5387 Baskerville Page Proofs Chapter 3

PROFESSIONALSONGWRITING

Ive outdone anyone you can nameMozart, Beethoven, Bach,Strauss. Irvin Berlin, he wrote 1,001 tunes. I wrote 5,500.

James Brown

THE MARKET j

Everything begins with the songwriter. One creative individual must first producebefore anyone else in the music business can make a sound. Or a dollar. No song-writers, no music industryits that simple. The songs are the fuel that powers theglobal music business machine, and fill-ups are needed constantly. The great stan-dards of the pastthose songs that have stood the test of timecan always betapped, but a steady stream of new works is also crucial. The relentless rise of newforms of mediafrom radio to films to video games to the Internet to satelliteradiohas expanded both the audience for music and the commercial demandfor new product to supply new business niches. Great songs will always berequiredand songwriters with them.

That, of course, is the good news. The bad news is that only a portion of aspir-ing songwriters will ever find commercial acceptance for their material, and fewerstill will be able to build sustainable careers as songwriters. The reason for this ispartly a matter of ability (some talent, after all, is required) and partly of desirean unwillingness to work at songwriting as a serious business enterprise. But it islargely a matter of math: Publishers are inundated with submissions, their mail-rooms littered with thousands of unsolicited songs each week. Eager young song-writers descend on the recording centers like locusts. Probably 10% of the peopleflowing through the Greyhound stations in Nashville and Hollywood are carrying

25

3

Left: Radio City Music Hall, New York.

03-Baskerville.qxd 2/3/2005 1:14 PM Page 25

a suitcase full of demos, while countless iPods and hard drives in New York andMiami are stuffed with original songs, raps, or beats that hopefuls want labelexecutives to hear. Add in the lead singers cousin, the band managers neighbor,and the label VPs friend of a friendall with songs perfect for Big Label Actsnew albumand the competition for getting cuts increases exponentially.

That doesnt mean that there isnt a hearty appetite among those labels andpublishers for new songs from newcomers. As already noted, there is and willalways be a need for new material to keep the music business engine humming.It does mean that finding a way to stand out amid the clutter and connecttoactually catch the eye and the ear of the person who can move ones work froma song on paper to a record on the chartsis a game of long odds. The payoffcan be a rich one, however, for everyone concerned. To achieve it, a personmust know the craft and the business of songwriting, both the art and thecommerce.

j PREDICTORS OF SUCCESS

Is it possible to define a good song? Yesif you know what to look for. Can any-one predict professional acceptance? Sometimesif you know how. Does anyoneknow which songs will become lasting hits? No one on this earth. In a perfectworld, a good song and a hit song would be one and the same. A good song wouldbecome a hit, and hits would be good songs. Thats not always the case (just askany songwriter), so it is perhaps easier to define the two concepts separately.

A hit song is obviously one that gets significant radio airplay and helps todrive album sales. It is easily quantifiable through sales charts and airplay moni-tors. A good song is harder to objectively pinpoint, but it is safe to say that it is onethat is well crafted musically and (if applicable) lyrically.

How far can we go in predicting how any song will fare in the marketplace?Until the Beatles came along and turned the world on its ear, musicians and mer-chants had a working understanding of what a popular song was. They knewwhat made a C&W (country and western) song or an R&B (rhythm and blues)song. A certain set of songwriting criteriathis type of lyric, that type of beatcould be counted on to resonate with a certain segment of the music-buying audi-ence when matched up with the right artist. Today, these tidy classifications dontserve nearly as well, because many songs incorporate various styles and straddlemultiple genres. Tastes are not easily predictable and trends can be born fast (anddie faster). From 11th-century chansons to this weeks charts, the all-time favoriteis the love song. So thats a good bet for success, right? But there are an infinitenumber of ways to express love. Consider that we once had a hit on the chartsabout a hot love affair between two muskrats. So even within the love song genre,its difficult to classify songs or to predict what might be successful. Hits come

26 PART II j SONGWRITING, PUBLISHING, COPYRIGHT


from everywhere. This unpredictability both frustrates and encourages writers.Sometimes you just get lucky.

There are some patterns to be found, howeversome lessons to be learned fromthe past that can help predict what might work in the future. Although it is difficultto identify specific ingredients that might bring a song artistic or commercial suc-cess, we can critically examine great songs and see what they have in common. Whatmakes a Franz Schubert, a Richard Rodgers, a Duke Ellington, or a John Lennon?Is there a common denominator to be discovered within the works of Joni Mitchell,Randy Newman, Billy Joel, Diane Warren, and the creative team of Holland-Dozier-Holland? Can we identify the elements in their songs that make us love them?

Consider these general criteria, and see if they apply. A great song tends toexhibit the following characteristics:

1. The song is memorable; it sticks in the mind. This is accomplished partic-ularly by use of a hooka catchy phrase or refrain that repeats severaltimes during the song.

2. The song has immediate appeal.

3. The lyrics contain an overall theme and employ vivid phrases or imagery.That is, not Your beauty makes me love you, but perhaps, Your touchingmakes me tremble.

4. The song is well crafted: It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Even if a song has these basic characteristics of a good song, it still has only thepotential to become a hit song. Achieving that breakthrough will involve a numberof other elements beyond the songwriters control. These include the following:

1. The song gets an appealing initial performance (by a well-known per-former, it is hoped) that is captured in a recording session.

