Have you ever wanted to license music quickly for a marketing project or promotional effort? Have you ever stolen the song elsewhere because of the time and process? Audiosocket makes it easy to license music the right way to use in almost any marketing avenue. Plus, did you kno

w you would share in the revenue created from the plays of the songs you decided to license? I thought that might get your attention.

Listen up! Audiosocket is not easy to get into if you are an artist that makes music. They screen everything and only have about 19,000 songs so far. However, if you are lucky enough to get content in the system, then with the right promotion your music can easily be licensed by businesses, film producers, record labels, or any other business looking to make a commercial of some sort. What is in it for them you ask? They make a small revenue off the song as you do each time it is played! An investment is measured by how long and how much you get back. Imagine spending money on licensing a song, then over time making back your money through your marketing of the song and actually making more money off licensing it than you spent on it originally!

This is an amazing idea that could only be done legally if all the publishing houses were on board. Oh wait; Audiosocket took care of that according to an article by Anthony Bruno for Billboard where the company got BMI and ASCAP on board earlier in 2011. This idea is genius! Imagine all of those You Tube vids that use bootlegged content from your favorite artists, now using licensed material and promoting new artist’s music because it helps them make money instead of taking money from the artists. Could it be that music may have found a way to combat illegal downloads by helping people make money? My dreams have been answered…or have they? Only time will tell.

Spotify comes to the U.S. It is like iTunes, meets Pandora, meets the Copyright Office, meets Harry Fox’s sample clearing agency. The revenue streams are vast with premium accounts that allow you to save playlists offline, bring up tunes on your mobile devices and home computer, as well as share via Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging services. In addition, there is a copyright registration service for recording artists that charges $85 per submission that is user friendly, simple, and provides customer service for any concerns dealing with the copyright process. Subsequently, Harry Fox Agency has inked a deal with Spotify that will allow mechanical rights to be cleared as a new submission is distributed over the net.

Spotify serves quite a few purposes that can streamline promotional efforts on the web for artists. For instance, if I decided to release a new album, then I could upload the release on Spotify, get it copyrighted, any samples cleared, and start promoting the album via sharing it to Facebook, Twitter, vids via You Tube, and use the forums as an interactive review board for the tracks. Keep in mind Spotify pays only $0.0043 per play, so, other types of marketing will be necessary. The interesting thing on Spotify is the ability to market “leaked tracks” or “firestarter tracks” that lend themselves to build a following. Thus, Spotify can be used to get gigs, build tours, land interviews, and possible publishing/distribution deals to solidify more lucrative revenue streams via downloads, album sales, merchandise sold at venues, licensing opportunities, and more.

Some hail Spotify as the second coming, but I see it as just another tool or arrow in your online marketing quiver. It is very powerful as a sharing tool, but remember the times are circling back to the times of touring acts and bands. If you can find a way to be a touring act that never has to leave your home, then fine. But if you could do that then your garage would be large enough to sell enough tickets to make serious money. Until then, get on the road, get gigs, be willing to travel, and make money.

Interview with Charles Blackmon, Entertainment Legal Attorney

QUESTION:

Hi Mr. Blackmon, I’ve already shared with you my plans to create an Entertainment Industry focused Business Plan/ Funds Raising company called B.E. nBusiness, and I have lined up a client looking to create a music production company in NC. My first question comes from them in reference to proper sample clearance. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is a drum break or royalty free cd with pre-recorded music; it all seems to need clearing if used to create something new. Radio play is the goal for many producers and clearing samples ahead of time seems to raise the asking price for a track when others are looking to purchase it.

What steps should a producer go through if they sample? Is there anything that doe not need clearance? Can a producer copyright material if they have a sample in the track, if it isn't cleared?

I know I just asked several questions, but please take me through the process because it is definitely a topic I will run into time and time again working with different clients based in intellectual property laws.

CHARLES BLACKMON’s RESPONSE:

Clarify the position on producers, which use 'samples' in their tracks; whether that's a pre-recorded loop or a drum break.

You are right; many producers use samples, which sometimes include drum breaks. Samples are portions of another song within a new song. A sample can either be taken from an actual sound recording or derivative of a sound recording.   A drum break, is a pattern of drum beats played as an instrumental during the break in a song and is often used as a "fill" in a song. Since the evolution of hip hop, producers to create a drum loop have used drum breaks.

