Before You Sign With Anyone...

Everything You Need To Do
To Be Prepared For
Anything You Want To Do
In the Music Business

By: Professor Pooch

© 2008, 2009, 2010 David J. Spangenberg

It is quite well known that the entire Music Industry is in flux and quite a lot of time and energy is spent by everyone trying to figure out and cope with all the changes that are occurring.

For example, let's look at the option [yes, nowadays it's an option] of dealing with the well-known "Record Companies", for example…

Note: I put Record Companies in "quotes", because, nowadays the term "Record Company" may also include any Entertainment Oriented Company with power and/or money and/or knowledge, and/or a great work ethic, such as what "Live Nation" is doing with U2, Jay-Z, Madonna, etc., for example.

Some of the newer, preferred types of deals by the Major Labels, their subsidiaries, and large Indies are:

… plus other variations that are coming into existence seemingly everyday in The Digital Era.

Simply put, without going into a ton of detail, if an Artist wants to sign with a Major or one of their "Subsidiaries", taking into account the direction the larger Companies are taking nowadays, you must understand that these Companies will be more likely to sign Artists that look like they know what they are doing; that is, those Artists who have their biz together, including drawing a large amount of fans to their concerts, creating a large buzz at least regionally, and hopefully selling 25-50,000 downloads and/or CDs on their own.

Then again, maybe you just want to DIY [do it yourself], and keep a good amount of control of your project. You can DIY with a good deal of persistence, work, and at least a good, basic knowledge of the Music Biz and the Internet. And actually, you may eventually profit money-wise and otherwise way more than if you were with a Major!

Or maybe you want to aim somewhere in-between, say going with an already established Indie Label.

But, before you even decide to move ahead with any route through the Music Business, you need to take care of your Own Artist/Band/Group/Songwriting/Publishing/ Production/Management and/or Label Business. This includes those of you interested in dealing with the Major Labels, doing it yourself, or anywhere in-between. That is, if you wish to succeed - AND make money - AND be protected!

First, there are things that you should at least know about, or better yet, do, before you even think of signing with a Manager, Production or Record Company as an Artist; or setting yourself up as a Management, Publishing, Production Company or Indie Label so that you can retain at least some of the Creative, Financial & Legal Control - plus know, or at least look like you know what you are doing! This way you also have a much better chance of attracting legitimate, professional People and Companies, instead of wasting time and energy attracting those who have no idea about how the Music Biz operates - or people trying to just take advantage of you and/or your project. In other words, you should prevent yourself from wasting time, money, as well as your sanity - and being ripped off.

Here are the 12 important items you should seriously think about doing to set yourself up for a smoother and safer journey:

1. Sorry, but I've got to start out with, "You Only Get One Chance To Make A 1st Impression"! You need to be GREAT - not just "Good". There are tons of "Good Artists" and "Good Songwriters" and "Good Managers" and "Good Producers", etc. You want [need!] to stand out from the crowd! You and/or your Product or Project need to be GREAT!

2. If you're a Singer or Musician in, or a Manager of a Group or a Band, there are 2 things that must be 1st agreed to before going any further:

Is any musician[s] "more important" than any other[s]? That is, for example, are all singers/musicians considered equal, or are some "paid employees"? Another example might be if 3 in the band were together for 5 years and one just joined, maybe they'd get lesser percentage.

Note: The Songwriter is the Creative entity who creates the Songs, and Publisher is the Business entity who owns the Songs and handles the business for the Songwriter. [There should be a 50-50 split of all income between the two!]

Some Songwriting/Publishing options are:

In my opinion, a fair compromise is "ii". Here the songwriters are credited with their creation, but the Band as a whole shares the Publishing income for their contributions - and to feel part of the team.

I also recommend that the contract state [I'll get into contracts, later] that it only includes songs performed and/or recorded by the Band, and not necessarily for work outside of the Band.

3. If you Manage or are in a Band, the Band should have a "Band Agreement", which is basically a Partnership Agreement between the members of the Band. It should cover quite a lot, including: splits of ownership of Publishing, Recordings and the Band Name, etc., splits of moneys on all accounts, what happens if you add or drop a member[s], sharing of responsibilities, what happens if…, etc., etc., etc.

4. Songwriting & Publishing - Protecting and getting paid for the Songs.

When you pick one of the PRO's, download both the Songwriting & the Publishing Applications, and fill them in, print them out, and send them in.

Note: I'm not going to go into detail here on why this is so important, but I'll simply say to you - Songwriting and Publishing is where a large chunk of your money comes from, especially if you're an Artist - and people need to know WHO to pay for your services!!!

Go to professorpooch.com, in the "Free Library" section for free info on the "How to… why's and wherefores".

5. I highly recommend you research your name and "Trademark" it [™]. If you don't, there's a reasonable chance someone else might already be using Your name, or Company or Band name.

Note: I actually did a "name search" for one Band, and found six others that were active Bands with the exact same name! I recommend you go through MySpace and check out your name, as well as other fan and networking sites, or by just putting it in "Google".

I also know of Managers that have owned well-known Group Names, and they'll have 3 groups of people claiming to be that same Group playing in three different places the same day!

To do a Trademark search, go to:

http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

…and towards the top of the right column click on "Search" and follow the directions.

Simply put, you want to own your name since you are putting time and energy into promoting your name. And, if you don't own the name, and you become successful, some other Person, Company, Band, or even your Record Company or Manager may be tempted to own it themselves!

