Expert: Terrance Copley - 11/8/2007

Question
Hello Mr Terrance Copley:


I am a singer/songwriter musician, performer of Blues, rock style music for many years now. I am an indie artist.
Never signed by any label. I have written many songs, recorded many rough demos, made a quality CD of original
music which I have on CD Baby and a variety of digital distributiors, online radio podcasts, etc. I am registered
with BMI. I will join the musicsubmit.com sometime in the very near future, as well. At the moment, I use the
CD Baby page and myspace.com as a webaddress. Also, a free webpage at soundclick.com I don't have my own website.
I am really frustrated as I don't play enough shows to have real exposure. And, holding musicians together is
difficult as they tend to come and go for a variety of reasons. I've performed with my own group for the past
few years and held a "in-house gig" at a local nightclub for approximately one year. I would like to upgrade the
process by playing full time, somehow.


I live overseas, in Asia. I feel limited in my options as a performer due to being abroad. Visas are a problem,
language barrier, cultural differences, etc. tend to keep the fan base at a minimum, unfortunately.
I am not able to return to the USA in the short term so I am currently searching other avenues for ways to either
make the best of where I'm at or try to relocate back home to USA, sometime in the future. Or on to the next exotic destination...
What do you advise as far as building a "business" of playing music while living abroad?

And, as to returning home to USA, what advise can you offer as to how to relocate so as I am not going back "cold?"
I have been overseas for many years and am kind of out of touch as to what is going on back there.
Where is a good city for Blues? Any tips on how to line up mucisians, while I'm still overseas? Is it practical to
find a booking agent in advance? How to find a booking agent? Where to look? Do they even still exist? Is it
possible to play music full time without having to live like a refugee? What advice for music related day jobs?
Etc? Etc? Any other information is also most useful and appreciated.



Also, I am currently searching other avenues to make money from my music.
I've a number of questions concerning songwriting, submitting songs to "song pitch" agencies for movie
trailers, backing tracks, commercials, etc. and submitting songs to established acts, for the artist to use.
Pardon me as some of the questions may be a bit naive or somewhat off the mark, though necessary.


I do not want to outright sell my copyrights but will consider leasing the music to TV, movie, commerical outlets, etc.
And, I would also agree to having the songs recorded by an established artist, if possible.
I have investigated a variety of the song pitch outfits, was a member of Taxi, and am a member of a few others at
the moment. I think most of those song pitch agencies are not very useful and perhaps a waste of time and money.

You've advised other artists to hire a manager to pitch the songs.
How/What/where do I do to find the right kind of manager to push my songs to an established singer who is already at the top? Do I contact the Local Musician's Union and ask for managers? Is there a website directory to look for? What agencies offer manager's who will specifically engage in this task for me?
Can an average manager move the music to the publicists? Can the publicists connect with movie, video, trailer, backing track, jingle contacts that the "song pitch" agencies as Taxi, pump audio, etc all claim to do? Or is there a special manager or publisher I need to contact for this task, as well?
Does a manager typically take approximate 20-25 % of the total artist earnings? Or is this only for tour and general managers of acts.
What fees might a publisher expect?
My songs are copyrighted and paperwork is in order. Is there anything I specifically need to do to maintain legalities as a songwriter for other artists, or myself?

What is a typical cost to hire a publisher? If I hire a publisher, do I have to surrender my copyrights?
What are advantages to hiring a publisher?
Disadvantages to hiring a publisher?
Is it useful, to hire both a manager and publisher for only songwriting?
Is it profitable hiring both, in the short run, as they may wind up taking half, or more of the earnings of any song?
If a song is chosen by an established singer, or by a movie as a backing track, etc. and I own copyrights, I should be allowed the same royalties and percentages as an established songwriter, correct? And, not have to surrender any rights?
If I contract with the manager, who in turn finds a suitable publisher, there is still no guarantee that the songs will be chosen by anybody. Do I still have to pay publishers & managers for their services or is it safe to assume that if they can somehow place a song, then everyone makes money and if not, I don't have to pay them. Correct?
What might be a typical earning to lease a song to a movie company? (I know it depends on budget, scale, etc)
What might be a typical earning to submit/lease a song to a performing artist?

Do I need to be a professional or semi-pro before anybody will consider it, with some track record and names to drop as connections?
For trailers, commercials, Video, etc, a quality recording is necessary.
Do the songs that are submitted to established artists also need to be "radio ready" as the song pitch outfits insist upon?
Or is it okay to send a rough demo of a song to a star who will re-record the song anyway, if chosen?

Etc. Etc.


Any information is most appreciated. Thanks.


