• Demo Packages
• Copyrights
• Music Licensing & Sampling
• Songwriting & Publishing
• Record Deals & Music Labels
• Artist Management (Also: questions about non-performance income)
• Booking, Agents, & the Business of Touring & Live Shows
• Concert Promotion
• Performing & Developing Your Act
• Audition and Talent Contest Advice
• Backup Singing
• Band Psychology & Human Relations in the Music Industry
• Behind the Scenes Careers & Education
• Breaking Into the Music Industry / General Advice
• Casting Recruiting & Online Modeling & Talent Agency Scams
• Music Business Terminology

Demo Packages

• Demo Package Contents
• What "unsolicited material" really means, and how to get your unsolicited demo solicited
• Crash Course in Band Bio 101: What to Write in Yours
• Demo Song Selection: Cover Songs or No Cover Songs?
• Demos for Backup Singers
• Is my Canadian copyright protected in the US? Plus, advice about dropping off solicited demos in person
• American Federation of Musicians Union Regulations for Demos and Master Recordings: How to Stay Legal with the AFM, and What to Do if a Publisher Requests You Re-record to Comply with the Union
• Demo Critiquing Dilemma of an aspiring music exec

Copyrights

• Poor Man's Copyright: Is it valid?
• Protecting Your Music til Pay Day?
• Copyrights: Form PA or Form SR?
• Copyright: How to Register More Than One Composition Per Copyright Form, and How to Title it for Best Search Results Later
• Is my Canadian copyright protected in the US? Plus, advice about dropping off solicited demos in person
• "Help, I posted a Song on the Internet without Registering the Copyright!!!": Your Rights, and How to Fix it
• Sound Recording (Form SR): Who Owns the Rights?
• Poor man’s copyright…yet again.

Songwriting & Publishing, Music Licensing & Sampling

• Granting Publishing Rights vs. Selling the Song Outright. Which is Better?
• Uninspired songwriter? Or just excuses? How to stop complaining and just do it.
• Why it’s important for artists to write their own songs.
• How to Get Your Songs to Recording Artists
• How Two Artists Ended Up Recording the Same Song, and an Explanation of Song Holds
• American Federation of Musicians Union Regulations for Demos and Master Recordings: How to Stay Legal with the AFM, and What to Do if a Publisher Requests You Re-record to Comply with the Union
• Public Performance Rights: High School or Dance Performances
• Fair Use and File Sharing
• Music Licensing for Cover Songs: Who Pays the License Fees to Play Covers for Live Club Performances?
• License Requirements for Music in Non-profit Venues
• Licensing a non-music voice sample from a TV show or movie
• How Do I Get Permission to Use a Sample?
• Why is Unauthorized Sampling Illegal?
• What Size Sample Can I Use Without Obtaining a License?
• Keyboards and Sampling
• Can People Recognize a Chopped up Song Sample?
• Underground Sampling
• Do I Have to Obtain a License for Samples if I Don't Plan to Sell CDs?
• SESAC License Concerns
• Licensing for a Rap Version of an Old Song
• Recordable CDs with Mechanical License Fees Built Into the Price?

Record Deals & Music Labels

• How long does it take to put out your first record after being signed to a major label?
• Indie Label or Major Label: Are dollars the main deciding factor?
• What "unsolicited material" really means, and how to get your unsolicited demo solicited.
• Independent Label vs. Major Label Deal, and Questions You Should Ask When Deciding
• Why do people who can’t sing (and have to lip synch) get record deals?

Artist Management (Questions about non-performance income are here, too.)

• What Managers and Agents Do, How Much They Get, and Whether or Not you Need Both
• How to Find a Manager, and What You Need to Know Before Contacting Management
• What should be in a management contract?
• Length of term for management contract?
• Who pays Expenses: Manager or Artist?
• What's the difference between a manager, a personal manager, a tour manager, and a business manager?
• Management Double Commissions
• Instrument and Musical Equipment Endorsement Deals

Booking, Agents, & the Business of Touring & Live Shows (Also see our How To article, Elements of the AFM Performance Agreement, aka How to Read Your Performance Contract)

• If I have the sponsors and financial backing, how can I go about booking a top tier band?

• Difference between Opening Act and Co-headline billing?

