement 120

Employment Issues Specific to the Music industry 120

Variations of Royalty Calculations 122

Employment Agreements with Celebrities and Others Otherwise Engaged 125

Mail 126

The Ownership of Ideas 127

8 Record Producers Are They as Sharp as Their Points? 128

How 25% Can Equal 100% 128

Cross-Collateralization: It Does Not Apply to the Producer 130

Producers Royalty Provisions: The Basics 131

The Producer as Author of the Sound Recording 138

Producers and Neighboring Rights 138

9 Getting Your Record Heard A Practical Guide to Marketing and Promotion 141

Marketing Tools 141

The Goal-Oriented Campaign 143

The Record Contract 145

Do Record Companies Know What They Are Doing? 149

Victim or Victor? 149

Television Campaigns 150

Radio Promotion 151

Airplay and Payola 152

The Same Old Song (Only the Coda Is New) 156

The Beginning of the End? 157

A Brief Look at the Promotional Picture-from the Artist's Point of View 159

10 Touring Concerns Trials and Tribulations 161

The Club Tour 162

The Grand Tour 163

Sample Tour Budget 164

Private Charter 172

Elements of Touring Agreements: Commonalities and Idiosynchrasies 177

11 Merchandising Your Band, Your Brand 181

Tour Merchandising 181

Retail Merchandising/Web Merchandising 189

Confidentiality 193

Compliance with Local Laws 194

End-of-Term Inventory and Sell-Off 194

Artwork and Photographs 195

Coupling 195

Life and Disability Insurance 196

Piracy 196

Audits 197

12 Audits Truth or Consequences 198

Examining the Audit 198

The Flow of Money 201

Access to Registration Information 202

The Black Box or "Something Is Abyss Here" 202

Television Campaigns 203

Interest Charges 203

Statutes of Limitations 204

Conducting Audits in Foreign Countries 205

A Few Practical Suggestions 206

The Right to Audit: A Contract Issue 208

13 Music Publishing The Odyssey of the Song 210

What Is a Music Publisher-and What Does It Publish? 210

Copyright: A Bundle of Intangibles 212

Financial Secrets and Realities 215

Mechanical Royalty Rates Outside of the United States 219

Top Gun-a Top Buyout for Paramount 219

The Administrating Function 221

Family Ties (Too Close to Sue) 222

When Your Publisher Forgets You 223

Foreign Taxes 224

At-Source Versus Receipts Deals 225

The Black Box Revisited 226

Copyright Reversions 227

14 When Rodgers Meets Hammerstein Determining Songwriter Credits 229

Cowriting Agreements 229

Cowriters Who Are Band Members 231

15 Being Your Own Music Publishing Company Pros and Cons 234

Self-Publishing 234

Getting in Touch with the Copyright Office 235

Why Bother Doing It Yourself? 239

Acquiring Copyrights 239

Reversion of Copyrights 240

The Value of the Copyright 241

The Impact of Administrating Costs on True Earnings 243

The Cost of Giving Away a "Piece" of the Publishing 243

16 Internet Entrepreneurship Doing! Yourself 245

Competing with the Big Boys 245

Artist, Songwriter, Performer-and E-Commerce Expert? 246

Making a Living 247

Stealing and Protecting Against It 248

Dos and Don'ts of Internet Entrepreneurship 248

Manufacturing and Distribution 250

Kickstarting Your Career 251

Podcasting 252

Instantaneous Dissemination of Live Performances 253

Creating a Website 253

Which People Should Do It Themselves? 254

A Word of Warning-and Encouragement 255

17 Lost, Misplaced, Neglected, and Abandoned: Royally Opportunities You Were never Told About 257

An Introduction to Neighboring Rights 257

Broadcast Mechanicals 259

Neighboring Rights in Our Own Backyard: Canada 259

Lost, Misplaced, Neglected, or Abandoned; Which Category Are Your Royalties In? 260