Joe  

Answer
wow...lots of great questions so i will answer them in order. That is a tough situation where language and marketing / promotion may not work because of it so you are doing the right thing by playing all the time. What you may want to do is to maybe take out an ad written in the local language and even though they may not understand the lyrics, you may want to emphasize dancing because that important in any language and to double check your set list to make sure that you have plenty of dance material. I recall when i was playing bass for johnny rivers we went on a world tour. some of these places i know they didn't understand all the lyrics but they recognized the songs and the beat. what you may want to do is set up a myspace site and solicit people in your region as friends and invite them to gigs. this really worked for my band "The Catz in the Hatz". I think this is all you can do at this time where you are at...MARKET AND PROMOTE AND NEVER /EVER STOP. As far as building business abroad including the u.s., you may want to focus on a city of preference via myspace or web search for blues/rock style. this has really helped my band alot via networking through myspae. Please don't let the site just sit there, you can get alot done just by this one site. Music submit is awesome ! we still us it and had alot of Internet radio play...but that all they focus on. what you want to do is if you do plan to move is to solicit friends in that area ( don't forget to search bars/nightclubs on myspace as well as the web in that area. solicit radio stations 1 month before you get there so they can promote you. you may want to go to
http://www.sonicbids.com/ OR AIRPLAYDIRECT.COM ( FREE) and solicit radio from there as well as send press kits for free.  All the major cities here in the U.S. have many places that have music 7 nights a week but a word of warning...they don't pay much ( 200-300 per night for 4 guys )so go to theses major cities on the web and check their entertainment listings. you can look up and find musicians by checking www.craigslist.com and select the city of intrest.also, there are lots of websites that musicians us to network like myspace and www.indie911.com. try booking these yourself you may be surprised that you can do it. Unless you have lots of business to take care of, you wont need a manager so you can do it..its simple......draw up goals for this coming year with a timeline and use the Internet to do it. want radio play, search 'RADIO PLAY' want an agent, search 'MUSIC AGENTS"...ITS THAT SIMPLE. want to submit you music to film? search " submit my music to film".There is a new company called http://www.isynx.com/ they will submit your music to film and take a percentage when it happens...the band I'm in has done this..and its free to list and upload. They will answer all you question as far as contracts and percentages as will all the search results you get so i wont go into great detail.

but you asked so here is my take on music publishing.....but before that, when i played with johnny rivers i found he had every dollar he ever made since secret agent man his secret he told me? publishing !

The simple answer would be that they work with songwriters, who compose music and/or lyrics, just as a book publisher would work with an author.

Many individuals in the music business, unless they're directly involved in music publishing, have a poor understanding of the particulars of publishing. Couple that with the fact that the laws and procedures vary from country to country and it often becomes quite a daunting task to get a solid understanding of the field. However, in this article, I will attempt to bring some clarity to the complexities of music publishing. Songwriters can use this guide to learn about the basics, from both a US and UK perspective when possible — the laws, registration procedures, collection guidelines and licensing issues differ between the two countries.

Whether you're based in the US or the UK, there are plenty of options open when you decide that you are ready to work with a publisher. Before you start to look for a publisher to work with, you should first understand the three basic types of publishers. The first is described as an administrator. Usually an individual or small company, they provide a service, for a small commission, to the songwriter by handling all aspects of the registration, licensing and collection processes which I'll outline later. However, they do not normally pay advances (which I'll also discuss later in the article) and usually do not offer any creative services. The next level of publishers are called 'independents', a category which includes my company, Reach Global. An independent offers the same administration services as an administrator, but also provides creative services and offers competitive advances to songwriters. Their client lists would usually be made up of mid-level artists plus talented songwriters and producers.

Most big stars like Jay Z and Eminem align themselves with the third type of publisher, called a major. Major publishers like Universal, Warner Chappell, Sony, BMG and EMI pay millions of dollars in advances to the songwriters and artists in order to maintain their market share.
As a songwriter, publishers' contractual language will often look foreign to you. Copyrights are assets, just like a piece of land or a house that you own. If you know how complex a mortgage contract is for a home, it's no surprise that a publishing agreement can often be difficult to understand. Don't sweat it; there are a few basic terms that will give you a foundation for understanding the scope of the publishing agreement. Here are a few definitions:
Advance/Recouping: This is the financial arrangement within the agreement where the publisher advances money to the songwriter, before the publisher has collected any income. This concept is often used to satisfy the financial needs of the songwriter, as the entire process of registration, licensing and collection can often take a year or more to come to fruition. The songwriter should understand that if the publisher has paid them an advance, they will not receive any royalties until the publisher makes back their money and turns a profit, often known as 'recouping'.
Split: This is defined as the share of income that both the publisher and songwriter will be entitled to. Percentages often range from 90/10 in favour of the songwriter to 50/50, usually common when a company invests a large amount of money upfront to a songwriter as an advance against future royalties.
Co-publishing Deal: This is a certain type of publishing deal where the publisher and the songwriter are each 50 percent owners of the copyright. They agree to share the income from the copyright on a 50/50 basis.
Administration Deal: Without a share of the copyright, the publisher agrees to service the writer by collecting all sources of income and handling all aspects of administration on a commission basis. The range usually goes between 5 and 25 percent but varies from deal to deal.
Term: This defines how long the agreement is actually binding, and could be anywhere from six months to forever.
Territory: Refers to the 'territories' or countries where the agreement is binding. It is common to have a worldwide agreement, or sometimes to carve out particular countries, such as when a publisher negotiates an exclusive deal solely for Japan or the United Kingdom.
MDC: This stands for the 'minimal delivery commitment'. It is the amount of material or songs that a songwriter is required to deliver (for commercial release) during the term of their agreement. The MDC is based on 100 percent ownership of the song. A songwriter who agrees to a MDC of five songs will have to deliver 10 songs if they only write the music and thus get only a 50 percent share of the song. This is a common occurrence since most songwriters specialise in either writing the music or the lyrics but not both.
What does a music publisher do? What kind of royalties do songwriters earn? The general answer I gave above can be fleshed out by saying that a music publisher is responsible for four basic areas of importance to a songwriter. Those areas are song registration, licensing, royalty collection and creative matters. Let's break those areas down. First off, it all begins with paperwork. The registration process can sometimes be a boring and tedious job that only a publisher could enjoy. During the initial song registration process, the publisher usually informs ASCAP, BMI or PRS about the new song and relays all the relevant information to them.
publishing 2 Royalty