The producer's first step to clear a sample is to identify who the owner/publisher is of the sampled work; one way of finding out such information is to check the jacket covers of the CDs. Second, a producer can contact the performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) to obtain contact information on the writer/publisher. Thirdly, a producer can visit http://www.copyright.gov/ to conduct an online search of the Library of Congress' records; and fourthly, a producer can hire a sample clearance house to handle things.

If the musical work you seek to register with the copyright office embodies a "sample", copyright protection will not extend to the incorporated "sample" [the preexisting material]. The creative expression of the original work contributed by the author is independent of any copyright protection in the preexisting "sampled" material.  Therefore, you can seek copyright protection in a work that embodies a "sample", but the "sample" embodied in your work will not be copy written.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is only an opinion. Do not use the ideas outlined in this article as a substitute for legal counsel. 

In an article May 12, 2011 by Georg Szalal for The Hollywood Reporter introduced legislation was depicted that would fight against websites offering pirated content. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont spoke on a bill targeting online piracy. The bill would expose movies, music, TV shows, and other copyrighted material or trademarked content.

The Act would bring under U.S. jurisdiction websites that exploit U.S. based Internet service providers, search engines, and ad placement services. The House of Representatives are also looking at creating a version of the bill.

In addition the National Music Publishers’ Association, the Independent Film & Television Alliance, and the National Association of Theatre Owners recently gave public acknowledgement and thanks to the recent Senate and House legislative move.

Consequently, there has been widespread support among unions, workers, and organizations involved in the production, sale, and distribution of creative media content for quite some time and now it is finally getting traction on Capitol Hill.

“To the camera crew, the makeup artists, the truck drivers and all the other hard-working middle-class Americans involved in the making of a motion picture or television show, digital theft means declining incomes, lost jobs and reduced health and retirement benefits for them and their families," said Michael O'Leary, executive VP, government affairs at the MPAA. "We look forward to working with the Senate Judiciary Committee and 

in the House, chairman Lamar Smith and other leaders who are drafting their own bill to target rogue websites to ensure that the final legislation passed by both chambers and presented to the President provides adequate online protection of the American film and television community, an industry that supports 2.4 million American jobs."

Only time will tell if the legislation will in fact pass. Moreover, the bill in itself must be met with international compliance for it to have any far reaching success. Teeth added to the bill must be enforced and enforceable moving forward to win the growing fight of Internet piracy.

Russell Gaskins

Senior Director, Film, TV, Commercials

Chrysalis Music Group, L.A.

Interviewed by Bryan Bell

First thing I do that may be different than most is I look up the history on the artist. Not what most describe as history, but how they got into music, what influenced them, why they do what they do. That way I may be able to see a correlation to our roster to people that artist already respects and use that in the negotiation.

Secondly, I look at the cold hard facts. People lie all the time, but numbers don’t. No advance is even discussed unless I can prove it  could be covered by past releases and record sales.

In a newbie, I look for at least 10,000 sales in a time from of about 3 months from release date. If I see that then at least there is a chance in my opinion of re-couping money. In an established artist with marketing, you gotta at least give me 50,000. Otherwise, what is the point of continuing your career with the major label.

Number one, do they have a gem! If I hear an album, I have to see marketing potential in at least 1 song, just 1 song people! Can I get a Verizon ad or film trailer or something! That is key for me in particular, but like I have told people for a long time publishing is where it’s at man…remember when we spoke about things years ago? I told you back then Bryan that things were shifting and they have continued to shift in my favor lol.

Another problem as I see is not what should be given out in advance money cause that’s all easily solved by looking at the numbers, but the underlying issue from our perspective is marketing the material. Does the artist have enough fan appeal to get the machine behind him or her. Once that machine revs up the rest is easy as pie.

To be honest early in my career I was cut throat as I could be and it served me well. However, the way things are now and the people I speak with its unnecessary. What I mean by that is that things have changed to such a degree that peole understand you have to prove what you get where as before it was based more on feel what was given and what was accepted. So, yeah I definitely search for win-win situations much more now and help out as much as I can.

Hell yeah! And didn’t even know I had lost! But the company made it clear to me how I lost, what I lost, and how to stop it from happening again. I had good mentorship and people around me that didn’t pull the plug on me at the first sign of a mistake.

To be honest it hasn’t. It will be over years that our name would even change. Plus, my department is more relevant than it has ever been, so as far as job security, I’m fine.