One thing I’ve learned over the years about dropping independent music is to protect myself over all of my original materials. Think about it… You put in work for months to years and bypass all legal channels just to get the music out to the people?! Why? If anything, being independent will set you back if it comes to the courts and some big-time producer was feeling your track only to copy it. So, take some simple steps to protect it.
After having your music sounding all good, hesitate with pumping it out the public till it’s copywritten. I know…you’re anxious and want the world to hear your song, and even I’m guilty of this, but wait a while before pumping that music to the masses till you’re at least set up. and on the books. It doesn’t take long to get what you want…especially if you have a complete album done.
1. Copywrite Your Product
This could be anything from music to poetry, to writing, etc. For this instance, we’ll speak about a complete musical album. Visit: http://www.copyright.gov/ and on the right, you’ll see an “eCO” logo. Click that icon and read the info. After understanding, click the eCO logo again on that page and register as a New User. Once you’re in, you’ll run into a bunch of stuff to register your work and the songs within. This is all for only $35!! They lowered the price for online registrations. It’s around $65 if you do it the old fashion, pen-and-ink method…that takes too long anyway. Fill that in and submit it to the government with a payment.
2. Become a Publisher
Now, I’m a publisher and a writer but it’s all under one roof: ASCAP. If you don’t know what ASCAP is, well…just know all of the majors and minors are utilizing either it or a system like it. Other options are BMI and SESAC. You may have seen them on the back of your favorite CD covers (back when people actually read CD covers..lol). Anyway, these companies protect your works of art and you can also divvy up the percentages of payouts when your music is played at reputable venues (tv, movies, radio, etc.). So, if you have a producer who worked on your music and you want to give them half your publishing, you’d assign them 50% and yourself 50% through ASCAP or the others. It’s another way to protect yourself in case you ever heard the radio bumping your music and you want to get some payment for it. Visit http://www.ascap.com and sign up. It’s FREE!
3. Bar Code
Now, this step is completely up to you but to me, it’s a good idea to look completely professional when it comes to your music. And being easily identified through a Universal Product Code could be that extra step. Sure, you can sell your music at your shows or on your site but if you want to reach the masses, grab a UPC barcode and place it on your music. That way, if it’s scanned anywhere, no one can claim it to be anything else but your own work. I’ve done this for my past 3 CDs and for the upcoming ZODIOLOGIST. You need one anyway if you want to distribute it through iTunes and other major outlets. I utilize CDBaby for my needs. Sign up for a free account but each CD you sell is $39 and submissions to the majors is $20 with a $20 barcode. That’s not bad to become universal, world-wide and immortal in one clean sweep. You also get free ISRC numbers for each of your songs. You can use those codes in your ASCAP song listing as well to keep it uniform. Go here for an account: http://www.cdbaby.com.
That’s about it. Spend a little money to protect yourself and you may make a whole lot more back in the long run.