September 19, 2016  

The Uniquely US Challenge That Indie Artists Face When Asked To License Music To Indie Filmmakers, For Free

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Over the last few years I’ve been approached by several indie filmmaker friends seeking my help on getting music licensed for their indie film projects. While some have had budgets, most have asked for recommendations on getting music for free. Now, as an advocate for indie music creators and rights owners, I tend to disregard “no compensation” opportunities as taking advantage of artists and/or devaluing the work of music creators (although the folks behind the opportunities are wicked good people).

 

Several times I’ve had to respectfully tell my indie filmmaker friends that I could not share their “music placement” opportunity, but instead I could direct them to resources to license music for cheap.

 

I’ve since realized that what I have not done was explain why, specifically in the United States, giving filmmakers music for free is frowned upon. So, in this post I aim to do that.

 

But first, I will say that I understand and agree that many opportunities for music placed in film — as well as TV shows and commercials — can be a huge break for up-and-coming artists. Productions that are widely released and viewed can result in significant exposure for the music, which can translate into increased radio airplay, digital downloads, and audio and video streams, which dramatically increases the artist’s income potential and exposure. There’s a long history of songs from movie and TV soundtracks going Gold & Platinum and topping the charts.

 

That being said, small indie film projects are typically not the productions that create these kind of success stories. In fact, I’d argue that over 90% of independently produced projects do little by way of “exposure” for artists (if you’re an independent artist reading this who’ve had your music placed in film, please comment and share your experience).

 

The reality is many indie film  projects do not have the distribution or exposure to generate the volume of public consumption to translate into significant benefit for the artists who contributed music to the film. This is because only a small percentage (maybe less than 1%) of the people who’ve watched the movie would actually make any effort to track down a song placed in the movie.

 

Now, let’s talk about how artists get paid for music licensed to films. I am focusing solely on commercially released songs being licensed to a film. I am not going into the details of original songs composed for a film, film scores, or any “commissioned” work for a film. I am strictly talking about a filmmaker asking an artist to use an already recorded and released track.

 

Ok, so typically, a production company should obtain what’s called a synchronization license from the artist (or label) to use the track in the film.

 

The term “synchronization” refers to the act of synchronizing a sound recording to a motion visual embedded in a video. A production company should pay two (2) fees for licensing music to film: master use fee and synchronization fee.

 

The master use fee is a fee paid to the artist (or his/her label if they are signed to a record label) for the use of the sound recording, also known as a “master.” The synchronization fee is a fee paid to the songwriter (or his/her publisher if they are signed to a publishing company) for the use of the song, also referred to as the composition.

 

The artist/label owns the sound recording/master. The songwriter/publisher owns the song/composition (for example the song “Diamonds” by Rihanna was actually co-written and is co-owned by Sia and her publisher; but the sound recording of “Diamonds” that you hear on the radio is owned by Rihanna’s record label. Both the writer/publisher and the artist/label must get paid for the use of “Diamonds” in a movie; those are two separate copyrights).

 

Alright that was a crash course on publishing.

 

In order for a filmmaker to license a piece of commercially released music to your film, you need a synchronization license from the independent artist (I’m going back to talking about independent artists, although I used Rihanna (a “major” artist) in my example above). An independent artist may not have a publisher nor a label, so he/she is the sole owner and should still get paid the synch fee (for the song/composition) AND the master use fee (for the sound recording/master).

 

Now, so far I’ve talked about what’s known as the up front fees. These are the fees you, filmmaker, would pay to an independent artist to put their music in your movie. But like I said in the beginning, many filmmakers have asked me to help them get music for free. 😦

 

I wouldn’t mind this too much if we weren’t talking about small projects that will be released (and generate most of its viewership) in the United States.

 

Why?

 

Outside of the United States, artists earn public performance income from the movie theaters. That’s right, movie theaters must pay public performance fees to public performance organizations for exhibiting movies. These backend royalties can add up if the movie becomes popular and has many showings across many territories.

