TikTok For Musicians: What You Need to Know
One of the biggest developments in the music industry in 2020 was TikTok. While the app was definitely big in 2018 and 2019, it truly blew up in 2020, surpassing over 1 billion users across 150 countries and establishing itself as a bellwether in the music industry. Many of the biggest success stories in the […]
SoundExchange Royalties: How Much Should You Pay Your Producer?
In recent years, one of the questions that I’ve been asked most by my artist clients is: how much of my SoundExchange royalties should I give my producer? As we examined in my article here, it is industry standard for music producers to be paid a percentage of an artist’s record sales (known as “points”). […]
5 Things to Look for in a Music Producer Agreement
So, you’ve found the perfect producer for your upcoming recording project. Great news. Now the producer sends over a 10-page contract full of legalese regarding record royalties, songwriting splits, SoundExchange revenues, producer advances and more. Before you enter the studio, here are some key points to look for and understand: 1) Who Owns the Masters? […]
Do Musicians Need a Record Label?
Record Label I get asked this all the time. Do I need a record label to help my career? It used to be that a record deal was the holy grail of the music industry; the brass ring that all artists worked towards. This is no longer the case. While record deals are still a […]
How Your Music Makes Money (Part Two) – The Songwriting Copyright
How does your music make money in the modern world? While record sales are becoming less and less relevant, revenue streams generated from the Songwriting Copyright have greatly increased. This is because music is being used more now than ever before. This use generates money for the writers of the music. The revenue streams flowing from […]
What is an Artist Development Deal, and Should You Sign One?
In the “glory days” of the recording industry (i.e. after Elvis, before the Internet), there was a very common type of deal offered by record labels called the Artist Development Deal, sometimes known as a “Demo Deal”. The idea was fairly simple: if a label liked you but didn’t want to commit fully with a […]
The 3 Types of Music Publishing Agreements (and why they’re important)
If you write your own songs, either with a band or on your own, or co-write with others, developing an understanding of music publishing is probably the most important thing you can do for your career. That being said, music publishing is the most confusing aspect of the music business. The number of blank stares […]