2. The record company gets behind the project and promotes strong airplayfor the recording.

3. The song and the recording suit the taste of the current market.

4. The recording is distributed effectively and made readily available nationally.

THE CRAFT j

OK, so you have a general idea of what a good song is. How do you go aboutwriting one? Not all songwriters are endowed with creative gifts. We lack evidencethat creativity can be taught. But the craft of songwriting can be learned through

Chapter 3 j Professional Songwriting 27


formal study or private instruction. All colleges accredited by the NationalAssociation of Schools of Music (NASM) offer at least 2 academic years of theorystudyharmony, ear training, music reading, orchestration, and counterpoint.And some colleges offer composition classes that include popular songwriting aswell as the traditional classical fare. These are good options to explore. What aboutthe various how-to books addressed to songwriters? Many contain useful infor-mation. Some are lightweight, get-rich-quick publications. And what about privateinstruction? Excellent, if you can find good teachers and can afford it.

Probably nothing could be more useful to a songwriter, amateur or pro, thanto select 100 of the leading standards, then study themphrase by phrase, line byline, chord by chord. To guide you in this kind of analysis, you might study AlecWilders excellent book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 19001950.Wilder, himself a first-rate songwriter, theorist, and contemporary music historian,studied not 100 songs, but several thousand. Borrow Wilders technique: If you canexamine the internal workings of 100 great melodies, 100 great lyrics, you will haveat least begun a serious study of the songwriting craft. Talk to a songwriter or readinterviews with writing legends in books, magazines, and online songwriterforums (always a good idea in itself), and you will likely hear the same thing fromthem: Serious songwriters are constantly studying their craft.

Songwriters, particularly those just starting out, will also do well to open them-selves up to advice and feedback on their early writing efforts, which likely wont beworld-class right off the bat (they may, for instance, include lyrical clichs such asright off the bat.). Here again, listen and learn. Dont become discouraged anddont take any one opinion as gospeleveryone in the music business has a storyof an eventual megahit that was initially scoffed atbut do keep an eye out forpatterns here, too: Are there particular points of criticism that keep coming up?Are your lyrics evidently confusing people, your hooks not snagging attention?Consider how you can address those shortcomings in rewrites and new songs.

Collaboration

Some of the most creative artists in the popular song field have managed towrite both words and music. If you can do this as well as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter,and Paul Simon, the world awaits. But if your strong point is music, find yourselfa lyricist. If you are good at lyrics and lack musical talent, dont try to fake it as acomposer. If you write only words or only music, dont feel that you are second-class. The great teams of Rodgers and Hammerstein, George and Ira Gershwin,Lennon and McCartney, and many others prove that two complementary talentscan turn out one powerful song together.

There are no formulas for locating a collaborator. Try hanging out with otherwriters and performers. Get the word out around town that you are looking.Contact the regional offices of performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, etc.),or call their headquarters for suggestions on regional workshops and other sources.



Check local clubs for songwriting nights. Some good writing teams got startedthrough placement of classified ads in trade papers or the Web. Whatever you do,dont pay someone to be your collaborator. Dont respond to ads soliciting songpoems. Dont give money to any so-called publisher to publish your songs or addmusic or add words. Legitimate publishers never charge writers a dime. They pay you.

When two coauthors are ready to approach publishers, they should haveworked out a clear understanding, preferably in writing, covering the essentialissues of their relationship. The agreement should provide answers to these ques-tions: Is all income generated by the collaboration to be shared equally? May onewriter make changes in the material unilaterally? Under what conditions may onewriter withdraw the words or music from the collaborative work if the workremains unpublished or otherwise unsuccessful? Under what circumstances willthe collaborative relationship terminate? May the writers concurrently write aloneor with a different collaborator? If a potential collaborator refuses to discuss theseissues or does not show an interest in compromising, consider this an early warn-ing sign of impending partnership problems.

Mention should be made that a special kind of working relationship existsbetween the composer who doesnt read or write music and a chosen arranger.Some naturally gifted songwriters get by with their intuitive talent for inventingappealing melodies that turn out to be commercially acceptable. They usually singtheir simple tunes into a tape recorder, then hire an arranger to clean up therhythm, fix the phrasing, add the harmony, and transcribe the results onto lead-sheets. (Be very clear on the copyright issues in these cases; such a relationshipmay be viewed as a co-writing arrangement, and some are indeed set up this way.)Such a composer should, however, gain command of the songwriting craft, thuslegitimizing the claim to be a professional composer. Computer notation soft-ware also is available that can help writers who havent learned that skill.

Copyright Registration

Whether it is a solo or joint effort, a finished song raises a question for its cre-ator(s): Should it be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office? Some writers file anapplication only when a song is ready to be used on an album or in another publicforum, when such registration becomes necessary for the collection of royalties.Many other writers exercise caution and register all their songs on completion. Theonly downside to this is the fee ($30 at the time of this writing). Details are on theCopyright Offices Web site (www.copyright.gov).

THE BUSINESS OF WRITING j

An ability to write good songs is only part of what it takes to make it as a profes-sional songwriter. Anyone who intends to be a serious songwriter will need to treat



the job as a business, which of course it is. The details of the business will varydepending on the type of writer one is (for instance, a singer/songwriter vs. apure songwriter) and the type of publishing arrangement one has (staff writervs. single-song contractor vs. publishing company owner, perhaps). The one con-stant is that a writer can expect to spend equal time on the job promoting his orher product. Writing and promoting, promoting and writing: This is the profes-sional songwriters life. A writer will be successful only if those songs he or shecreates are exploitedpublished, licensed, recorded, aired, performed. A commit-ment to ensuring that this happensand that the resulting royalty revenuestreams keep flowing inis what separates a songwriting hobby from a songwrit-ing business.