 

However, in the United States movie theaters are exempt from having to pay public performance fees. This means, independent artists (specifically, singer-songwriters) do not earn income from movie theaters when they exhibit movies containing their music.

 

So, when you do not earn up front fees from synch and master use fees, because the filmmaker “doesn’t have a budget for music” AND you do not earn backend royalties from U.S. movie theaters, because they are exempt from paying what theaters in other countries pay, it is frowned upon to give music for free to U.S. filmmakers making low budget movies. Because these low budget projects may not have the distribution and marketing backing of it’s major and big-independent counterparts, the potential for the movie to generate “non-compensation benefits” for the artist (e.g. radio airplay, downloads, streams, awards, etc.) is significantly low.

 

Basically, if your indie film is being released in a few United States independent theaters and then on DVD and you want music for free, it will be a challenge. There is no substantial benefit for the artist.

 

All that being said, there are several examples of small budget projects generating grassroots marketing buzz and cult popularity that does impact the distribution and exposure of the movie, which in turn could generate benefits for artists who’ve given gratis (free) licenses to filmmakers. But this is not the norm. Furthermore, there are scenarios where you can license must free in the interim, but commit to payments based on hitting milestones such as getting distribution, hitting box office sales milestones, hitting DVD rental or sales goals, etc. This is a good way for a filmmaker who doesn’t have a big music budget to potentially negotiate with artists to defer compensation based on the performance of the project.

 

Thoughts? Questions? Stories to share? Post in the comments.
September 6, 2016  

20 Different Ways to Release an Album: From Beyonce to Frank Ocean to U2 & Beyond

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Having trouble developing a release strategy for your new album? Check out the release strategy of 20 different albums on this article “20 Different Ways to Release an Album: From Beyonce to Frank Ocean to U2 & Beyond” on Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/7495436/20-different-ways-to-release-an-album-from-beyonce-to


Also, check out my article “10 Steps to Building a Single Release Campaign” on CD Baby DIY Musician’s Blog: 10 steps to building a single release campaign: https://www.indieonthemove.com/blog/2013/11/10-ways-to-raise-funds-for-your-next-music-project-without-selling-a-single-record


Also, check out my article “10 Ways To Raise Funds For Your Next Music Project (Without Selling A Single Record)” on Indie on the Move website: https://www.indieonthemove.com/blog/2013/11/10-ways-to-raise-funds-for-your-next-music-project-without-selling-a-single-record


And always remember to REGISTER BEFORE YOU RELEASE with TuneRegistry.
August 23, 2016  

FREE WEB CONFERENCE: Artist Launch’s Virtual Music Business Summit

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FREE WEB CONFERENCE:

Artist Launch’s Virtual Music Business Summit 

August 24th, 2016, Starting at 12pm PST

• Dae Bogan (Co-founder & CEO of TuneRegistry)

• Benji Rogers (Chief Strategy Officer of PledgeMusic)

• Reggie Hawkins (Program Director of Hip Hop Nation on SiriusXM Radio)

• Cynthia Charles (Touring at AEG Live’s Urban Touring Division)

• Cherie Hu (Media & Entertainment Writer for Forbes)

Join the live Q&A on “HOW TO PROTECT AND MARKET YOUR TALENT” with Dae Bogan at 3:30pm – 4:00pm PST

See full schedule: https://karenmariemason.com/
Tune-in here: http://events.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=88530465

August 20, 2016  

On Helping African And Caribbean Artists

A collage of Blackman, a rapper from Congo to whom I provided career advice. Photos from his Facebook fan page.

Thanks to my buddy Mark Adato, and his work with the organization Africa New Day, I got to help two African independent artists from Congo with career advice. This year, through my mentorship work at SXSW and through AND, I’ve been honored to give career advice to artists in the Caribbean and Africa.
Independent artists in the United States take for granted our relatively easy and abundant access to information and resources related to the music business. Many of the artists in Africa and Carribean do not even know how to get their music on iTunes. They want desperately to share their music. I’m proud that I’ve been able to help a few get started on the right path.
I’ve even used my in-store music video network, which plays in all Shiekh Shoes stores across the United States, to showcase artists from Africa and the Caribbean to my 3 million viewers.
Connecting the diaspora through music, demonstrating our similarities through musical storytelling, and showing that entertainment defies boarders has been a humbling experience.
If you are reading this and you are an artist from Africa, reach out to Africori, which describes itself as a Pan-African music company for artists and labels. Their website is http://africori.com. They may be able to help with getting music distributed. Also, learn about copyrighting your music and collecting music royalties in your territory. You can find more information by talking to Music In Africa foundation. Their website is http://musicinafrica.net.

August 11, 2016  

DOJ 100% Licensing Rule: An UnFair Tax on Hip Hop and Works With Samples?

I often use Hip-Hop and Pop songs in my classes and workshops when discussing rights, income participation, publishing splits, and royalties because these two genres tend to have the most writers per song on average. With the recent DOJ ruling to enforce 100% licensing, songwriters have been trying to understand its impact on their careers. In his blog, TheTrichordist.com, David Lowery presents a compelling argument that the 100% licensing ruling is a “tax” on Hip-Hop music creators and rights-holders. He uses a DJ Khaled song as an example to demonstrate how the 100% licensing rule could impose unfair cost, administrative, and time prohibitive requirements on writers and publishers.

Dr. David C Lowery's avatarThe Trichordist

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Let’s look at the implications of the  DOJ 100% rule for the writers of the 5th most popular Hip Hop Song in the US this week.

These are the four samples in For Free, by DJ Khaled featuring Drake.    Each of those sampled songs also has multiple writers.  Consequently the list of writers for the composite work is quite long.  In this case there are 13 Songwriters, 4 BMI publishers and at least 3 non BMI publishers.    6 writers use ASCAP to license performing rights.  6 writers use BMI and one writer is Canadian so they use SOCAN.   As is always the case with works composed of samples,  these writers have a co-writer agreement to spell out ownership percentages and then an agreement that specifies each party will license and collect it’s own fractional share.    “You do your business and collect your money, I do…

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August 8, 2016  

Music Industry Announcements

A few music industry announcements:
1. I am giving a talk and mini-workshop on Saturday, August 13th at 11am at the Indie Entertainment Summit titled “Music Metadata Matters: How Metadata Impacts Your Income & Opportunities” followed by speaking on a panel on YouTube video monetization for DIY indie artists and bands. Get deats and tickets at http://www.IESfest.com.
2. I am organizing and hosting the Southern California Music Industry Professionals’ August Music Industry Mixer on Thursday, August 18th form 6pm to 9pm at The Federal Bar. We have a special guest speaker, Tiamo Vettori De Vettori, Founder/CEO of Musicpreneur Academy and a Music Success Coach (www.TiamoMusic.com), will give a talk “Secret High Paying Gigs: 5 Lucrative Markets for Musicians in the NEW Music Industry.” This event is FREE. Join SCMIP at http://www.meetup.com/SCMIPonline and RSVP for the mixer at http://www.SCMIP-August.eventbrite.com.
3. I have a panel submitted for SXSW 2017 on music rights and metadata in the ever evolving digital music space featuring panelists from Music Reports, BuzzAngle, TuneRegistry, and Crunch Digital. Vote for the panel and leave comments at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/62361.
4. I am now the full-time CEO of TuneRegistry, an easy-to-use music catalog and metadata management platform with built-in music administration tools for the independent music community. TuneRegistry helps music creators and rights-holders organize their music catalog and streamline administrative tasks such as registering with rights organizations. Our goal is to have 1,000 music creators and rights-holders using TuneRegistry by the end of 2016. Please tell your music industry friends and send them to http://www.tuneregistry.com for details.
To stay up-to-date about my projects, work, involvements, and my upcoming appearences subscribe to my blog at http://www.daeboganmusic.com, follow me on Twitter @daeboganmusic, and like my Facebook page Dae Bogan Music.

