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1. GOT A GIG? HERE COMES THE FINE PRINT

Remember that great scene from the Blues Brothers? Jake and Elwood Blues had to play a country tavern singing ‘Rawhide’ all night and at nights end they found out the food and drink they consumed wasn’t on the house. Their paying gig ended up ‘costing’ them. Although written performance contracts are more for ‘bigger’ acts there’s nothing that says the smaller bands or performers out there shouldn’t have their gig put in writing in advance.  Make sure you ask the following:

1. What’s the ticket price?
2. What’s your cut of the profits?
3. How will you get paid – flat fee, percentage, both?
4. When will you get paid?
5. How long is the performance?
6. And of course – free food and drink?

Get the rules down first before you ever plug in or do a mic check. That way you and the management know what’s to be expected from each other and have the chance to build a rapport. It might sound elementary but in the haste and excitement of getting your first paying gig you might forget the ‘simple’, so find out upfront.

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2. SHOW ME THE MONEY

You’ve got your recording (or songwriting) contract in hand and everything’s coming up roses, right? You get your check, finally, but it’s not quite what you expected. If you sign not knowing what’s owed you then you might be shorted some well-deserved income. So make sure that anything you sign contains a statement to the following areas (preferably in your favor):

• Performing Rights – this means you get a chunk of the change when songs are heard over radio, television, the Internet and some public venues as concerts and such. And who keeps tabs on this? Check out ASCAP- http://www.ascap.com/index.html, SESAC– http://www.sesac.com/home.asp and BMI– http://www.bmi.com. As SESAC describes their company, these places ‘are businesses designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public.’
• Mechanical Rights – This is the most commonly known. It includes anything physical such as tapes, CDs, etc. The Harry Fox Agency is nearly 80 years old and for artists with 2500 or less recordings they can learn more at http://www.songfile.com/ regarding small licensing.
• Print Rights – Exactly that – anything in print like lyrics or sheet music.
• Foreign Rights – Again, anything that deals with foreign publishing and licensing.
• Synchronization Rights – Ever heard a Garth Brooks or Rolling Stone song in a movie or television show? That’s synchronization and it can mean big bucks although some artists overlook this very important right when signing.

Attorneys can be expensive when they have to do all the legwork but you can save time and money by looking into products such as our 101 Music Business Contracts at http://www.musiccontracts101.com/docs/products/001/index.htm, which features numerous contracts and agreements. As with any contract you sign – be it a house loan or a recording contract – it’s best to have an attorney look the documents over before doing a final signing. However, a great money saver is arming yourself with knowledge, like 101 Music Business Contracts, before you ever set foot in a law firm.

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3. NEWS FLASH – MUSIC-TECH.NET’S AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Taken from music-tech.net at http://www.music-tech.net/artistshowcase.htm

“An Award of Distinction is given to the independent artist in the
Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase who sells the most units through our showcase during a twelve week period. In addition to the award, the winner receives a gift certificate from Music-Tech.Net and sponsors anticipated up to $6,000.00. The showcase will culminate in an event in the great city of Atlanta, GA where the Award of Distinction and gift certificate will be presented.

All genres are accepted for review provided there is no explicit content in music samples. Selected artists are to remain in the showcase for at least twelve weeks. Our advertising campaign goal is 2,800,000 visitors/impressions to the Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase each quarter.

Submissions to the Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase are via electronic press kits. You will need to provide a link to your website, photos for our newsletter, a short bio, music samples and a market ready CD product for download and/or for mail to buyers. Artists selected to be in the Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase will be notified promptly upon selection. The submission deadline has been extended to May 17, 2004. The twelve-week showcase is scheduled to begin May 31, 2004.”

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4. WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND - WRITING YOUR BIO

Every press kit needs a bio but you’re stumped about what to say. Here are a few tips to get you on your way.

• Before you sit down to pen anything, think of yourself in the third person. What that means is step outside yourself and think about your band being someone else. It’s easy to write about other people more than yourself at times. So view your band as another act out there when you start to write.
• Check out other band bios. You don’t want to copy and paste another group bios but look at a few to see how they’re arranged.
• Once you start to write make sure your first paragraph contains the five Ws of journalism in a short, condensed yet catchy style – WHO you are, WHAT type of music you play, WHEN your band formed, WHERE your hometown is, and WHY you’re an artist.
• As you progress make sure to include information on accomplishments, awards, quotes from more established bands about your music, any positive reviews and such.
• Before you end be sure to include your contact information.

Keep in mind that this bio should only be a page at the most. The media, and possible record execs, don’t need to know your life story since birth. So make everything you write clear and to the point without putting them to sleep. And once you’re finished make sure someone else, preferably well versed in grammar and spelling, looks it over for a final edit. Even the best editors can miss things after they’ve looked at a document repeatedly so be sure to have a fresh set of eyes give it a look over before going to a printer.

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