From Tin Pan Alley to the Brill Building . . .

In the earlier days of the record industrywhen, indeed, music was actuallyreleased on black-vinyl recordssongwriting was very much a job, in the moretraditional 9-to-5 sense. In fact, songwriters were in great demand as workers wellbefore records existed, hired by publishing companies to create popular songs forsale as sheet music. These were the heady days of Tin Pan Alley, a nickname givento the New York City street where many music publishers worked from the late1800s into the early 1950s and in whose offices some of the great song standardswere created by composers and lyricists.

By the 1950s, of course, the music business was changing, and the concurrentrise of radios popularity and expanding record sales put the focus on writing hitsongs to feed to recording artists, largely targeted at the exploding teenage market.The roles remained highly compartmentalized, however: Songwriters wrote; artistsperformed. The Brill Building, in Manhattan, became the epicenter of this equallyvital new songwriting scenea virtual hit factory where prolific and talentedsongwriters all but punched a clock. Their outputfrom teams such as Goffin &King and Mann & Weilwas staggering, and their songs remain classics of that era.

The mid-1960s saw another shift in the songwriters role with the rise of a newgeneration of artistsfrom folk singers to rock bandswho increasingly wrotetheir own songs. The solid wall between the songwriter and the performer wasbreached. Carole King was among the many brilliant Brill Building writers whoembraced the new singer/songwriter concept, reveling in the freedom to writemore personal material for herself.

. . . To the Home Studio

Today, of course, the singer/songwriter is an industry mainstay and few song-writers toil away in offices, cranking out tunes on demand (the commercial jingle



business excepted). The job description of a songwriter is now a highly flexibleone, stretching to encompass a diverse number of working styles, business affili-ations, and creative approaches. Besides the record industry, songwriters can befound plying their trade for the movie business, TV shows, video game companies,and advertising agencies.

Where a writer actually writes is a matter of personal preference. The onlyrequirement is to find an environment that works for youwhether that is com-pletely away from distractions in a quiet home studio, perhaps, or surrounded byfellow scribes in a convivial workshop setting.

Pace, too, is an individual decision. Most successful songwriters write all thetime. They write not dozens, but hundreds of songs. Many professionals like towork out a schedule, perhaps setting aside every morning for creative work. Theyisolate themselves for several hours, not permitting anything or anybody to inter-fere with their work time. Other writers are more productive working in spurts.They might stay away from their studio for days or weeks. Then they get someideas or have to meet a deadline.

When not writing, the creator is working at promoting what has been written.Some professionals think of their workweek as about half writing and half selling.Professional songwriters not only help their publishers and recording companiespush their material, they are on the street and in the studios, and around thewatering holes where the pros gather. They spread the good word. If they dont,who will know what they have written lately? How will the writer learn whatpeople are looking for in songs?

The Performers Dual Role

The person whose business is one of a performer/songwriter will have asomewhat different job focus. Many writers begin as performers, particularly inthe fields of rock, folk, and country music. In the rock field especially, almost everysuccessful group includes instrumentalists and singers who also write for the act.Although this would seem to limit opportunities for writers, many aspiring writ-ers have made initial inroads by co-writing with members of bands already underlabel contract.

Not all singer/songwriters draw the line between the two disciplines in exactlythe same place. Some see their performing careers in nightclubs and on indepen-dent label releases primarily as a valuable showcase for their songsand as anadditional revenue source. Others are performers first and foremost, who writesolely with their own label deals and recordings in mind. Still others move seam-lessly between the two sides, actively writing hits for others even as they score withtheir own releases. Where you draw the line yourself will affect how you spendyour time and how you juggle your writing and performing workloads.



j INCOME SOURCES

The type of writer that one iswhether a sole songwriter, a co-writer, or an artist/songwriterwill also have an impact on the bottom line. Table 3.1 gives a conve-nient summary of the various revenue streams that flow to writers, and Figure 3.1shows how writers and publishers incomes are related.

Income From a Recording

The two main sources of income for a writer are mechanicalsmechanicalroyalties, which are keyed to the sale and distribution of musicand performanceroyalties. These terms and other terms relating to a writers licensing royalties aredefined in the chapters that follow, but its helpful here to keep in mind that awriter always gets 50% of the mechanical royalties (the writers share); the other50%, the publishers share, may sometimes be shared with the writer, dependingon the writers publishing arrangement and the contract in effect.


TABLE 3.1. Writers Potential Income Sources

Who Pays the Writer

Writers performing rights organization

Writers performing rights organization

Recording company pays writers publisher whoshares 5050 with writer

Publisher pays pennies per song or percentage onpaper sales

Publisher shares 50% of fees received with writer

Users pay publisher, who shares with writer

Performing rights organization pays publisher,who shares 5050 with writer

Publisher shares with writer (unless writer oragent retains dramatic rights)

Varies. Licensees pay writers performing rightsorganization, or licensees pay publisher (via itsagent, Harry Fox Agency), which shares withwriter.

Note: All these uses are for nondramatic music, except dramatic (or grand) rights.

Type of Music Use

Broadcast performances (TVcommercial andnoncommercial)

Nonbroadcast performance (clubs, hotels,stadiums, business music, in-flight music,aerobic and dance studios, etc.)