August 8, 2016  

Please Vote For My SXSW Panel Idea

For the past two years, I’ve been mentoring music and music tech entrepreneurs at SXSW. From music app founders to indie bands to artist managers, I’ve given my time to provide advice and guidance to awesome people working to improve their careers or businesses.

Over the last year, I’ve focused a great deal of my time on the issues surrounding rights and metadata in the music industry. My research and work has culminated in the launch of my startup, TuneRegistry, which enables music creators and rights-holders to manage their music catalogs and register their rights and metadata all in one place. We believe that by empowering music creators with a tool to organize accurate metadata and streamline the rights registrations processes, the music industry as a whole will be better accountable to artists and writers.

This summer I had the honor of teaching a course at the UCLA Music Innovation Summer Institute on the music tech business. During the program, I curated and moderated a panel on rights and metadata and invited representatives from Music Reports, Crunch Digital, BuzzAngle Music, and the co-founder of TuneRegistry to speak on the challenges we’re seeing in the digital music space. The panel went so well that I was encouraged to submit the panel to SXSW.

I am happy to say that the panel, along with the original speakers — Bill Colitre (Music Reports), Keith Bernstein (Crunch Digital), Jim Lidestri (BuzzAngle Music), and Jesse Morris, Esq. (TuneRegistry) — is up for consideration for SXSW 2017.

Please take a moment to check out the panel idea, comment, and vote at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/62361.

July 18, 2016  

TuneRegistry – Music Catalog for Artists, Labels, and Publishers

Homepage

My team has spent over a year building a platform that will help independent music creators simplify their careers. It’s called TuneRegistry and today we open to the public!

June 30, 2016  

Execs From TuneRegistry, Music Reports, Crunch Digital, And BuzzAngle Music To Co-Panel Discussion On Music Rights & Metadata At UCLA

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The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s Center for Music Innovation presents an evening panel “The Significance of Rights and Metadata in the Evolving Digital Music Ecosystem.”

As the music industry continues to be shaped and advanced by digital innovations, stakeholders face new and unforeseen business challenges. From rights holders to music licensees, data has become significantly more important to the accrual, collection, and distribution of royalties to income participants. This panel will discuss the issues relating to music rights and metadata in the digital music age and evaluate some of the ways in which these issues are being addressed by companies, music creators, and collective societies in the United States and abroad.

When: Thursday, July 7th at 6pm
Where: UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Panelists:
Jesse Morris, Morris Music Law/TuneRegistry
Bill Colitre, Music Reports
Keith Bernstein, Crunch Digital
Jim Lidestri, BuzzAngle/Border City Media

Moderator: Dae Bogan, TuneRegistry; Lecturer, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Register for free at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-significance-of-rights-and-metadata-in-the-evolving-digital-music-ecosystem-tickets-25898722777

May 23, 2016  

Breaking Bread, Giving Bread Crumbs: The Challenge Facing Beyoncé, Drake, And 150 Other People

Beyonce and Drake

Between Beyoncé’s “Lemonade”‬ and Drake’s “Views” albums‬, there are over 150 writers and producers credited across their combined 32 tracks.

I can only imagine the music compensation nightmare that will ensue over the next 12 months as streaming, DPD, and airplay royalty checks start to go out to the multi-national team of creators and rights holders.

Who is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of rights holder information across all tracks? Who is checking that digital music services have complete metadata to match sound recordings to their underlying compositions? Who is accounting to the background vocalists and session musicians?

Did every producer and engineer secure letter of directions from Beyoncé and Drake to properly claim a portion of Pandora payouts? Who is looking after the contributors who do not have multinational publishers? Will they capture their piece of neighboring rights, DART royalties, or Spotify mechanicals?

Who will lose out due to inefficiencies? Who will have money left on the table due to an inability to properly claim and collect?

These are the questions that we ask ourselves at TuneRegistry and why we’ve built the next-generation music rights & metadata management platform to empower creators and rights holders.

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