Show Me the Money 263

Two Neighboring Rights-Friendly Countries: The UK and the Netherlands 263

Neighboring Rights Collections Agencies 264

Performing and Other Obscure Rights in Sound Recordings 266

18 Urban Music The Beat Goes On 269

Roots 269

The Milieu 270

Urban Music: The Producer's Cosmos 271

Different Strokes for Hip-Hop Folks 271

Rap as Protest 274

The Importance of the Mix: Mixtapes 274

Career Ceilings 275

Hip-Hop and Pop Culture 275

Business Management and the Management of Business 275

The Changing Image 276

Contractual Issues 277

The Rap Coalition: Self-Help Exemplified 278

Hip-Hop Rules 279

19 Classical Music Dead or Alive? 281

A Little History 281

Demise or Rejuvenation? 282

The Metropolitan Opera 286

An Essential for Success: Spirituality 287

New Life for an Old Genre 289

The CD Arrives: Both a Blessing and a Curse 289

The Internet: Is It the Answer? 290

The Role of Record Companies 292

The Composer-Artist: Special Considerations 296

Classical Composers and their Publishers: Some Pitfalls and Some Options 297

Classical Management 301

Presenting the

Singer 304

Music Education 305

20 Termination of Grants of Copyrights For Every End, a Beginning 308

Basic Term of Protection 308

"K-K-K-Katy" 309

Termination of Grants 309

Duration of Copyright: Subsisting Copyrights 309

Who Can Terminate 310

The Control of Termination Decisions 310

The Rights Granted 310

The Windows for Termination 311

When Automatic Renewal Applies 312

The Sonny Bono Term Extension Act 312

Keeping Records 312

The Technical Requirements for Termination 313

21 Compliance with Copyright Laws Hints for the Corporate Counsel 317

Intangible Rights and the Internet 317

Licensing From Music Publishers and Sound Recording Owners 318

Copyright Provisions Applicable to the Internet 320

Term of Copyright 322

Sampling, Borrowing, and Stealing 322

Rights Management 323

Dangerous Language Alert 323

Music Clearance: The Music Industry's Revenge 324

International Issues: One-Stop Shopping 325

So Your Corporation Has Also Decided to Become Adventurous? 326

22 Catalogue Valuation How to Improve Your Odds at Winning Big 327

Factors in Valuing Catalogues: An Overview 328

Satellite Radio, Internet Radio, Mobile Phone Streaming, and HD Radio 329

Evaluating Data 331

Who Owns the Catalogue? 336

Termination Issues 337

The "Trunk" 337

Who's Sorry Mow? The Blackbird 338

23 Copyright Issues A Sampler 339

Changing Copyright's Image 339

Copyright Infringement 341

Sampling 346

The Impact of the Internet on Recording and Publishing Agreements 348

How the Internet Has Provided Context for Songwriters' and Publishers' Search for Equitable Treatment 350

The Internet Is Global: So What? I'll Tell You What 352

What Is to Be Done? 354

The Fairness in Music Licensing Act 356

The Copyright Term Extension Act: A Lesson in Leverage 356

MP3: How Two Letters and a Numeral Terrorized an Entire Industry 357

Napster and Post-Napster 357

The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same (or Do They?) 358

24 Copyright Can't Live with It-Can't Live Without It 360

Battles or Battle-Axes 361

Copyleft (aka Copy Wrong), But Not Copyright 362

The Clearance Nightmare 366

Copyright and Personal Property 369

Misuse of Copyright 371

Some Suggested Solutions 371

25 Solving Piracy in the 21st Century How to Avoid a Greek Tragedy 376

Illegal Downloading 377

When an Apple Boomerangs 382

When Culture Trumps Commerce 383

Copyright Owners: Power (Not) to the People 384

What Would the Greeks Do? 388.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Thall, Peter M. What they'll never tell you about the music busines

ISBN:

9781607749745

1607749742

OCLC:

946725964

Publisher Number:

99968869188