Sometimes the business of being a songwriter or musician can seem overwhelming, an endless muddle of tasks ranging from registering with a PRO (performance rights organization) or CMO (collection management organization), and tracking royalties to negotiating contracts. The good news is that there’s one number that makes the important job of ensuring royalties end up in your pocket easier for all involved. It’s the IPI (Interested Party Information) number -- and chances are, you may already have one.

A major frustration the music community faces today is songwriter and producer discovery. There is not a single destination that displays credits and the sources that aim to do this lack easy customization, control and a way to listen and engage with the music.

Founded by Jay-Z and a select group of music all-stars, Tidal’s dedication to new music is evident in its Tidal Rising program. Each week, Tidal’s team of curators picks what it calls the highest quality releases to be featured in its monthly playlists and promoted on the service. But even without that extra push from Tidal, you’re still reaching out to a select group of music fans and audiophiles who know good music when they hear it. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your Tidal account.

As 2018 came to a close, our team went back and looked at all the data we had collected over the last year looking for trends that might stand out and give us insight into what we could expect for the new year. As we were discussing, this question of could we use our (and other’s reports) data reports to better help our clients plan for their goals in the upcoming year arose. In an ideal world - a songwriter could use these trends to predict their new year profits and make smarter business decisions for their career. Realistically, the data would be 100% correct, but that isn’t always the case. Our hope, however, is giving our creators a way to utilize music publishing trends to plan our their next year.

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.

Throughout November and December, we held a webinar series revolving around The World of Music Publishing Royalties. Over the course of five sessions, hosted by Songtrust's own Noelle Gambuti and Elizabeth McBride, Publishing Specialists, and various special guests, we dove into the major themes of music publishing royalties. We covered topics from the types of royalties your song can earn you to specialized royalties like YouTube and streaming royalties. The turnout was tremendous and those that attended asked a lot of excellent questions.

Soundcloud has become a critical tool for any songwriter or musician who wants to reach an audience of potential fans – but it isn’t as easy to do as simply pushing a button. As the largest online music community, Soundcloud affords an independent music maker a significant platform, but one that’s crowded with thousands and thousands of other artists, too. Here are some important steps to keep in mind when using Soundcloud to make sure your work stands out and finds the receptive audience you want.

As a songwriter, retirement isn’t exactly at the forefront of your mind - finishing your song, setting up that next gig, and getting new equipment is more likely. However, retirement is ultimately still a top financial goal that you should be working toward.

While it may be the furthest goal out, any good financial plan starts with calculating how much money you’ll need to live on during your retirement years (aka your golden years), putting a strategy in place to get there, and then addressing your shorter-term needs, like upgrading your equipment or booking studio space. Many financial professionals believe you’ll need approximately 80 percent of your peak pre-retirement income to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement - seems like a lot right?

Professional songwriters can generate many different sources of income from their songs in the same way an author creates additional income turning a novel into a movie, TV series or graphic novel. It doesn’t matter whether your song has gathered a million plays or just a handful of listens, you can still put your compositions to work for you to generate more revenue. All it takes is a little creativity and a sense of adventure. Here are a few ways your song can also make you money: