Music Business/Law Tips - "Fans"

Its elementary that an artist cannot sell his/her music, tickets or merchandise if there is no audience to sell them to. To find out if an artist really has a dedicated fanbase (i.e., a career), the following 3 key factors have to exist: 1. The fan(s) buy an artist's products. 2. The fan(s) make repeat purchases of an artist's products. 3. The fan(s) recommend the artist's product(s) to their friends online and offline (i.e., viral). Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "Record Company Profit"

Record companies have a choice when they release a record as to what configurations they will create for the market. Those decisions are generally based on cost, profit and demand. The 3 main configurations are (1) CD, (2) digital download, and (3) vinyl. CD album: Wholesales for approximately $8.29. Manufacturing cost is approximately $1.15. Label gross profit is approximately $7.14. Vinyl album: Wholesales for approximately $10.50. Manufacturing cost is approximately $3.50. Unsold stock cannot be returned so have to be careful on units produced. Label gross profit is approximately $7. Digital album: Wholesales for approximately $6.99. Manufacturing cost is $0. No shipping costs. Label gross profit is approximately $6.99. Although vinyl has had a resurgence, since it costs the most to make and sells the least, it is a limited market, with digital sales becoming the dominant trend since there are no costs to produce and there are now fewer stores to sell CDs. Ben McLane Esq Benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "YouTube"

For an artist to maximize their YouTube presence they should do the following: 1. Shoot a video and upload. 2. List the artist and song title. 3. Describe the video (i.e., category = music). 4. Insert an ISRC Code in the metadata to generate a "buy" link for the song to iTunes and Amazon. 5. Enter similar popular artists names in the tags field to capture the target demographic and make it more viral. Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "Top 5 Success Elements"

Of course there are many factors that contribute to an artist's success, but all artist's that make it seem to have the following 5 things going for them: 1. Strong work ethic 2. Exceptional talent 3. Unique image 4. Perseverance 5. Professional team Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "Synch Tips"

An artist can increase the likelihood of getting their music placed in film, TV and commercials if they take care of the following first: 1. Make sure to own the copyrights for both the masters and the songs embodied on the masters so there is easy licensing. 2. Make sure the music is "claim" and "sample free" (i.e., all legal issues/permissions/clearances have been worked out in advance). 3. Make sure that the person "pitching" has the authority to act as an agent (administrator) on behalf of all the copyrights. Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "Neighboring Rights"

“Neighboring Rights” mean an artist is entitled to royalty payments for the public performance of masters in key foreign (i.e., non-US) countries. This form of royalty is payable only to the record label (50%) and the performers on the master (the other 50%). It does not pay the songwriters whose songs are embodied on the masters. Money is collected from performances of the master on/in foreign radio, TV, theaters, clubs and restaurants. For an American artist to be eligible to collect, the master must have been recorded in a participating foreign country (e.g., the UK). A record recorded in the US generally does not qualify. Like joining BMI or ASCAP to collect songwriting performance income, an artist must join a foreign neighboring rights collection society to get paid. One of the best known ones is the Dutch society called SENA [http://sena.nl]. Ben McLane Esq Benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "ISRC Codes"

ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code, and is like a bar code for recorded music that identifies songs and videos worldwide sold in the digital realm, and helps tracks digital sales/royalties. It is required to have an ISRC code to sell on iTunes and to chart in Billboard. Each song on an album (or each single) has to have its own ISRC code. You can get ISRC codes here: www.isrcmusiccodes.com (the current cost is $32/song). Don’t forget you still need a separate bar code to sell a physical CD. Ben McLane Esq Benmclane.com