The idea of mechanical royalties as they relate to the sales of music (physical sales like CDs and vinyl, as well as digital downloads) can be quite confusing to both writers/publishers and artists/labels. After a song is written and released for the first time, the owners of the composition copyright must grant compulsory licenses to anyone who wants to record and/or release that composition.
As a songwriter, you are your own publisher on any works you’ve written. As a publisher, you may want to set up your own publishing entity with your PRO. A “personal publishing entity” is just a name you assign to the publishing “company” you already “own” as a publisher of your works, and affiliate with your PRO just like you affiliate yourself as a writer. There are a few reasons to create a personal publishing entity, and a few key things to note when you’re deciding whether or not doing so is right for you:
The talk of the music industry this week has been in regards to the “fake artists” that have been popping up in playlists all over Spotify.
At the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) Centennial Annual Meeting in New York this month, Sony/ATV CEO Martin Bandier was awarded the Life Service Award. In his speech, he spoke about how songwriters and music publishers are not given their fair share of revenue and recognition in the wake of the streaming revolution.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Grammy Awards will be returning to New York City for the airing of the 60th anniversary ceremony. The Grammy celebration had previously rotated its location in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, until 2004, when it resided in LA for the next 14 years.
Spotify has acquired Mediachain Labs, the core team behind the open source Mediachain protocol, to develop a decentralized network for sharing data critical to getting songwriters paid--in other words, a blockchain.
ASCAP's 12th annual "I Create Music" Expo took place last week in Los Angeles.
There has been significant buzz around three of the world’s largest member-owned collection societies – ASCAP, SACEM, and PRS.
By now you've probably heard--or at least heard about--the momentous latest release from hip-hop artist, Drake, More Life. Drake describes the work not as an album or mixtape, but "a body of work bridging the gap between major releases," a playlist of sorts.