• Concert Promotion Basics Artists and Aspiring Talent Buyers Should Know:  Deposit, Radius clause, Force majeure, Transportation, Settlement, What Happens When a Show is Canceled, and Why Artists, Agents, and Managers Won’t Work with Promoters they Don’t Know

  • Specific contract points and how the artist gets paid

• What Managers and Agents Do, How Much They Get, and Whether or Not you Need Both
• Can you Have a Financially Successful Tour Without Label Tour Support?
• Concert promotion and tour routing, does the venue contact artist, and effects of media consolidation on the live music industry.
• What are routed and non-routed dates, and is one better than the other?
• Music Licensing for Cover Songs: Who Pays the License Fees to Play Covers for Live Club Performances?

Concert Promotion

• Concert Promotion Basics Artists and Aspiring Talent Buyers Should Know:  Deposit, Radius clause, Force majeure, Transportation, Settlement, What Happens When a Show is Canceled, and Why Artists, Agents, and Managers Won’t Work with Promoters they Don’t Know

  • Specific contract points and how the artist gets paid

• Do small concert promoters (talent buyers) have a chance in today’s live music business?
• Concert Promotion, Market Cities, and Radius Clauses
• How much does the average concert promoter make per year, and how hard is the course of study?
• Concert promotion and tour routing, does the venue contact artist, and effects of media consolidation on the live music industry
• What is Clear Channel and Why Do Some People in the Music Business Hate Them so Much?

Performing & Developing Your Act

• Developing a show about an artist who’s passed away
• How to Improve Your Stage Presence
• What if I Need Back up CDs, and How do I put together a backing band?

Audition and Talent Contest Advice

• How can I get hired to be a preliminary judge for the cattle calls for shows like American Idol, where there are many judges used in the weeding out process in several cities before the singers are sent through to perform for the TV Judges?
• 6 Things You Should Know Before Entering a Talent Contest
• Advice for Song Selection for Vocal Audition for Talent Competition

Backup Singing

• Breaking into Backup Singing
• Demos for Backup Singers

Band Psychology & Human Relations in the Music Industry

• Making the Move to L.A.: Is it Time to Relocate Yet? What You Need to Know About the L.A. Scene
• 10 Tips for Significant Others Out on the Road for the First Time
• How to Get Your Fellow Bandmates to Stop Goofing Off and Get Back to Work
• Dealing With Drug Using Bandmates
• Demo Critiquing Dilemma of an aspiring music exec

Behind the Scenes Careers & Education

• Education for Talent Agents and Sports Agents, and Examples of Degree Programs
• Education for Venue Management or Live Events Management
• Preparing for a Career in Venue Management, and a Word about Internships
• How to Get a Job as a Tech on the Crew or Work Security for a Major Artist
• How to Become a Music Publisher, or...?
• How much does the average concert promoter make per year, and how hard is the course of study?

Breaking In & General Advice

• Getting Noticed in the Music Business as a Beginner
• Why don’t music execs smile at concerts?
• Breaking into the music industry in a small town
• Is 16 Too Young for the Music Industry? Advice for Young Teen Artists
• Finding Band Members and Networking at Age 14
• Getting Started in the Industry When You're Broke and Age 15?

Casting, Recruiting & Online Modeling & Talent Agency Scams (Reading our ScamAlert section is also recommended)

• Casting Company in NY: Is it Legal, or is it an Unlicensed Agent in Disguise? Also, who to contact if it's a scam.
• Online Modeling & Talent Agency Affiliates: Is This a Scam?
• Talent / Casting Agency Employment Recruiting: Is this Agency Legitimate? Plus, a Word on "Talent Showcases"
• More About Casting “Recruiting” and Modeling and Talent Agency Scams, and the Job Duties of Casting Directors

Music Business Terminology (Also check out the MBADC Music Industry Glossary) 

• Grammys: Difference Between for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year
• The Difference Between Album, CD, and Record
• What is an LP or an EP, and How is an EP Different from a Single?
• What is Clear Channel and Why Do Some People in the Music Business Hate Them so Much?

Got a question about the music business? Email your questions with "Q&A" in the subject line. The answer to your question may depend on the nearest market city, so please include your  name or initials and city and State (or city and country, if you're outside the U.S.) To protect your privacy, only your initials will be used if we print your question. Also, be sure your spam filter is set to accept email with hyperlinks from talktombadc(at)aol.com or muzbizadvc(at)aol.com so we can let you know your question has been answered.

Before submitting a question, check to be sure it hasn't already been answered. Questions from musicians get first priority.
 
Answers in the MBADC Q&A are to be taken as general advice only and are not intended as a substitute for legal advice from a competent entertainment or intellectual property rights attorney.

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