LET’S TALK ABOUT PROMOTION

Promotion seems to be what every indie artist struggles with the most, but it’s also one of the most important aspects of any artist’s career. Even if you are paying for PR or some type of promotion, there are things that you can be doing that will put a strong push behind your campaign.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN PROMOTION:
A big part of your promo campaign will be spent on PREPARATION. There are a few things that you need to do before you even begin to promote that will really help give your promo a better chance at getting results. A lot of artists don’t plan and prepare, they just jump right on in without having the tools to get the job done. Here are a few things that really help give your promotion the push it needs in order to see that return of investment:
1. MAKE SURE YOUR PRODUCT IS GREAT! You are competing with a ton of others, including the major artists; which means that your music must be mixed and mastered. Think about it – potential fans (that aren’t in the music industry), are used to hearing music on the radio, at clubs, festivals, stores etc. – which means they are used to hearing top quality records, so you must deliver! Plus it gives your records a better chance at getting played by DJs. Also, not every record that you record should be released. It’s good to be able to test out your records by playing them to associates behind the scenes and getting as much honest feedback as possible BEFORE you decide to release them.
2. Find your NICHE and narrow down your TARGET AUDIENCE – Know your brand. What makes you special? What do you want to be known for? Who could you be compared to? Who does your music appeal to most? Then cover your grounds. Where do potential fans go to find new music? Where do they hang out? Think of all of your options – indie record stores, the mall, corner stores and small businesses in your neighborhood, restaurants, etc. Think outside the box. By answering all of these questions you will have a much better idea at who you are, which allows you to understand who you should be promoting to. It’s not about getting your music in front of just any audience, you have to get your music in front of an audience that would be interested.
3. MAKE SURE YOU’RE BRANDING IS ON POINT! This means, you must look the part! You should have an official website in place and updated with professional photos, bio, current shows, social media info, mailing list, and blog. You need this for a few reasons: for one it makes you look like the professional artist that you are. There are way too many “artists” out there with no website (only a Facebook page and/or Twitter or YouTube account) and it doesn’t make their brand look very good. Those that are successful all have official websites, so should you! Plus, you’re fans need a place to filter the traffic back to. You don’t want to get in XXL mag, the Source, Thisis50, and a bunch of other sites if you don’t have an official website. Your results will be mediocre at best.
4. Make sure that you have the materials to promote: This means promo graphics that appear on all of your social networks (Facebook covers, Twitter Header, you get the point). Your brand must be recognized across all platforms and whatever you’re promoting should stand out. This is called BRAND recognition. You also should have a video for your single (or at least a professional graphic for your single if you haven’t shot the video) that you can promote with the link to the song. I’ve always noticed that artists that promote videos get a better response out of promo than an artist without a video. Also, if you have online flyers and/or promo graphics, be sure to have them handy. If you’re going to run a contest, be sure you know exactly how it will be run. You must have all of these things organized and easily accessible so that you can promote properly.
5. Create GOALS | Map Out Your BUDGET. Do you want to reach a certain amount of views or downloads in a certain amount of time? Do you want to bring 50 fans to your next gig? Do you want to sell a certain amount of merchandise? The better idea you have at what you want to accomplish the better your plan will be. Also, how much will your promo materials cost? How much do you have to spend on a publicist and other promo services? Do some research and put together a budget sheet.
6. PRESS RELEASE – Whatever you’re promoting must have a press release with all the intriguing details to make people interested. You have to make it easy for press to write about you. If you hire someone like myself, I’ll handle this for you, however you should do some research on how to write your own press releases as well. Hiring a PR team to handle things for you can be a very helpful tool, however there are things that you need to be doing yourself to help the campaign grow.
ONCE YOU HAVE THE PRODUCT:
7. NETWORKING | Street Team | Blog Outreach – Some of the best promotion happens behind the scenes. The more you get people talking, the easier it is for your music and brand to spread. Ways to promote behind the scenes: conversations with friends, colleagues, family – encourage them to share whatever it is that you’re promoting. STREET TEAM – gather a group of friends, family members and people in your network to not only help with promotion, but utilize them for feedback on almost everything you do (music releases, performances, etc.). They can wear t-shirts with your name on it, they can spread flyers at their jobs, where they live, and they can post your music on their social media. BLOG OUTREACH – are you in contact with any blogs or publications? Make note of those who have supported your music in the past as well as others you may have come across along the way and be sure to build relationships and utilize them as sources for promotion.
8. Digital Campaign | Digital Distribution – Most people go online to find new music. You need to map out what and where you will be posting in order to promote your product. Make it interesting! Content is king when trying to reel people in and location is also important. Not only do you have to map out how your music will be promoted but you need to map out where people will have access to it. It is best to filter the traffic directly to your website and have your music available for download there. Also, you can use CD Baby or Tune Core to make your music available for sale on the major digital outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. You must also do your job to help the others that are posting your music – this means re-posting all tweets, press, etc. – you must help promote those who promote you! That’s how you continue getting support.
9. MAILING LIST – A mailing list of your own is an amazing tool – And I don’t mean finding random email addresses and spamming them with your music, I mean collecting emails of those who are interested in hearing from you combined with utilizing the emails of those who you have already been in contact with. You should treat your list as VIP, send them special offers, let them be the first to preview your new releases, give them cheaper concert tickets etc. This list is GOLD!
10. PERFORMANCES – This is one of the most important factors in promotion. Your fans plus potential fans need to see you put on a memorable show. The more you impress people with your performances, the more people will want to see you again and again. Perform everywhere possible (except for them pay to play showcases, you really have to use your judgement when it comes to those). Perform at open mics, get to know promoters and event planners, perform at as many local events as you can.
The key to marketing is to be able to grab and keep people’s attention. You need more than just a listen or a view, you need people to share. The key to this is getting people to feel some sort of emotion because that’s when they take action. When you can make people FEEL something with your music and the way you present yourself, that’s when you’ll really start gaining some traction.

