Music business FAQ
frequently asked questions about the music biz

• Music biz

  • Royalties and licenses

    • How do you get royalties?
    • What do you get royalties for?
    • What are mechanicals?
    • How do writers get royalties?
    • How do I get royalties for records?
    • How do I get royalties for live performances?
    • How do featured label artists get royalties?
    • What music licenses are there?
    • Who buys music licenses?
    • What do you need music licenses for?
    • What is a master use license?
    • What is a sync license?
    • What is a Grand Rights license?
    • What is a buy-out license?
    • Do I need a license for my music web site?
    • How do I tell royalty collection societies about recordings?
    • How do I tell collection societies about songs and writers?
    • How do I tell royalty collection societies about performances?

  • Collection Societies

    • Do I need to join a royalty collection society?
    • What is MCPS?
    • What is PRS?
    • What is PPL?
    • How are recording royalties collected?
    • How are performance royalties collected?
    • Do I need to join MCPS?
    • What is the mechanical rate charged by MCPS?
    • Do I need to join PRS?
    • Do I need to join PPL, P@MRA or AURA?
    • How are royalties calculated?
    • What are ‘black box’ royalties?
    • What happens when I perform my own compositions?
    • Do I need a license to play covers live?

  • Labels and publishers

    • How big is the independent record sector?
    • Who are the major record labels?
    • What do record labels do?
    • What do music publishers do?

  • Music copyright

    • How do I copyright songs, lyrics and compositions?
    • What can be copyright?
    • How long do music copyrights last?
    • What does assignment of music copyright mean?

  • CDs

    • What’s the difference between consumer and computer CD-Rs?
    • What’s the difference between CD-R and CD-RW?
    • What are copy protected CDs?
    • What are unbranded blank CDs?
    • What does Red Book mean?

  • Digital distribution

    • What is a digital music warehouse?
    • What is a digital music aggregator?
    • What is DRM?
    • What is a digital music fingerprint?
    • What is a digital music watermark?

  • Business

    • Do session musicians get royalties?
    • How do session musicians get paid?
    • How is income shared out in a a group or band?
    • Do I need to set up a company?
    • Should I get an accountant?
    • How much is a PO box?
    • Where can I find out about Income Tax?
    • Where can I find out about VAT?
    • Where can I find out about Data Protection?
    • Where can I find out about starting a business?
    • Can I protect my band name?
    • Can I protect my record label or publisher name?
    • Can I protect my web site name?
    • How do I get bar-codes for my CDs?
    • Do I need to trademark my band, record label or publisher?

  • Online payment

    • Do I need a merchant bank account?
    • Do I need a business bank account?
    • How do I accept credit card payments online?
    • What features should I look for in online payment?

  • Web sites

    • What are the options for getting online?
    • How does web hosting work for a simple site?
    • How long does it take to register a web site name?
    • How long does it take to connect the name to the site?

• Music DIY

  • DIY and indie

    • Do I need permission to start a record label?
    • Do I need to register a record label?
    • Do I need a publisher to get royalties?
    • What is a DIY record label?
    • What are the advantages of an independent record label?

  • DIY checklist

    • What are the main steps in setting up a DIY record label?
    • How can I sell my CDs on the Internet?
    • How can I sell my CDs offline?
    • How do I take payment for CDs?

  • CD costs

    • How much does it cost to make a CD?
    • How much does it cost to post CDs mail order?
    • How do CD costs and prices break down?
    • What is included in the CD retail price?
    • How do I calculate CD retail prices, royalties and taxes?
    • Where can I find examples of CD duplication prices?
    • How do I package CDs for mail order?

  • CD release

    • What’s the difference between burned CDs and pressed CDs?
    • Are burned CDs less reliable than pressed CDs?
    • Why don’t CD-Rs and CD-RWs play in every CD player?
    • Should I burn CD-Rs or get pressed CDs?
    • What is CD mastering?
    • How do I get CD artwork printed?
    • How do I get CD insert and booklet art-work printed?
    • What is an ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)?
    • How do I get ISRCs for my CD tracks?
    • What is a UPC or EAN (MCN) product bar-code?
    • What information should I include on my CD?
    • What paperwork do I need when I release my CDs?
    • Do I have to tell anyone about CD and download releases?

  • Download formats

    • What’s the best file format for music downloads?
    • How can I make MP3s smaller and faster to download?
    • How big is an MP3 file?
    • What does ‘lossy’ audio file compression mean?
    • Can I make full bandwidth CDs from MP3?
    • Can I use MiniDisc (ATRAC) files for downloads?

  • Songwriting

    • What’s the formula for a good song?
    • How do I know my song is original?
    • How can I overcome writer’s block?
    • What songwriting and creativity techniques are there?
    • How can I get ideas for songs, words and music?
    • Have you got any tips for a songwriting collaboration?
    • What should I look for in a music publishing deal?
    • Are songwriter associations, guilds and forums any good?

  • Recording

    • Can I soundproof studio equipment?
    • How do I make MP3 and CD tracks?
    • How do I get audio files into my computer?

  • Your web site

    • How much does a music web site cost to set up and run?
    • How do I set up a music web site?
    • How much should I pay for my web site name?
    • What features should I look for in web hosts?
    • How much web server space do I need?
    • How can I make my pages look the same for every visitor?
    • How do I use special characters on web pages?

  • Search engines

    • How can I get more visitors to my site?
    • How can I tell which pages are most popular?
    • How can I tell which downloads are most popular?
    • How can I tell which pages people are recommending?
    • How can I see what search words and phrases visitors are using?
    • What meta name tags should I use?
    • What search engines did you use?
    • How long does it take to get a web site on Google?
    • Can I see how many pages Google has indexed?

• Articles

  • The money sponge

    • Why does it cost big labels so much to make so little?

  • Do it yourself

    • How do I get started with a DIY label?

  • The damage done

    • What are artist’s rights?
    • Who benefits from artist’s rights?
    • How does DRM affect independent artists?
    • How does DRM affect the public?

  • Get signed, get singed

    • What is a record label?
    • What does a record label offer?
    • Where does the money go in an artist contract?

  • How do I get signed?

    • What does getting signed mean?

  • Popular delusions