Mechanical royalties (tape and CD sales)

Sheet music sales

Synchronization of music to film or tape(movies, videos)

Special permission, licenses (merchandising deals)

Jukeboxes

Dramatic (or grand) rights

Internet Webcasts, Internet music subscriptionservices, Internet music download sales, satelliteradio, cell phone musical ring tones



Here is a preview of what a songwriter might earn from just mechanicals on ahit record. Assume the following: (a) The recorded song is on an album that goesgold, sells 500,000 copies; (b) the writer in question is the composer of two songson the album; and (c) the statutory mechanical royalty rate (it changes year toyear) is 9 cents per song per album.

500,000 albums sold 9 cents per song two songs = $90,000.5050 split between publisher and writer = $45,000 each.

If this same writer wrote all 10 songs on an album that went gold (500,000copies sold), the math dictates that $450,000 would be earned from that hit album.Dont start seeing big dollar signs, however. Writers (particularly singer/songwriters)routinely negotiate a rate lower than the statutory figure with their labels, which alsooften contractually cap the total mechanicals that will be paid on any one album(more on this later). Such categories of releases as budget lines and compilationsmay also carry reduced rates. The bottom line, then, is more like this: To generate asteady living wage, the writer must write and write all the timeand must somehowget the material published and recorded on as regular a basis as possible.

BROADCASTERS

CLUBS, HOTELS, etc.

PUBLISHERWRITER

RECORD COMPANIES

VIDEO PRODUCERS

FILM PRODUCERS

100% of PerformanceLicensing

50% of Net Performance Royalty

50% of Net Performance Royalty

100% ofMechanical

50% ofSynchronization $


96.5% ofMechanical $



HARRY FOX AGENCY(Publishers Agent)

50% of Mechanical $

100% of PerformanceLicensing $

ASCAP/BMI/SESAC

FIGURE 3.1. Songwriters and Publishers Income Sources


Performance Royalties and New Revenue Streams

The other main source of income for songwriters is performance royalties,which are generated by the broadcast or performance of a writers works. Thisincome can equal or surpass that of mechanicals; a hot single, for instance, mayreceive tremendous radio airplay even when the album it is drawn from rings uponly lackluster sales. This royalty is collected by the writers affiliated performingrights organization (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC), which issues blanket licenses tobroadcasters and others for the performance of music from its catalog and thenremits monies collected to the writer based on his or her songs use in the market-place. In addition, a writer will collect income from a variety of other music uses,ranging from the old standard of sheet music and folio sales to the fairly new arenaof Webcasting royalties. Some unusual technological tie-inssuch as licensingmusic for use as cell-phone ringtoneshave proved an out-of-the-blue boon formusic creators; others will surely arise in the future.

j PUBLISHING OPTIONS

Before a writer can begin collecting any income, he or she must first get somesongs published. A writer with a portfolio of marketable material has a number ofoptions to consider. These are among the most common publishing arrangements:

1. The writer can search out an established publisher and sign that firms con-tract. Here, the writer participates only in writers income. An unknownwriter may begin with a single-song contract.

2. The writer can negotiate a contract with a publisher in which the writer getsa piece of the publishers share of the income. This kind of deal is often calledcopublishing or splitting the publishingthe two parties usually shareequally in the publishers income. This option is obviously more appeal-ing to the writer, and thus it generally takes a strong writer track record ora performer/writers cloutsuch as having an existing album deal with alabelto negotiate this arrangement.

3. The writer can set up a publishing company. This option is often appealing tosinger/songwriters who will record their own material. The writer maymake an agreement with an established publisher to administer his or hercopyrights, for a fee.

4. If the writer is also a recording artist, the personal manager under contract (oran attorney) might set up a publishing company owned by the writer andadministered by the manager for a commission.



5. The writer might enter into a partnership or set up a corporation with othersto operate a publishing company. If the writer in a corporate structure isa full-time professional writer, the corporation might pay the writer asa regular employee. Whether the writer also receives a salary overrideon writers royalties is determined by the provisions of the employmentcontract.

6. The writer might be offered a staff job by a publisher.

Staff Writers

A small number of publishers will sometimes place promising writers on staffand demand their exclusive services on a full-time basis. Most staff writers receivea weekly salary; it may be just a token payment or a living wage. Whatever its size,the payment is treated as an advance on the writers future royalty earnings.Remember, the bigger the advance, the more may have to be paid back or donewithout when the royalties start coming inits not free money.

Another kind of staff writer is also on salary, often full-time, for exclusive ser-vices. But the big difference here is that the writer is engaged to perform workmade for hire for the publishermeaning that the songs remain the exclusiveproperty of the employer, and the writer can never claim copyright. If the pub-lisher fails to exploit the songs (very common), the writer cannot recapture themafter 35 years, as is provided under the 1976 Copyright Act. If any of the songs gainthe status of a standard, this forfeiture of the right to recapture could representa substantial financial loss for the writer and the writers heirs. This kind of staffwriter owns nothing.

Still another staff position at some publishing companies is that of asong doctor. These writers rearrange and fix songs that the publisher ownsan interest in to make the copyright more palatable to a certain audience. Forexample, the song doctor would rearrange a song to sound modern countryin order to present it to a Nashville producer. The song doctor also makes smalladjustments in the work to improve its overall condition. These positions areoften salaried.

