Words: Chuck Fishman
If you've followed the series so far, you're probably thinking that releasing music involves an awful lot of steps. The thing is, following them will help you to reach the most engaged (if not largest) audience possible, with the greatest opportunities to generate income from the release. In order to reach this audience, you will need to spend some money, but investment at this stage will pay dividends further down the road. For instance, in part two of the series (check it out here), I talked about copyrighting your songs, which can cost up to $100 in the USA per composition. That's quite a bit of time and investment that follows finishing each album, EP, or even an individual song, but it is well worth it to protect your work and your future musical career.
In this part of the series, I'll be discussing the terms of a deal that you'll want to negotiate with an independent record label, if you've been able to find a label receptive to backing your music. If you decide you can't get the deal terms you'd like, or you feel that you're the best party to release and market your music, I'll take you through how to find a music distributor who can deliver your physical and digital release to music retailers and streaming services.
Registering as a songwriter
While your music is already mixed and mastered by now, there is critical metadata you'll need to collect and deliver before you find your record label or music distributor. You'll need this information so that music fans will be able to find your music on their favorite streaming service.
Whether you're releasing with a label or on your own, there is an important next step to take if this hasn't already been addressed in your music career: you need to register as a songwriter with a performance royalty organization (PRO). Registering within the US, your two main options are ASCAP and BMI - for a complete list of copyright collection societies worldwide, click here. ASCAP charges songwriters a one-time fee of $50 to register, BMI offers free registration. Once you've registered as a songwriter, you will be assigned an IPI/CAE, a nine digit number that identifies you as a songwriter globally. You are going to need this IPI/CAE number to get paid for the streaming of your songs whether you're releasing music on your own or with a record label. You can also register with BMI and ASCAP as an individual song publisher or set up a publishing company. No matter how you intend to release your music, first ensure you have your songwriter number set up.
Determine the extent of the deal
You'll also want a lawyer to review any deal you sign with an independent record label. There are specific points of the deal you should ask to be included (and excluded) and the duration of these (number of years of contract), should also be reasonable.
Let's assume you have the songs already mixed and mastered, copyrighted and ready to go to market. Make sure that the deal you are trying to achieve with the record label is only for the release(s) you've pitched. You'll probably want to avoid deals that ask you to deliver another album, EP or more singles at your own expense. Also, you may be presented with a deal that promises you cash upfront to deliver future albums. Do keep in mind that if a record label is investing in your career, they may ask for a 2-3 release deal with you so that they can develop you as an artist.
A deal to avoid is one that attempts to take ownership of your artist name, your brand, your non-music merchandise (e.g. t-shirts) and your live performance/DJ/ touring revenues. Such record label artist signings are called 360 deals and are designed to allow a record label to fully invest in an artist's career development. For the purposes of this article I'm assuming you're looking to release just this set of songs, and 360 deals take too much of a stake in your overall career to simply achieve that purpose. Also, as you've already copyrighted your songs and retain the copyright, there should be no provision in the deal asking you to assign copyrights to the record label.
Licensing your masters
The licensing of your music masters for streaming and physical copies (CDs, vinyl) is the biggest point of any record deal. This should be an exclusive license to the label - meaning that no other record label can come along and be able to sign your music. This allows the record label to really invest in your music without fear of competing against another party in the market. If you feel you might outgrow your label at some point, you can add a provision that if another label - bigger in size or based in another country - wants to license the songs, they could do so at a price paid to your label, and that your label would have the right to negotiate this.
The term of an exclusive license of masters to a record label should really be no more than 10 years. It's my belief that a five-year license is a bit too short and that the last thing you want to do is to try to re-negotiate a license to remain part of a record label's roster. Additionally, a 10-year license is beneficial in terms of your visibility in the market. For example, if a label is doing a Best of compilation, a 10-year anniversary album, or something similar, there's an opportunity for your music to be included. Another way to structure the deal is that the label gets a license to your masters for five years, after which it renews with the same terms for another five years unless you object.
How much do I get paid for licensing my music?
You can determine what you think your masters are worth for this five- to 10-year period. Consider the upfront expenses you incurred in producing the music, such as studio time, and mixing and mastering eng
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Words: Chuck Fishman