If you’re following all of these guidelines, the next step would be to hire a PR agency to help get your music on larger platforms that have a big reach, while you do the leg work and build your buzz 1 on 1 and in your hometown. Why should you hire a publicist or marketing agency? Because they have the relationships and access that you don’t.
blog credits: Paul Porter, RAPREHAB

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CEO RAISES THE BAR

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ~ SYMFYNY ~ CEO OF WORDSOFLIFE PRODUCTIONS/BESTATEVERYTHING 

  ANTHONY BROWN, 42 of Philadelphia, Pa, an above average former social worker of 15 years, gifted with many talents and the ambition to start his own business. Bringing forth a dream of helping others in the music industry. From previous experience, he entered the entertainment business as SYMFYNY.

Taking on roles as Artist/Show Event Producer, Production Business Owner, Founder and Executive Producer of WORDS OF LIFE PRODUCTIONS (2013) and BEST AT EVERYTHING ENT (2016)

His showcases tour around different cities frequently and SYMFYNY has been a consistent path to building exposure and artist development.

Stay current on SYMFYNY’s platforms for helping artists succeed.

Check out his interview segment with HIDDEN IN HIP HOP  internet radio host DJ L.Marie of Georgia who has also become a self made business owner who strives to bring peace and unity through music and mentoring.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=967732766760231&id=1

For artist opportunities, platforms and foundation contact

Symfyny (215)796-9010

wolssinc@gmail.com

IG: @symfyny @bestateverythingent

FB: https://www.facebook.com/symfyny.artistproducer

blog editor JannyShmanny #1stladyofreal #Promotions

Aug 29, 2018

6 Tips to Make Your EPK Great

1. Put your best songs up front.

Make sure to put your best three songs at the top of the list in order. Even if they only listen to 30 seconds of your first song, having extra material can come in handy later in the selection process.

2. Add some killer photos

Your press photo is the very first image they should see, so it needs to be high quality, aesthetically pleasing, and match your style as an artist. They also highly recommend including stage photos to demonstrate your performance style, passion, and stage presence.

3. …and a few videos, too

Videos are necessary to demonstrate that you are a legit artist. Include a high-quality, live performance video first, then a well-edited and representative music video. The more comprehensive the content, the more likely they are to consider you.

