Self-Publishing Independent Record Label Guide

So you wanna make a record?

Whether you're intending to put together a self-produced demo of your material for your promo-kit or thinking about a complete studio project to create a retail product, you need to follow a few simple steps to get everything completely "legal". [DISCLAIMER: Bigjo is not a lawyer and the information contained herein does not constitute legal advise of any sort. It is simply information to guide you through the process - when in doubt, ask a lawyer (but check your pocketbook first)!] If you record a demo of other people's material, you're granted the right to release previously recorded material, as long as you register the work and pay the appropriate mechanical royalties to the recording artist if you distribute it. Otherwise, you're technically infringing the artists mechanical reproduction rights and potentially liable for all sorts of legal fees, court costs, etc. Sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. Since your demos aren't for sale, there is no sales value so royalties on the sale of the product might not be applicable - but when you consider these royalties are 8 cents a song (8.5 cents in 2003), it's not much cash to set aside if you DO sell the recording - if it were your song you'd be entitled to the same royalties and there have already been enough slimy, sleazy, exploitative, mutherfuryas. %$#@!! in the blues history books.

There's an entire process for each step to releasing recorded products. Bigjo wants to present a concise "cookbook" approach that covers the basic business aspects for the self-publishing musician. Again, please be advised the information is presented for your investigation and does not in any way constitute legal advise.

Top of the list it to figure out if you're recorded product is for sale or promotional purposes only (give away demos). This is critical because the required steps for selling your product are a lot more extensive than if you are just producing demos! You might refer to being a "self-published musician" rather than an "indie label" if you just make demos - or even if you sell a few copies from the stage of your material to help cover the cost of production. The real defining line is whether your product is going to end up in records stores, especially those you find locally that might be willing to take consignments! If your recorded product is for sale on store shelves, you're an "indie label"!
 

Regardless of which path you take, there are a couple of required steps for any recording project:

• 1.   You need to join ASCAP or BMI so you can publish - there are many benefits to each membership organization but it's best to decide for yourself. Check out BMI and ASCAP. At the present time, BMI doesn't charge separate fees if you are an artist and a publisher, while ASCAP charges annual fees for each of these membership types (BMI is free and ASCAP is $10/year for songwriters or $50/year for publishers according to 3rd party sources). This is a very important step because any original works or covers of other artists recorded works need to be registered - this protects both you as a recording artist as well as the songwriter/composer and it's official documentation of your recording career! If you record original compositions, registering your works will assist in cetermining any future royalty shares. Technically, the Harry Fox Agency, a subsidiary of the RIAA, tracks mechanical royalties for recording artists while the associations manage writer royalties and licensing the performance rights to commercial establishments.
  
   
  
• 2.    Once you're recording is complete, don't forget to register with the Copyright office - the rules have changed, but in recent memory all submissions were required to be on tape - it appears that CDs are acceptable media - the reference article states that you can send in CDs if it's an "SR" copyright. It costs $30 to register the recording and I think that includes the Library of Congress number for the work. Basically, you have to copyright your recording to get any real protection from the thieves and schemers in and around the music business.
  Copyright registration is a simple and relatively inexpensive process but unfortunately involves dealing with the government and can't be accomplished overnight. See Studio-Musicians.Net for a good concise write up of the process.

Required steps for the Start-up Indie Label

• 3.    You also need a UPC Code for your indie label, it's easy to get but you have to register with the UPC Council at $125/year. There's a great write-up on music reproduction UPC bar code information at ahttp://www.musicbootcamp.com/bar_codes_and_ucc.shtml
   
  If you're going for a commercial release you definitely need to register with the UPC Council to be assigned a bar code for your label. You absolutely MUST have a barcode when dealing with record stores!
• 4.    After you've got your UPC, then you can apply to Sound Scan - their site is pretty cryptic and you have to have a login to get much information, but they have contact numbers and email addresses on their home page. Bigjo's not sure if there's a registration fee for Sound Scan.
   
  
• 5.    Mechanical royalties on songs you cover are 8 cents a song for 2002, going up to 8.5 cents in 2003-2004. Effectively the Harry Fox Agency represents everybody in the collection of mechanical royalties. If you are creating an indie label - or even if you land a mainstream recording or distribution deal - you definitely MUST Check out the Harry Fox Agency link for details.
   
  
• 6.    On a record deal, the recording artist generally gets 16% of the retail price less packaging.... the ASCAP formula takes a $17.00 retail price, subtracts $4.75 for the packaging (CD, art, etc.) and computes 16% of the difference times the number of albums sold to figure out the theoretical royalty due to the recording artist. Then it goes on to say that the record company contracts have all sorts of clauses that cut this amount depending on tour support, advances and other junk your recording contract specifies. This doesn't really apply as long as you're releasing your own material - but if you acquire other artists to record on your indie label you may want to address these issues in your agreement with them.
   
  

Other Resources for the Start-up Indie Label

Another great source of information is Sonic Control.

Bigjo is gathering references and information about the studio and recording process, with references to local audio engineers and producers and tips and tricks from the pros! So, if you'd like to contribute some of your knowledge and experience, or simply post a referral link, contact Bigjo via email.

I'm always interested in new links information and updates/corrections to this public service information. Please feel free to contact Bigjo via email to bigjo@joealdrich.com if you have any suggestions, comments or complaints!