Early in a career, a writer might be so hungry that accepting a work-made-for-hire job is the only option. But it would be wise to seek a more attractive long-termalternative as soon as possible.

Label-Affiliated Deals

Multitalented songwriters can boost their marketability and their income bypresenting themselves not just as writers but as performing artists. The monetaryupside is easy to see: Singer-songwriters can earn both writers royalties and artists



royalties. In addition, performing artists who write their own songs may be viewedas more attractive prospects by publishers, because they eliminate one of theefforts publishers must make with a pure songwriterconvincing a recordingartist to use one of the writers songs. An artist with an album deal already lined upis a particularly hot property.

Because of this potential for big earnings, everybody in the business wantsa piece of that pie. A small label will pressure, sometimes coerce, a prospectivewriter-performer to assign some or all the publishing rights to the labels publish-ing arm. If the writer declines to share at least administration rights, the firm maypass on that writerdecline to sign a recording contract. Similar pressure on thesinger-songwriter comes from many independent production companies. Typicaldialogue: Hey kid, were gonna make you a big star, but itll be expensive. We musthave your publishing rights to help us recoup our recording costs and promotionexpenses. The aspiring singer-songwriter has been cautioned to hang on to yourpublishing but may have to choose between signing it away to a production com-pany or not getting signed as a recording artist.

There is a royalty downside to being a performer who writes ones own songs.As noted earlier, most record companies now generally include a controlled


Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, and ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman at the 20th annualASCAP Pop Music Awards celebration.

Photo courtesy of ASCAP.


composition clause in their artists agreements. This states that the recordingcompany will pay only a percentage (typically, 75%) of the current mechanicalroyalty rate to the composer and publisher for any song written or coauthored bythat artist/composer. In addition, a contractual cap on total mechanicals payableon an album (such as, 10 times 75% of the statutory rate) may require the artist tofurther lower his or her ratefor instance, if the album contains more than thatnumber of cuts; alternately, the performer who uses both controlled and outsidewriters songs may ask outside writers to reduce their rates in return for beingincluded on the album.

In recent years, some publishers in Nashville have also been successful incontractually drawing from a songwriters performance royalty, as well as frommechanical royalties, to recoup advance money. This point can be negotiable, if thewriter is willing to take less in the way of an advance.

EVALUATING PUBLISHERS j

If the writer does not sign with the publishing wing of a recording label or a pro-duction company or if the writer is not a recording artist, an outside solution mustbe foundif not by setting up a publishing company, then by locating a publisherindependent of affiliation with a record company or production company.

How does a thoughtful writer evaluate a prospective publisher? Very carefully.Sharks and wolves abound where big dollars are available. Let us assume the writeris unknown. If there has been a struggle to gain the interest of a publisher, the writermay be ready to sign with just about any firm that shows interest. An unpublishedwriter should withstand the temptation to sign the first contract offered.

The following questions can help inexperienced composers judge a prospec-tive publisher:

1. What is the publishers reputation for integrity? Is your information objec-tive, trustworthy, and current?

2. How good is the firms leadership? How competent? How stable?

3. What is the firms long-term track record? Is it coasting on its catalog ofgolden oldies, or is it currently active with contemporary material?

4. Is the company making money? Says who?

5. Who in the company cares about you and your material? Do you knowthe professional manager, or are you dealing with a subordinate person inthe firm? Is there at least one individual in the firm who likes your songsenough personally to exert real effort on your behalf? This kind of personalenthusiasm is sometimes the key to successful promotion.



6. What are the firms resources? Do the professional manager and fieldpromoters have valuable contacts with record producers and other impor-tant people in the business? Does the company agree to produce high-quality demos of your songs? Does the company have enough workingcapital to carry it over lean periods?

7. If your songs hit, does the company understand the print business and theincome available from licensing for sale a variety of different editions?

8. If your songs hit, does the company know how to set up licensing arrange-ments abroad to produce foreign income?

An unknown writer on the verge of signing a first contract with a publishermay be afraid to pose such pointed questions for fear of blowing the deal. But theanswers are needed.

Whatever publishing arrangement the writer ultimately pulls together, thedecision should be based on which person or firm can most successfully exploitthe music over the long term. Is the publisher a genuine publisher with the know-how and contacts to truly exploit those copyrights internationally? Or only some-one posing as a publisher, functioning merely as a collection agency for thewriters royalties? A shockingly high percentage of so-called publishers are onlycollecting agents and are not qualified to offer complete and genuine publishingservices.

j THE SONGWRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

One of the important organizations representing the creative community in musicis the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA). The organization bearing this namewas originally formed in 1931 as the Songwriters Protective Association. For manyyears, it was called the American Guild of Authors and Composers (AGAC); itchanged to its current name in the 1980s.

The organization provides a variety of useful services to its members: (a)offers a standard writers publishing contract; (b) collects royalties, charging5.75% to a ceiling of $1,750, with no charge thereafter; (c) reviews members pub-lishing contracts, free of charge; (d) audits publishers; (e) maintains a copyrightrenewal service; (f ) administers writer-publishers catalogs (CAP, the CatalogAdministration Plan); (g) provides a collaboration service; (h) maintains theSongwriters Guild Foundation; (i) operates an estates administration service;(j) provides financial evaluation of songs and catalogs to members and non-members; (k) offers workshops for writers; and (l) lobbies in Washington, D.C.,on behalf of songwriters.