How licensing works in the United States.

There is also an organisation called the Harry Fox Agency which deals with the licensing and collection of mechanical royalties. For a commission, the HFA can collect mechanical royalties via record sales throughout the world. Although some publishers and writers rely on the HFA, it is an optional service as publishers have the ability to collect mechanical royalties without the aid of the HFA.

Music publishers also must be knowledgeable about new technology and the licensing of additional revenue streams such as ringtones — songwriters must have a publisher issue a separate licence for ringtone use, and the popularity of ringtones among teenagers leads me to believe that this source of income is not a passing fad but will only get bigger in the years to come. In the US, the publisher will issue a licence to a phone carrier (Verizon Wireless, Nextel or Sprint for example) or a ringtone provider such as Blingtones or Zingy. The publisher would then receive the income directly from the ringtone provider. In the United Kingdom, the income is collected by the collection society rather than directly from the source, just as with mechanical royalties. Generally the income on a ringtone is about 10 cents (for 100 percent of the copyright) in both the US and the UK.

With the worldwide explosion of DVD, songwriters should also be aware that a separate licence is needed for collecting the royalties generated by this popular format. The royalty is usually about 12 cents (for 100 percent of the copyright), though an advance payment fee is also sometimes available through negotiation. The income structure is about the same for both the US and the United Kingdom, though you need to keep in mind that in the US, the royalties can be collected directly from the manufacturer, while the royalties in the UK have to be collected by the society.
So, through registration and licensing, we've come to the third part of the publisher's role: royalty collection. Song registration and licensing allows the publisher to collect your proper amount of royalties from all sources. We've already discussed performance and mechanical royalties, but there is another royalty type called 'synchronisation' royalties. These usually occur as a one-off negotiated flat fee whenever music is 'synchronised' to a moving picture. By way of example, sync fees are paid if your song is used in a movie, TV show, commercial or video game. An experienced publisher will negotiate the sync fees and issue the requisite licences. (Future residual royalties are further paid by the performing rights societies for many sync rights.) A music publisher works diligently to collect all of these income streams from the various sources.
publishing 4 US mechanicals
How mechanical royalties are collected in the US.

Lastly, there is the fourth element: creative exploitation of the song. Publishers can often spend a large part of their time attempting to 'pitch' the song to advertising agencies, music supervisors who work in film and TV and video game producers. The creative energies of a publisher can bring untold new opportunities to songwriters both artistically and financially.

Do I Need A Publisher?
As a songwriter, how do you decide whether you need a publisher or not? I always tell my clients that if they are doing more work on the administration of their songs than on the creative process, then it might be time to relinquish some control of their catalogue to a publisher. If you are equally as talented with business and the creative arts, you might find it challenging to try and work your own catalogue. However, the administrative processes that I have outlined above will quickly hamper the creative process without a firm grasp of the issues, especially if your songs are played and sold all over the world. For example, if you have a big hit in Japan, can you speak Japanese and make sure you're getting all the money you deserve? I bet not. If you compare the issue to other business concepts like taking on a manager or finding a lawyer to work with, you will probably lean towards working with a publisher. And why not — you should be more focused on the creative process than anything else.

The act of actually picking out a publisher to work with should be aided by consultation with an experienced music professional like a manager or music-business lawyer. You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions of your peers: Are you happy with their service? Do they pay royalties on time? What have they done for you in terms of creative exploitation? In addition, you should research the company you are attempting to link up with. Do they have four other songwriters just like you? Are you going to be a forgotten face or a small fish in a big pond? Ask yourself what exactly you're looking for in signing with a publisher.

hat's all very well if you have a track record as a songwriter and can choose to sign with any of a number of publishers. But what if you're not at that stage yet? How should an unknown songwriter go about finding a publisher and getting his or her songs sold?

I recommend that as a songwriter, you take as much interest in your career as possible. That means joining societies like NARAS (National Academy of Arts
Hope this helps
Terry Copley
The Catz in the Hatz Jazz band
2008 Grammy  2nd round nominees 2008 Grammy Awards / JAZZ
www.myspace.com/catzinthehatz