6. If you are paying for your Recordings - you own them.

Note: Did you ever notice the (P) on a CD or wherever. That stands for the Ownership of the Production [Sound Recording] Copyright [SR form], and will normally list the Record Company after it. [The (c) stands for the ownership of the underlying song - Published or Un-Published.]

And, if you own your recordings, why not form your own Record Company? How? ::Poof:: you are a Record Company. Congratulations!

But yes, you should also sign a Production Company/Recording Contract with yourself! That way, if you become even moderately successful on your own, they may have to deal with you as a Production or Record Company - and not just as an Artist. [Remember what I said towards the beginning of this commentary about "up-streaming"?]

Without going into a ton of detail here, you may earn a lot more creative and legal control of your situation when dealing with a larger company - including receiving a bigger piece of the financial pie! And, to take it one step further, you can even sign other Artists/Bands to your label :)

7. If you are a Record Company and/or Performer, sign up with "Sound Exchange" [soundexchange.com] to pay for Internet and other mainly digital Performances.

8. I recommend you Incorporate, to protect your personal assets and for tax reasons, etc. And remember to ask for an EIN# [tax ID number].

9. Check People and Companies Out Thoroughly - Including Me! Make sure you check out the people you think you may want to learn from or deal with. Nowadays it's very easy:

Put the person's name in "Google", for example.

[I invite you to put "Professor Pooch" or my legal name, "David J. Spangenberg" into the search engines, besides checking out my site that has my resume, along with my teachings - professorpooch.com. My MySpace is: myspace.com/professor_pooch]

Also, ask people who know these people and Companies, and are possibly signed with them, etc., their thoughts on that person or company. Keep in mind, that the person can only give you an opinion, and there are 2 sides to every story.

The people you deal with can either help your career -or hurt your career, even if they don't mean to, by not knowing the music business and how it operates, or actually are in good graces with the people that can further help you. Remember, it's not only important whom you know, but more importantly, who knows You!

10. Partnership Situations

If you are working with anyone else in some form of a sharing or partnership situation, you should have an agreement spelling out the needs and protections that fit your situation.

As I state on my Site describing Partnership Agreements:

"[This includes Band members and their relationship with each other!] The contract people don't think about until it's often too late - an agreement between the people sharing the money and responsibilities of running one or more company(s) - including offshoots! [E.g.- "Management Company" and/or "Production Company" and/or "Publishing Company", etc.] - whether it's 2 partners to 50! This type of Agreement [should] distributes responsibilities, shares, money, protection to each partner, etc., etc.

Too many times I've heard, "I thought I knew this person!" or "They're family!" or "I grew up with them!" And then…

Simply put, people change, or their situations change, including outside influences, including people, in their lives. It's better to have your situation spelled out clearly in entirety before you enter into a situation, so that everyone feels comfortable and knows what they are getting their selves into.

11. Contracts, Contracts & More Contracts…

Yes, to become successful - including keeping your money and sanity - you'll have to deal with Contracts, whether you want to or not…

Believe me, I've run into way too many people coming to me crying, "Pooch, Get Me Out Of This Damn Contract!!!" What people don't understand is that too often what has been left OUT of a Contract, is just as or more important as what's IN it. And if the person who wrote it doesn't fit it to you and your exact situation, wants and needs, there's no way you'll be safely covered.

I've seen way too many Music People waste too much time, energy and money dealing with poorly written or inaccurate contracts. And it's much easier, time efficient and less expensive to prevent a disaster, than to undo one.

Simply, I've run into way too many people that didn't put the agreement in writing before they'd started a project, and have been screwed!

It's simple, either deal with someone like me, a Music Business Contract Specialist with 25 years of experience who works nationally, or go to an Entertainment Attorney who specializes in the Music Business.

Let this person know your exact situation and any concerns you may have. This person then will be able to protect you by personalizing an agreement that will allow you to safely move ahead in your dream job!

One last thing: If someone pressures you into signing an agreement without letting you take time to look it over and/or allowing someone who knows the business really well to negotiate the contract for you, escape as fast as you can! Not only is the contract most probably no good or worthless, but the person or company offering you the contract, also! Keep in mind that, contracts are only as good as the people entering into them.

12. Learn The Music Business! For what reason, WHY should you be knowledgeable about, and be concerned with, all of the above and below?

To the point, if you have all your bases covered as I described above, you are business-wise and legally set up to safely and profitably do almost anything, and deal with almost any and everybody in the Music Industry - including just Doing It Yourself, if you wish to…

You should learn at least the Basics of the Music Business and how it operates so you even know how to question interested parties to see if they really know what they're talking about or doing. [Beware of "Name Droppers!"]

A great way to start would be going through my Music Business Education & Information Web Site

Also, I recommend you check out my easy-to-read-and-understand, down-to-earth book and courses on that site, including my all-in-one "Music Biz Complete"…

http://www.professorpooch.com/Special.htm

It's an easy-to-understand, down-to-earth picture of the Music Biz, with all my Courses and Book - 700 pages that will show you how to operate safely and successfully in it.

If you have any questions on any of the above, or need any of my guidance or contract services, feel free to contact me…

Please Re-post This in entirety for All Your Music Business Friends…

Professor Pooch
Music Business Guidance
Education & Direction
Complete Contract Services

Email: Professor Pooch LLC