The Songwriters Guild of America Contract

The guild urges its members to attempt to negotiate acceptance of its PopularSongwriters Contract. As one would assume, it is heavily weighted in favor of thewriter. Many publishers refuse to sign it. But writers can use it at least as a negotiatingdocument. These provisions should be studied in tandem with the draft contractprovisions in Chapter 4.

The agreements main features are the following:

1. The writer warrants that the composition is the writers sole, exclusive,and original work and that the writer has the right and power to make thecontract and that there exists no adverse claim to or in the composition.

2. If the publisher agrees to pay an advance, it will be provided in the agree-ment, and the advance will be recoupable from the writers royalties.

3. Royalties on printed editions are not less than 10% of the wholesale sellingprice on the first 200,000 copies sold in the United States and Canada, noless than 12% on sales in excess of 200,000, and not less than 15% on salesin excess of 500,000.

4. The publisher pays the writer 50% of the publishers receipts from allsources outside the United States and Canada.

Jonny Lang, India.Arie, Johnny Mercer Award honoree Stevie Wonder, and Michael McDonald at theSongwriters Hall of Fame Awards, 2004.

Photo courtesy of ASCAP.


5. The writer shares 5050 with the publisher on income derived from allother sourcesfor example, mechanical royalties, synchronization rights,transcriptions, and block licenses. The publisher may discount any pay-ments made to a collecting agent, such as the Harry Fox Agency, Inc.

6. The publisher must obtain the writers consent before granting use ofthe composition in a movie, broadcast commercial, or dramatico-musicalpresentation or for any other new use, such as on the Internet.

7. The writers royalties must be held in trust by the publisher and not usedfor any other purpose.

8. If the publisher fails to get a commercial recording of the compositionwithin 1 year, the contract terminates. But the writer may grant an exten-sion of 6 months, providing the publisher pays the writer $250.

9. The publisher must print and offer for sale regular piano copies or pro-vide such copies or leadsheets to the writer.

10. The publisher must pay the writer 50% of foreign advances received by thepublisher on a single song or a group of songs by the same writer.

11. The term (length) of the contract may be for any number of years butnot more than 40 years or 35 years from the date of first release of a com-mercial sound recording of the composition, whichever term ends earlier,unless this contract is sooner terminated in accordance with the provi-sions hereof.

12. When the contract terminates, the publisher revests in the writer all rightsin the composition.

13. The publisher supplies a royalty statement at least every 6 months. Thewriter may demand an audit of the publishers books upon supplying appro-priate notice.

14. All disputes between the parties are to be submitted to arbitration underthe rules of the American Arbitration Association, and the parties agreeto abide by and perform any award rendered in such arbitration.

15. The publisher may not assign (transfer or sell to another publisher) thecontract without the writers consent (except on the sale of a full catalog).

16. The writer and publisher must agree on future usethe exploitation of acomposition in a manner not yet contemplated and therefore not specifi-cally covered by the contract.



CONTRACT REASSIGNMENT OR DEFAULT j

The writer and publisher may negotiate at length to shape a contract that is equi-table. The relationship may turn out to be mutually profitable, even congenial. Butit is the nature of the business that writers and publishers frequently want to ter-minate contracts. This does not mean the songs under contract must then die forlack of promotion. Rather, the copyrights may be reassigned.

Reassignments are common and can be to the advantage of the writer. Fromthe writers point of view, a reassignment is perhaps even advantageous if thesongs are included in a bona fide sale of the first publishers catalog or in the eventof a merger or if the assignment is to a subsidiary or affiliated company. In each ofthese circumstances, the writer should demand from the first publisher a writteninstrument that states that the assignee-publisher assumes all obligations of theoriginal (first) publisher.

The songwriter must continually police the contract to make sure its terms arebeing carried out. Default is a common occurrence. It may not involve unfairnessor dishonesty or fraud. More likely, a publisher defaults if unable to get the songrecorded or the royalty statements are incorrect or incomplete or the publisher justcant come up with royalty payments when they are due or the publisher becomestoo burdened working on other properties. If the writer believes the publisher isguilty of default and if the publisher has been given the chance to cure the defaultif such cure was stipulated in the contract, whatever the reasons, there are someoptions. The first is to go to arbitration, if that option is provided for in the con-tract. The next possibility is to break the contract unilaterally. Courts take a dimview of unilateral action of this kind, for it is the court that must determine if acontract breach is material and whether the publisher has flagrantly disregardedappeals from the writer for remedy. Third, a lawsuit can be filed asking to bereleased from the contract. Fourth, a letter of termination can be sent to the pub-lisher, stating that the publisher is in default and that henceforth the rights to anysongs that have not yet been delivered to the publisher (known as future rights) willgo to another publisher.

BREAKING IN j

By now, you are probably both excited and terrified at the prospect on embarkingon a career as a professional songwriter. (Dont worrythe contracts stuff gets alittle less intimidating in time.) Youre likely also ready to begin. Breaking into thefield is not as mysterious as generally believed. Many unknown writers are discov-ered every year, but few make it on luck alone. When we check out the so-calledovernight success stories, we learn that most of these individuals used certain



promotion techniques. We cannot articulate a breaking-in formula. But we candescribe what works for many new writers (see Table 3.2).

To increase your chances of success, you should undertake four levels of self-promotion: (a) Establish a local reputation and local contacts, (b) contact publish-ers by mail, (c) meet with publishers directly, and (d) network, network, network.

But first, you will need to arm yourself with a demo.

Demonstration Recordings

If you are a writer looking to connect with a publisher, or simply to get feed-back from local artists and professionals on your work, you will need to be able topresent a demonstration recording (demo) showcasing your songs. This will beyour calling card, perhaps your one chance to make a strong impression. Chooseyour best five songs and spend what you can to present them in their best possiblelight. (Some publishers can hear a diamond in the rough, but its best not to counton that.) The first requirement? The vocals must be clearly heard above the music.If you are a talented singer, you can take the vocal yourself; if you have any doubtsand can afford to hire someone else (hungry singers abound), by all means do. Theminimum accompaniment is piano or guitar. The maximum appropriate accom-paniment would include a rhythm section and one or two frontline players. Thesinging should be straightforward; with a songwriters demo, the listener wants tojudge the song. Of course, if you are also a recording artist seeking a label deal,your demo should convey a true performance.

A demo can be produced in a home studio, assuming one has access togood-quality recording equipment and knows how to use it. Professional demo


TABLE 3.2. Seven Steps to Success

1. The first step is the most critical. Before spending time and money seeking a professional career, it is ofoverriding importance that a songwriter first find out whether or not the talent is there. Your songs maygo over just great with your family and friends. These reactions can be heartwarmingand seriously mis-leading. What you as an amateur need at this point is an objective appraisal of your creative talents.

2. Make certain you know your craft. A writer may not be a creative genius but can learn to be acraftsman.

3. Arm yourself with profession leadsheets, lyric sheets, and demonstration recordings.

4. Focus your promotion efforts on the specific market your songs fit.

5. Thoroughly promote your songs in your own locale before risking a trip to the big city. But do planto make forays into music city hubs once you have a strong portfolio of songs you are ready to show-case before industry professionals.

6. Employ the promotions techniques outlined in these pages; learn the business and develop and nur-ture music industry contacts wherever you can find them. Network.

7. Persist. Most of your competition will become discouraged and give up. The persistent writer can beatthe competition by hanging in there.


producers are also readily available at recording studios in many cities, at reasonablerates. They provide a professional singer accompanied by piano or guitar. Rates risefor more backup musicians, but producers offer special rates for more than onesong. (See Chapter 11 for more information on recording studios and production.)

Demos are most commonly recorded on CD-Rs or high-quality audiocas-settes. Each demo should be clearly labeled, on the box as well as on the recordingitself, with an accompanying log of songs: their sequence numbers, song titles,and full names of composers. Tape one copy of the log outside the case and foldanother copy inside. Be sure your own name, address, and phone number are onevery piece of material you submit; these items get separated quite often.

All demos should also include two notices of copyright: the letter P in a circle( ), to protect the phonorecord, and the letter C in a circle (), to protect themusic contained in the recording. Such notices offer some protection from unau-thorized use. Demos are frequently lost because of inadequate identification (e.g.,complete return address) and careless handling. If you are sending one to a pub-lisher, mail it first class. Send copies, of course, not the masters.

Demos will likely also be recorded again when the writer is further along inthe publishing process. A publisher, for instance, may want to produce a demo toshowcase the new work of a writer under contract to persuade an artist or pro-ducer to record the songs. These demos can be much more polished and expensivethan an aspiring writers efforts. The upside is that a publisher will often pay atleast part of the demos costs, or at least provide the money for it as an advance onthe writers future royalties.

Local Promotion

Demo in hand, you are now ready to take your first steps toward a professionalsongwriting career, and for this task there is no place like home. Prove yourselflocally. The amateur needs a place to make mistakes, to experiment with differentkinds of promotional efforts before moving into the harsher spotlight of a musicindustry hub.

Look within your own circle of family and friends for a connection to themusic business, no matter how small. If you dont have one, start with professionalperformers in your area. Observe them in performance; visit their rehearsals. Hangout, get acquainted. If your songs suit their style, you may persuade them to tryyour material and give you their reactions. At this stage, it doesnt matter whetherthese professionals are well-known. One day, they may be, and making theiracquaintance may initiate a contact that will bear fruit later.

Contact your local radio stations and try to persuade program directors, discjockeys, and music librarians to listen to your demos. They will be unable to useyour songs, but their opinions of your work could be valuable.

Now might also be the time to build a Web site to promote yourself and yoursongs. Post song samples so you can easily refer interested parties, and include the

P



Web site address on all correspondence and on business cards. If you are a singer/songwriter, you can also use your site to sell copies of your CDs and advertiseupcoming club dates. Be sure to register the site with search engines.

Keep an eye out for acts coming through town on tour. Traveling performersoften pick up useful material on the road. With some performers, it is more effectiveto try to get your songs to people around the artist, such as the performers musicaldirector, arranger, or managersome managers are influential song pickers.

Some smaller cities are headquarters for publishing companies. Do not ruleout small publishers. If you evaluate them according to the guidelines listed in thischapter and if they measure up, go with them if you do not have a more attractiveoption at the time.

Contact local advertising agencies and commercial production companies.Communities with populations of 100,000 and up will have such firms. They arein constant need of melodies and musical ideas for broadcast commercials.

If you begin to receive favorable local reaction to your writing, you just mightbe ready for the next step in promoting your songs.

Promotion by Mail

Amateur songwriters have sometimes been successful in landing their firstpublishers through an initial mail contact. This is a special technique, however,and efforts of this kind often fail because they are not handled effectively. But thewriter who follows the procedures outlined has a chance of getting songs heard. Allit costs you is the price of postage and a few demo CDs to try this approach. Hereshow to proceed:

1. Study the record charts and find out the names of publishers who arecurrently active in handling the type of music you write.

