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Songwriting & Music Publishing

© 1984-2008 David J. Spangenberg
All Rights Reserved

8 Week Complete Course
Up-to-date for 2008

Includes Sample Contract
between Songwriter & Publisher
and How to Negotiate it

Step by Step, in Simple,
Easy-to-understand Language


This course shows you how
to become a Successful...

Songwriter

Artist-Songwriter,

Producer-Songwriter,

and/or Publisher

If you wish to become a successful Songwriter in the The Music Business, you should know how the Music Business operates and the correct steps to take, in the right order, to achieve that success.

Likewise, if you wish to become a very successful Music Publisher, you must choose the "right" Songs and Songwriters [including yourself], and know what steps to take for you to successfully help them [and therefore, yourself] move up the "Road to Success".

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Songwriting/Music Publishing

INSTRUCTOR NAME: David J. Spangenberg

COURSE LENGTH: 8 Weeks

Upon completion of this course...

1. As a Songwriter, or Singer/Songwriter you will know how to write a marketable song that someone will wish to "buy".

2. As a Music Publisher, Artist, or other producer of musical material, you will know what to look for in a creative and marketable song.

3. You will be able to protect (Copyright) your musical material correctly and safely.

4. As a Songwriter, Singer/Songwriter, Artist or Music Publisher, you will be able to record your musical material, both demos and masters, correctly & cost-effectively.

5. You will be able to choose the "correct" people to aid you in the recording process, if/when needed, (including Musicians, Singers, Engineers, Sound Designers, Arrangers and Producers,) and be able to deal with them financially, contractually, and personally.

6. You will be able to choose the correct Recording Studio for your needs and know how to deal with them, financially and otherwise.

7. You will know who will be interested in hearing your songs and be able to place your musical material in "the right hands" either personally, or through an "Agent".

8. You will be able to read, understand and negotiate the important points of Songwriter/Music Publisher Contractual Agreements.

9. You will know what Music Publishing Companies do, how they "operate", and how Songwriters and Publishers make money.

10. You will be able to start and run Your own Music Publishing Company - the easy way.

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Sample Pages From the Course...

Songwriter's & Music Publishing Course
By David J. Spangenberg
© 1984, 1991, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 David J. Spangenberg
All Rights Reserved
Week 1: An Introduction to Music Publishing

I. Introduction:

(Note: Since the subject of Music Publishing is usually confusing, let alone misunderstood by most people, it's important to spend the first week's lesson immediately painting a clear picture of what Music Publishing is, and then go into greater detail later on in the course.)

When you think of the word "Publishing", most people think of "Books", and that a Publisher sells books. Well, at one time there were no records or tapes, let alone, CDs, MP3's, Videocassettes and DVDs. Originally, people received all their music in the form of Sheet Music, that is, printed documents that contained words and notes of songs that allowed people to stand around a piano and sing with their friends and relatives.

Sheet Music still sells, (as well as Books of Sheet Music, known as "folios") but this is a very small part of one of the most profitable parts of the Music Business. Songwriters and Music Publishers also can make sizable amounts of money worldwide from…

Simply put, whenever a Song is performed, no matter who performs it, the Songwriter and Publisher could (should) benefit! It is also the Music Business's best-kept secret - how it is possible to sometimes make quite a lot of money, with very little time and effort. Therefore, there's a lot of competition for publishing rights - and the money that goes with it. Today, many Songwriters and Producers, as well as many others in the Music Business have their own Publishing Companies - something unheard of 30 years ago - because they want the publishing rights and the money that goes with them. In most cases, two or more publishing companies will make deals with each other.

By the end of this course, you will have all the pieces to the puzzle - how you can be a part of this very profitable segment of the Industry. Of course, you have to first understand what Music Publishing is and how that section of the Music Industry operates, so that you can become successful - without getting "ripped-off".

A little history of Music Publishing is necessary at this point. Before 1960, most people in the Industry, as a matter of course, went to Music Publishers for their Songs. The Publishers had Songwriters on staff as salaried employees, as well as other Songwriters constantly contributing Songs. But since then, many Singers/Bands/Groups began writing their own Songs. That isn't to say that Artists, Managers and Record Producers don't go to Publishers looking for material, or that Publishing Companies can't still place Songs for Songwriters. They can and still do, but not as often as they used to.

Also with the advent of technology, many of the pure definitions of roles in the industry have changed: mainly the Songwriter, the Arranger, and the Producer. Nowadays, a single person can sit at a computerized keyboard, in their home studio, and write, and/or arrange and produce Songs; not realizing which role(s) they are playing. Actually…

(Note Regarding "Rap" music: Often I've noticed that the person doing the "Tracks" (see arrangement) is given credit as a writer. In actuality, the tracks person is not really a Writer, he/she is an Arranger, but as long as it's mutually agreed-to that they get credit as a Writer, then it's acceptable.)

The mixing together of various elements, including setting/choosing…

… to achieve the final "Sound" you hear on a Record.

It is important, and therefore I am including in this course, information for Songwriters who are also Singers and Group or Band Members as well as Producers. Also, understanding Publishing is very important to the Managers in that they receive commissions from the Artist's Publishing, or they have a Publishing Company of their own; and Producers of Artists, in that Publishing is a rich source of income for them.

It is important to note, also, that packaging the Artist and Song together and selling them as one entity, has become a very important consideration to most Publishers - it makes the job much easier for them. They then don't have to search for an Artist willing to record the Song(s).