4. Showcase your following

Link any and every social site you can. Show off how many fans you already have and what makes you unique. In an Instagram-heavy market, don’t forget to curate your YouTube channel, SoundCloud and Facebook pages, and keep posting new content! Weird discrepancies between play count and engagement on your posts: huge red flag. Archive those low-quality photos, too.

5. Keep everything up to date

Don’t keep old songs, photos or videos in your EPK that no longer represent who you are as an artist, period.

6. Spruce up your bio

Don’t lose them on the final turn. They want to use your bio to promote you to the public, so keep it short and sweet.

Credits: MicXSic and Marc Gianni

 

MUSIC IS NOT YOUR HOBBY

Want To Be Successful In Music? Try Thinking Of It Like Your Job.

Having musical talent and intuition is good,but if you really want to succeed in music, you’ll need much more than that. Whether it’s the discipline it takes to spend hours at a time practicing an instrument or the planning and communication skills needed to book shows and pitch new music to press outlets, Sheer talent isn’t enough to make it in music, especially in today’s INDIE driven industry. If you want to find success in music, you might want to try thinking about it like your JOB.
A JOB is more serious than a HOBBY
If you want to find any sort of success in music, you’ll have to stop thinking of practicing, playing shows, and writing songs as a hobby.

Seeing music as an actual job is a better way to go about it because with a job, the stakes are higher and much more is required of you. People stay in their jobs and do things they don’t always want to do because they have to. And while that strict sense of obligation is something lots of people turn to music to escape from. Nothing good in music will come to you unless you work for it. For that hard work to happen, the stakes need to be much higher than they would be if you were spending your time on a hobby.
People with jobs have to stick to a schedule.
As much as we all like to think we can be serious with music without any set schedule, that’s rarely the case for most musicians. Lots of people dread going to their jobs because it requires them to stick to a strict schedule, That sort of discipline and devotion to time is essential for keeping a band together and making music seriously. No, you don’t need to wake up two hours early and make music before heading out to your actual job, but creating and sticking to a weekly practice schedule is critical in helping you thrive in music, no matter what your goals are.

A JOB is a COMMITMENT
Thinking of making music as being a CAREER is helpful because it forces you to make a real commitment to what you’re doing. Believe it or not, lots of people actually enjoy their jobs and show up to work every day for more than just a paycheck.

No matter what you’re doing in music, payoffs like affirmation, receptive listeners, and record sales are often sparse and hard to find, especially if you’re just starting out. This means that you’ll have to find rewards in your commitment to the craft.
Committing to something means working through temporary setbacks and challenges and showing up to something every day, whether that’s a job or a relationship. If you really want to do something meaningful in music, you’ll have to fully commit to what you’re doing.

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INDIE ARTISTS DON’T UNDERSTAND BUDGETS

Many indie artists don’t understand the widely used term, “What’s your budget?”when seeking help with building a music career. Here I’ve found a breakdown that will assist in understanding why it takes a secure plan to build a future in music.
In case you ever forget that it takes money to make money with your music, here is a summary of some general income and expense categories that may factor into your business/budgeting forecasts. Now you know why music industry professionals say that it costs MORE to market and promote music than it does to record it!

1. Artist Income Sources:

a. Live Performance Fees
b. Record Label Recording Contract Royalties
c. Publishing Income Sources

* Mechanical Royalties
(Sales of CDs/DVDs)
* Performance Royalties
(Broadcasting: Radio, TV, Satellite Radio) * Synchronization Fees
(TV, Film)
* Sheet Music Sales
* Commercials/Jingles Income

d. Merchandising Royalties ( T-Shirts etc.)
e. Misc. Income Sources

* Internet Streaming / Downloads
* Investment Income
* Endorsements
* Book and Video Sales
* Multimedia Product Sales

2. Artist Expenses:

a. Recording fees: CD/DVD

* Producer/Engineer
* Studio Costs
* Misc. tape and/or digital storage costs, and other studio supplies
* Equipment Rental charges
* Guest Musician fees
* Mastering fees

b. Graphic Artist/Cover Art Design costs
c. CD/Vinyl Manufacturing/Duplication charges

* Promotional Expenses
(Indie Radio Reps/Sales Reps,)
* Marketing and Sales Plan costs (One sheets, Coop dollars, Ad money)

d. Publicity/Promotional Material Costs

* Publicists Fees
* Promo/Publicity Kit Design costs
* Flyers, Posters, Envelope Design costs
* Printing/Copying charges
* Photographer fees and duplication charges
* Internet Website costs (Design, maintenance, access fees, etc.)
* Misc. online promotions, events.

e. Office Expenses

* Rent
* Stationary and office supplies/furniture
* Postage, phone and utilities bills
* Office equipment (computers, fax, phone, et al.)

f. Taxes

* Local, State, and Federal taxes
* Tax preparation costs/Bookkeeper fees

g. Band Equipment Costs

* Instrument purchases/rentals
* Tour Luggage
* Misc. equipment repair/maintenance costs (strings, drumsticks etc.)
* CDs and MP3 players (for listening and study purposes)
* Misc. recording/playback equipment (4 track recorder/mixer, etc.)
* Sound system
* Rehearsal space costs

h. Songwriting

* Copyright song registration / filing costs
* Performance Rights Organization Fees ( ASCAP-BMI-SESAC)
* Lessons/Study/Research expenses
* Conferences/ Seminars budget

i. Artist Business Team Costs

* Personal Manager/Consultant fees
* Business Manager/Accountant fees
* Booking Agent fees
* Publicist fees
* Music Attorney fees

j. Transportation costs

* Auto/ Van purchase/rental/Insurance costs
* Maintenance costs (gas, service, repair)
* Airline, bus, and/or train tickets
* Highway/Ferry tolls

k. Touring expenses

* Per Diem ( for food, lodging etc.)
* Road Manager/Roadies salaries
* Lighting/Sound equipment purchase/rental costs

l. Merchandise (T-Shirts etc.)

* Design costs
* Manufacturing and shipping costs

m. Miscellaneous Expenses

* Costumes/Stage clothing
* Insurance (health, equipment, life etc.)
* Union dues
* Trade magazine subscriptions
* Video production and manufacturing costs

Whatever else comes along that you forgot about can be covered by extending your budget for inconsistencies.

3 REASONS NOT TO LET MUSIC CRITICS DESIGN YOU

Whether songwriters like it or not, critics and tastemakers representing blogs and media outlets are a major part of how music is vetted, marketed and sold, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. With how important music criticism is to the success and longevity of a release, it can be tempting for writers to try and make their music sound like something they think will please critics, but they shouldn’t. Here are three reasons why:

1. Music written for critics comes off as insincere

Music that manages to stay relevant, genuine, and impactful almost always comes from a place of longing, dissatisfaction. and true emotion in a songwriter. Music critics and listeners will be able to discern whether your music comes from a real place of honesty and thoughtfulness or if it’s aiming to imitate the feelings and ideas of someone else’s. While you write music, make sure you’re working in a way that honors your unique thoughts, ideas, and story.

2. The sort of music that resonates with critics is always changing

With thousands of artists writing and releasing music more than ever before, it’s almost impossible to predict what ideas are going to last over the ones that will entertain the masses for a year or two and then fade into permanent obscurity. Shaping your music in a way that fits current stylistic or thematic trends is a bad idea because you run the risk of making something that sounds tired and dated the minute it gets released. Songwriters have to walk a delicate balance here between finding their own unique voice while recognizing that the music around them is constantly shifting and evolving.

If you find yourself wanting to imitate the trends you hear in the music around you, take some time and ask yourself what exactly it is you resonate with so much. Whether it’s the vocal manipulation techniques currently employed in so much electronic music today or the folk “whoop!” heard in so many songs back around 2010, many trends in music are short lived, so don’t put them into your music to please critics.

Get unbiased fan feedback on your songwriting, production, and more with brand new Crowd Reviews

3. It won’t work

Probably the biggest reason not to create music to please critics is because it most likely won’t work. Despite what you might think, music criticism isn’t an easy job, and an experienced critic will be able to tell if your music is written to cater to them after a few seconds of listening. Your best bet is to do the hard work of creating music on your own terms that honors your own ideas and story. The trick here is to recognize your influences and interpret them rather than to imitate them outright. That’s no easy task, but it’s something you’ll have to do if you want to make impactful music.