2. Locate the addresses and telephone numbers of these publishers. Your localtelephone company and public library have directories for large cities, andyou can try the Web. Another source is Billboards International Buyers Guide,published annually.

3. Even if these sources list the name of the firms professional manager, youshould verify by phone that the position is still held by that individual.

4. Write the professional manager a letter requesting permission to mail insome of your songs. The letter should be short, well written, and to thepoint. Briefly state what reception your songs have already experiencedwith professional performers. The publisher will be uninterested in yoursuccess at that Rotary Club luncheon. Drop a name or two, if you can, ofestablished artists who have reacted favorably to your songs. If permissionis received, mail in only your three to five best songs. Your package should



contain a demo recording of each song (put all of them on the samecassette or CD) and separate lyric sheets for each song, with your name,address, and telephone number on each sheet. Inclusion of professionallyprepared leadsheets is optional with some publishers, but play it safe andinclude them too. Your package should contain a brief cover letter. Becausemany publishers wont bother to answer your letter, a better response canprobably be obtained if you mail the publisher a self-addressed, stampedpostcard. Do not send your package by certified or registered mail; manypublishers seem to feel that such mail could mean trouble, and they oftenrefuse to accept it unless they recognize the senders name. Simply use first-class postage. Wait 3 weeks. If you receive no reply, call or e-mail the pub-lisher to be sure that your material has arrived. If your songs have beenreceived but have not gained acceptance, continue the process with otherpublishers until you receive a favorable reaction.

Very few publishers today will open unsolicited mail. They are concernedabout being accused of stealing material, but a greater concern is that 99% ofunsolicited songs and demos are just awful. Publishers cannot take time to digthrough the piles of songs received every week in the hope that 1% might be worthserious consideration. But when a writer has been professional enough to obtainpermission from the publisher to submit material, whatever is mailed in is vieweddifferently. Take a look at the sample first-contact letter that follows:

Mr. John Doe, Professional ManagerXYZ Music Publishing CompanyAddress

Dear Mr. Doe: Date:

Please indicate your response to the following question and then mail this cardback to me (it is already addressed and stamped).

Will you examine my songs for publication?

Yes _____ No _____

Your response will be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you.

(Signed here)

Austin HopefulAddress/Telephone



Direct Contact With Publishers

Even though some lucky amateur songwriters manage to create publisherinterest through mail contacts, most songs get published following a direct, per-sonal contact with the publisher.

Because popular music publishers have offices in the leading recordingcenters, the amateur writer who would be professional must eventually invade theforbidding precincts of New York, Nashville, or Los Angeles. Its possible that somepublishers will see unknown songwriters, but it is unwise for the newcomer towalk directly from the bus station to the publishers office. First, write a letterrequesting an appointment, or call the office and talk to the receptionist aboutthe possibility of setting up a meeting (always be polite to this gatekeeper). If youcan drop a name of someone in the industry who has referred you, your chanceswill improve dramatically.

If you are fortunate enough to have gotten a meeting with a publisher, be sureto write a thank-you note afterward. Keep up that valuable contact even if you maynot have new material. Then, when you are ready to submit more songswhetherin person or by mailyou will have an in.

Network, Network, and Then Network Some More

If it hasnt become apparent by now, its worth stating bluntly here: Industryconnections and contacts, those all-important ins, are the key to getting yoursongs noticed and, ultimately, recorded. Many publishers will take meetings basedonly on referrals by industry pros, for instance, and record producers heading intothe studio with an artist will usually turn first to songwriters they know or whohave been recommended to them.

In short, the music industry is a business built on networking and relation-ships, and songwriting is no exception. The good news is that networking is easyand fun. It simply means getting out there, getting involved, getting seen, andgetting heard. A good place to start is by contacting your regional ASCAP or BMImembership representative, who may be open to reviewing and assessing yoursongs; if he or she likes them, the representative can provide that all-importantreferral to a music publisher or label contact. ASCAP and BMI also host work-shops for young writers, as do many other songwriter, publisher, and music busi-ness organizations; attend as many as you can, even if you are not (yet) invited toperform yourselfyou will make invaluable introductions. The National Academyof Popular Music, based in New York, also offers showcases, workshops, andforums. Seek out other organizations in your area and explore the many onlinemusic forums for songwriters for networking events and information on localworkshops and forums.

Contests offer another avenue to get your name and your songs in front ofindustry professionals; even if you dont win, you may make an impression and a



connection. The performing rights organizations sponsor some of the major ones,but others abound. Read music publications and talk to other industry profes-sionals for information on various contests. Exercise caution here, however, inmaking sure any such contests are legitimate and not moneymaking schemeskeyed to entry fees or demo production charges.

Finally, of course, you can take the ultimate networking plunge and chooseto immerse yourself in a songwriting hub city such as New York, Los Angeles, orNashville. Particularly in Nashville, you will find yourself rubbing shoulders con-stantly with music industry insiders and wannabeseverywhere from coffeeshops to clubs. If you can afford to do it, such a move can prove invaluable. Evenif not, a serious songwriter will try to schedule regular visits to any (or all) of thesecities to attend workshops, forums, and meetings.



Date post:	10-Jan-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	diego-guirado-jimenez
View:	227 times
Download:	0 times

5387 Baskerville Page Proofs Chapter 3

Documents