17 Replies to “October 17”

  1. This can be extremely helpful to someone who goes in on a contract with a music company. What surprised me was ‘Indemnity.’ The company will not help you out if you’re sued and to not involve them. Also, if the company is sued because of you, they will make you pay. Basically it’s a, “You’re on your own/ Sorry, not sorry.” kind of thing. One must be extra careful with these things. A more in-depth definition on indemnity can be found in this ebook link: https://books.google.com/books?id=zkVvphsv4GkC&pg=PT329&lpg=PT329&dq=Indemnity+music+example&source=bl&ots=Y5pmxR55rn&sig=dpAckE_CmjtJpOwY2VIDqdNZut8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIzcHrxubWAhVklFQKHew2DRMQ6AEISjAI#v=onepage&q=Indemnity%20music%20example&f=false

  3. Contracts are tricky. Wherever it is that you publish your content, you want to make sure you’re getting paid for your work. ISRC codes are step one to ensuring your royalties are being accounted for. More on what an ISRC code is and how to get one here: https://www.usisrc.org/

  4. This website from the Texas Music Office is very helpful in simplifying the basic terms involved with digital distribution companies. Many of these terms, such as gross/net profit, termination, and UPC codes, are applicable to many different business industries. UPC and ISRC codes stick out the most to me because they are often overlooked and I believe are the most important to making sure your music is identified. It also helps ensure you can get a profit from your music sales aside from royalties and licenses.

    http://blog.symphonicdistribution.com/2016/10/upc-isrc-codes/

  5. The Texas Music Office gives you a better understanding of the common terms you will find with distributing industries, however most of these terms vary from company to company. It is important to familiarize yourself with these terms if you are interested in being in the music industry.
    Here’s a website that has some royalty free music.
    https://www.shutterstock.com/

  7. It’s stuff like this that reminds me how most of the music industry is strictly business and that your relationship with a major label is co-dependent at best, even symbiotic in some cases. I’m used to hearing benevolent stories about the industry, but I forget that it’s not always like that. Indie labels tend to be more about the music than the money, but usually they can afford to operate like that due being smaller than typical major labels. However, if you want to read about an indie label that thought (I don’t know if they still do) like a major, click here for their story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_Pop

  8. I really like the relevance of this article because we are living in a more digital era, and our use of digital distributors will only continue to increase. This article is a simplistic way of describing terms that artists should know when working with digital distributors, especially because it involves their own works and contracting. Though, I believe it is great that there are digital distributors; they serve a very important function in today’s music business world.

    Here is an article that is more in-depth with the digital distribution industry.
    https://blog.landr.com/everything-musicians-need-know-digital-music-distribution/

  9. The site TMO gives a better understanding of these common terms. Depending on the company you are signed with the terms can be varied and can be difficult to understand. I want to be able to understand these terms better when I want to sell my music online and market my songs.

  11. Reading this article sure would help me personally if i were trying to build up a contract. To learn and read up on the standing rules when it comes to digital distribution companies has vastened my understanding of the whole step-by-step process. Another thing, is UPC and ISRC codes seem to play a big part in making sure your music can be identified. The governing law says that, the country and or state law set in place to settle a dispute between the distribution company and musician, may be mentioned in a contract. I was reading up on an article about some other things you may be able to avoid in your digital distribution contract; http://blog.sonicbids.com/4-red-flags-that-new-artists-should-negotiate-out-of-their-recording-contracts

  12. When it comes to Digital Distribution, the Texas Music Office has many term to really give you an Idea of what you need moving forward as a musician. It is really important to have a huge understanding of these terms gives you more insight on the industry as releasing music, selling music, and more.

  14. These terms were a total learning experience for me considering I actually was unaware of all of them. I actually feel more informed about rights and terms that go along with digital distribution. There’s a lot of rules and regulations when it comes to distribution that I could never keep track of all this if I were an artist. Which I’m sure artists have good teams to deal with all the legal work when it comes to their music. There’s also a lot dangers you could face if you do not know what you are doing such as claiming music as your own that does not belong to you. There were some familiar terms like Royalty-free which we have talked about before. I’m including a link that has platforms for music distribution.
    https://members.cdbaby.com/digital-distribution.aspx

  15. Over the years, I’ve sold beats and provided artists with an exclusive or “non-exclusive license”. The major way producers are able to get a big paycheck is to have multiple artists get a non-exclusive license for the same beat. For instance, non-exclusive licenses are usually sold with a $15-30 price tag. If several artists buy the license, you make a ton of money off one product. Furthermore, you still keep your rights and if a Major artist or an artist with a lot of money wants to purchase an exclusive license, they can do so, and you have an even greater financial gain. This isn’t quite the same context as the digital distribution we are discussing such as albums and singles, but it is directly related to those mediums.
    Here is more on this from a fellow producer:
    https://www.robinwesleyinstrumentals.com/beat-licensing-explained/

  16. This was am awesome link to look at. As a singer, I have always wanted to know what contracts were like. I think it is so important to know what you might be getting into. Something that you see so often in the music industry are artist who what I like to call “products of the industry”. Every major artist probably does not know what their contract consist of, they are just told to do whatever their manager or the label tells them to do. These contracts often contain more than just music, along with endorsement deals.

    https://www.thebalance.com/music-contracts-4073754

  17. This link to me was very helpful with terms that an artist may or may not be familiar with. I found it useful especially when wanting to know about royalties, profits, and licenses. I’ve always created my own music but never thought about putting it out there. However, after seeing this and learning throughout this course it makes me a little more comfortable on what to expect as an artist.

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