Also, it’s important to recognize that critics of any artform shouldn’t be the final say of whether something is good or not. Whether it’s a giant music blog with lots of traffic or a Youtube commenter, remember that criticism is merely an outside perspective. If your main motivation for songwriting is pleasing other people, neither you or your listeners will be happy.

1STLADYOFREAL PROMO

6 REASONS INDIE ARTISTS DON’T MAKE IT

1. WORK ETHIC
Many artists with a dream, talent, and creativity still manage to fail due to poor work ethic. If you don’t consistently make songs, you won’t consistently get fans. If you limit your ways of promotion to Youtube only or Twitter only, you are missing out on success by not taking a chance and trying other ways to promote your music. Your work ethic in this business WILL make or break you.
2. LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
If you don’t know the rules of the game, chances are,you lose. Many indie artists don’t even take the time out to research how the music business operates. Those who are always hungry for knowledge to expand in their field are the ones who usually excel the most. Take some time out to Google a few things about your genre, your instrument, and how the people doing what you aspire to do operate on a regular basis.
3. INEFFECTIVE EFFORTS
This can also tie into work ethic. Not only should you work hard, but you should work smart. Funneling money into bad marketing efforts, spamming people with your music who aren’t even in your ideal target audience, and performing to the same crowd of people or at the same venue over and over in hopes of expansion are just a few examples of ineffective efforts.
4. BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Networking is sometimes the push that indie artists need to make it over the “no results ” hump. You would be surprised by how quickly your career will start moving by regularly connecting with those at your level in your music market, and making efforts to connect to those who are even a few steps ahead that can help with your exposure.
5. TEAM
A lot of artists tend to make the mistake of trying to boost their career all alone. Sure, you may be a hustler who can make things happen when you put your mind to it. But, there is strength in numbers! Growing a team of people who are dedicated to promoting and helping your brand is also a great way to excel fast in this industry. Not to mention, new listeners tend to want to hear the opinion of someone else about your music, not your own opinion of your music. Having a team to vouch for you is a great way to draw in even more potential fans.
6. TALENT
Let’s face it, if you don’t have any talent at all, it’s very unlikely that you will make it far. This consumer-based market that relies on an artist’s likability. If no one likes you or your sound, no will give you money. Now I know you are probably thinking, “What about the talentless crap on the radio all the time?”. Firstly, in a scenario where the artist is garbage but still on the radio, they still have a talented team(writers, producers, engineers). Also, people fail to realize that established artists that you might think sound like garbage still have great work ethics. How do you think they got where they are? A great work ethic is a very under-rated talent!

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC ROYALTIES

Being a musician is not as simple as writing a song, recording an album, selling it, and getting money from your sales. It’s vital that you understand what kinds of royalty streams are out there as an independent musician trying to earn a living off of making music.

The first thing to understand is that in the most general sense, there are 2 parts or sides of music.

1) Master

The master is the sound recording. It’s the thing you hear when you play an mp3, vinyl, CD, YouTube video, etc.

2) Publishing

The publishing side has to do with the underlying musical composition, which is embedded within a sound recording. The “publishing side” refers to the notes, melodies, chords, rhythms, lyrics, etc. to the piece of music. The “publishing side” is the musical composition.

Various usages of each part to a piece of music generate their own royalties.

If you write your own song, record it, and release it to the public, you will then generate both master-related royalties and publishing-related royalties.

There are so many different ways in which music is used these days, and new royalty streams are being created as the music industry and technology continue to evolve.

Even though the general population can listen to music for “free” these days, every time you double click a track on Spotify or click play on YouTube, you’re still generating a royalty for the music’s master rights owners and publishing rights owners…it’s just not so blatantly obvious. There’s a complex royalty system going on behind it all, and we’re here to tell you now all the different master-generated royalties and publishing-generated royalties that exist out there.

Master-generated Royalties

Recording Royalties (from download sales & streams)

WHAT are they?

There’s no formal name for this kind of royalty, though they are mostly called recording royalties. What we’re talking about is the most basic royalty artists and labels get every time your master recording is downloaded (on iTunes, Beatport, etc.) or streamed (on Spotify, Rhapsody, etc.).

WHO collects them?

A distributor collects royalties on behalf of labels directly from stores/streaming platforms, and an artist’s label will collect the recording royalties and distribute them to the artist. If an artist is not with a label, the artist will collect the recording royalties directly from their distributor.

HOW do I know if I’m earning them?

You’re definitely earning recording royalties if your music is actually selling or being streamed on any basic retailer platform – iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, Rhapsody, Beatport, the list goes on.

HOW can I collect them?

An artist collects sales and recording royalties from the artist’s distributor or from the label. If you’re on a label though, always stick with the label – never go directly to the distributor. This is basic etiquette that is usually also laid out in distributor-label contracts.

YouTube Recording Royalties

WHAT are they?

YouTube has become the world’s largest and most oft-used platform for listening to music. These are the royalties master rights holders (label or performing artist) earn every time their recording is streamed on YouTube within a video. But the only way you can earn them is if your video has an advertisement attached to it; YouTube earns its revenue from its advertising partners, and it shares this revenue with the amazing musicians and music rights owners who help the site generate billions of views and traffic to the site.

It’s very important to clarify that publishing rights owners (publishers & songwriters) also receive money from YouTube, but YouTube sends their portion of the royalty pie to Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) which you’ll read more about below.

The YouTube recording royalties we are talking about here are for master rights holders (labels & performing artists).

YouTube collects these royalties using incredible technology called Content ID, which creates an audio fingerprint of your recording, ingests that into YouTube’s massive database, and tracks every single time someone uploads and streams your recording on YouTube. That means that whenever someone you don’t know uploads a video with your song to YouTube without getting your permission, YouTube tracks that, throws an advertisement on the video, and monetizes it on your behalf.

WHO collects them?

YouTube allocates the royalties to master rights holders.

HOW do I know if I’m earning them?

If you’re a master-rights holder (a.k.a. label or performing artist on a recording), and your recordings are on YouTube, whether on your own channel, your label channel, or any one else’s channel, you have the ability to earn YouTube royalties via Content ID. The more views videos using your music get, the more revenue you generate.

HOW can I collect them?

You can go to YouTube directly to get these royalties, but there is a massively long waiting list and most applications go unanswered. There are certain companies out there that collect YouTube recording royalties on behalf of labels, saving them all the time and energy that goes into this matter.

Neighboring Rights Royalties

WHAT are they?

“Neighboring rights,” sometimes called “related rights,” is a term in copyright law used to describe the rights of performers and master recording owners (record labels). Neighboring rights refer to the right to publicly perform, or broadcast, a sound recording. The owners of the sound recording get to collect royalties for these broadcasts. They are called neighboring rights because they are said to be “related to” performance rights in the field of music publishing, or the right to publicly perform a musical composition.

The concept of neighboring rights is similar to that of performance rights in the field of music publishing, because both kinds of royalties are earned through public performances/broadcasts of music. Except that performance rights refer to the right to publicly perform the musical composition. Neighboring rights refer to the right to publicly perform the sound recording.

WHO collects them?

Neighboring rights royalties are collected by neighboring rights collection societies. In order to collect the neighboring rights royalties you are owed, registering your individual master recordings directly with each collection society in the territories you are getting radio play in is absolutely essential.

HOW do I know if I’m earning them?

If you’re a record label manager, and your master recordings are being publicly performed and broadcasted on the following media, you – and the artists performing on those recordings – are earning neighboring rights royalties! You’re earning neighboring rights royalties if your music is being played on:

Pandora (or any internet radio platform)
BBC Radio
Sirius XM (or any satellite radio platform)
Cable TV music channels
Terrestrial radio outside of the USA
Businesses and retailers as background music (I.e. Restaurants, retailers, hotels, etc.)
Live in clubs / live performance venues
Various new online medias as digital music technology changes and develops evermore!
Sound recording owners (record labels and performing artists) collect neighboring rights royalties whenever their sound recordings are publicly performed on any of the above media.

The important thing to realize is that just because your recordings are selling well in any given territory does not mean you are earning neighboring rights royalties. Neighboring rights royalties are earned when your master recordings are publicly performed and broadcasted, not sold. With that said, if there is a large rise in sales in any particular territory, this might be an indicator that radio play has occurred, so any neighboring rights administrator should take note of significant increases in sales!

HOW can I collect them?
If you’re a performing artist and know your recordings are getting radio airplay, talk to your record label that released your EP/LP/album. See if the label is already collecting these royalties for you… or if they themselves need to get on board with this so that you and your label can collect these royalties!

Publishing Generated Royalties

Performance Royalties

WHAT are they?

Performance Royalties are earned when a song is broadcasted or performed publicly in some way.

WHO collects them?

Performance Rights Organizations (PROs). Each major world territory has a PRO.

HOW do I know if I’m earning performance royalties?

You are earning performance royalties when your songs are being broadcasted and publicly performed. You’re definitely earning performance royalties if your song is:

Played on internet radio (like Pandora)
Played on “terrestrial radio” (i.e. 93.3 FM, 100.7 FM, etc.)
Played on online streaming services like Spotify
Performed at live venues Played in clubs (whether by you as a performer on your tour, by a well-known DJ in a club in Sweden, or by a cover band in a pub in Nashville)
Played in businesses and retailers of all kinds (hotels, restaurants, retail stores, big offices, etc.) as background music
Broadcasted on TV (whether on an episode of a TV show, on a sports channel in passing, or in an advertisement for another brand)
Performance royalties are definitely a special royalty type. Just because you’re distributing your music with a digital distributor doesn’t necessarily mean you’re earning performance royalties. But you can increase your chances of earning them in many different ways.

HOW can I collect these royalties?

In order to collect the maximum performance royalties you deserve from the PROs, you’d need to affiliate yourself as a writer and register your compositions with every single PRO in the territories you’re generating performance royalties.

Mechanical Royalties

WHAT are they?

Mechanical royalties are earned per-unit when a song is sold on a “mechanically reproduced” physical medium (think vinyl, physical CDs), and nowadays, this includes digital downloads and internet streaming as well.

“Mechanical” can sound like a confusing word to us in the digital age. The word “mechanical” stems from the fact that back in the early days of the music industry, compositions were physically, or mechanically, manufactured and reproduced onto physical products for public consumption.

WHO collects them?

Mechanical royalties are collected from mechanical collection societies. Each major world territory has a mechanical collection society.

HOW do I know if I’m earning mechanical royalties?

You’re earning mechanical royalties when your song is:

Manufactured and sold on physical CD/vinyl products
Reproduced into ringtones and sold as a ringtone
Streamed through interactive streaming services (on Spotify, Rdio, Beats, etc.)
Sold in digital retailers for digital downloads (on iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, etc.) outside of the USA.
**This is the key fact here. In the USA, the mechanical royalty share goes straight from iTunes to the distributor to the label. But in countries outside of the USA, your mechanical royalty is getting picked up from iTunes and thrown elsewhere.
If you are distributing your music to stores and streaming platforms worldwide using a digital music distributor and if you are seeing sales and streams result, then you are definitely earning mechanical royalties.

HOW can I collect these royalties?

Mechanical collection societies make it unreasonably difficult for independent songwriters who are not signed with a publisher to collect their mechanical royalties. Many of these agencies don’t let unsigned songwriters collect their mechanical royalties. Yep. And again, in order to collect the maximum mechanical royalties you deserve from these agencies, you’d need to affiliate yourself as a writer and register your compositions with every single mechanical collection agency in the territories you’re generating high download sales and streams.

Print Royalties

Print royalties are earned when a composition is transcribed onto sheet paper, printed in songbooks, and published for the general population to purchase and play your music at home on their personal instruments for fun. Print royalties are really only applicable to a songwriter if he/she has a Top 40 Radio Hit – think little pre-teens taking piano lessons and buying Taylor Swift sheet music online, or purchasing a Guns N’Roses hit on sheet music to sight read through on your guitar.

As you can see, the royalty landscape in the music energy is one rich with possibility. You just have to know where to go.