|
Artistopia Help Center |
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
Music Industry |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Information Help | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common questions and answers about the music business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Q. What is A&R?A. The term A&R is Artist & Repertoire which is basically the people who's job it is to find the new marketable artist for development. It could also be finding the right material for the right artist to perform, as well as getting them through all of the connections to perform the work. A&R people, whether online or offline, have their work cut out for them. The emphasis now is less on talent development than it once was, so the search has been more geared toward artists that have "self-developed" their music, talent, music business knowledge, music promotions, at least to a certain extent. Hence, Artistopia will be a perfect tool for music industry professionals to easily find what they are looking for. Q. What are the most common traits of those people that actually make it in the music business, the keys to their success?A. Determination, persistence, great people-skills, are all a part of the make up of those that made it in the music business. There are a lot of people with talent, that never go anywhere because they were missing the drive, the perseverance, the stick-to-it-ness that you have to have. Doors are going to close on your face, your music will be rejected at times. You may receive an unfavorable critique. It is having that confidence to KNOW that you have a GREAT talent. To take that critique and LEARN from it. One door closes on you, knock on another door. Surround yourself with people that believe in you and your work and will help you to reach your goals. Work hard on your art, make it the best it can be...and don't give up. ...also note- Sometimes flexibility and foresight are good abilities to have, to get your foot in the door. Q. Do I need to be a member of ASCAP to register?A. To join Artistopia, you do not HAVE to be a member of ASCAP or BMI, but it sure does look good on your resume, protects you and your work, and saves any hesitation on anyone's part for using you or your music if it is needed on short notice - if you are at that point in your career path. At ASCAP you can join as a writer, a publisher or both. There are several requirements to joining which include: you must be the writer or co-writer of a musical composition or a song that has been- commercially recorded, or performed publicly in any venue licensable by ASCAP, performed in any audio visual or electronic medium, or published and available for sale or rental. Generally, an artist as a beginner need to worry about licensing, publishing, copyright, trademark or an association membership. These legalities need not be explored by an up and coming band until there is an actual demand for that band’s music product. Q. Do I need to and how do I copyright my music and/or a song I have written?A. It is strongly advised that you do copyright your musical work (again, if you are at that point in your career, see above). The Copyright Act provides that copyright protection begins as soon as a music work is created. But registration with the Copyright Office is not required in order for a work to be protected under US copyright law. The copyright must generally be registered with the Copyright Office in Washington, DC before the copyright owner can sue an infringer. Also, considering that your music is being heard/viewed on the World Wide Web, your listening audience is not just in the USA. The fee is basically $30, but read the conditions at Copyright Office for further details. This is a small price to pay considering the trouble it would be if a problem ever arose over your hard work. Q. What about trademarks, copyrights, publishing issues?A. Some great legal advice and articles are found at: Music Contracts Music Copyright Music Publishing Music Business Music Bands Q. What is Indie?A. Indie is short for independent (indy is used occasionally), which can have several meanings. For us in the music artist development world, we use indie when referring to a music artist, band, singer, songwriter, or musician without major record label affiliation. In addition, it could refer to an artist that is determined on a Do-It-Yourself approach (DIY), doesn't care for a record deal, and happily strives for making music and/or a music career in his or her own way. Indie can also refer to an independent film or production company without major studio backing and works out of "Hollywood loop." Another definition used quite often is "indie rock" which is basically subcultures, stylistic or cultural characterizations (real or supposed) independence from money-making pop or more mainstream music often found today. Q. Do I need a business license?A. You will need to contact your local city and county government office to determine what particular legal documents are needed for your business. Q. Do I need to live in or move to the big city music hot-spots to really get noticed? Like New York, LA or Nashville?A. True, you would be closer to plenty of music-related sources that would boost your opportunities, such as learning the music business, developing your craft, and industry insiders. But that does not mean that you have to pack-it-up and move at all...especially with the opportunities available on the Internet today. You may also be surprised at the resources available in your own community. Research your options available to you, sign up with Artistopia, and bring the world to your doorstep in a few clicks. Q. Do I really need a press kit? What should be in it?A. If you are planning on going beyond playing small parties and local clubs, yes you do. This is what is expected by the industry as your so called "resume". An expertly put together press kit is precisely like creating a perfect resume to send out to a big company. It IS the music business. Your press kit will show how serious and how well organized you are. Your press kit will include:
After you have built your profile in Artistopia, you are able to view first, then print out (or email) your Press Kit through your Press Kit Builder for inclusion in your personal folder to hand out and promote yourself as need be. Q. At what point do I need an attorney, a manager, and whoever else?A. You need time to create your music and time to do the business side of things. As a very loose rule of thumb - when the biz duties start overwhelming the creative duties AND the distinct possibilities of making money from gigs/sales/income start to be more than you can handle on your own - that could very well be the time to start shopping for a manager. The real need of an attorney arises when you have a record deal falling into your lap or various contracts and legal documents. As you can imagine, an experienced attorney as well as a knowledgeable manager are needed to protect your best interests here. An experienced attorney will save your backside in a lot of ways you may not even have considered. A good manager helps when you are starting to receive regular income and will help you get the best results, the best record deal, maximum exposure- radio, retail, and the all-important publicity, wherever that can be arranged for the greatest potential. OR it may be that your manager goes out and fishes up the best record deal for you. A good manager will assist you in getting your "team members" together- the core professional people that handle every aspect of your NAME- your music image. Can anyone emphasize how important that is?? The other team members to consider will be a business manager (for financial affairs), a merchandising company (everyone wants your T-shirt, right?), an accountant (oh yeah, someone to handle your ching ching ching), and a booking agent (for those LIVE performances). Q. How good does the quality of my demo need to be?A. Your demo is a demo... and the A&R people understand that. A&R reps are thinking more on a song's potential and the artist's "marketability". A song's demo does not need to be as produced as it would be for an artist's demo. So it would vary on what you are pitching. A home studio quality production will work fine for many people, being that the equipment available today is so much better. It would take a bit of engineering skill for a decent quality demo at home, but it can and has been done. So, know this...understand WHAT you are promoting on the demo. And a basic understanding of the how-to's of recording. Network with friends, perhaps someone you know has the experience, knowledge or equipment to help. With that said, DO make your demo the best that it can possibly be, and upload your BEST material. Q. Do I need to get a Tax ID number?A. If you are receiving income, yes. Check your local, state and country laws. Q. What is Artist Development?A. Gone are the days of a record label discovering a fresh new face, supporting them, cultivating their creativeness, building up their fan base, and guiding their direction with the intent of turning them into superstars as they once did. Gradually, many labels moved into product development, which meant they are focused more on the immediacy of sales of the latest CD released, and not bringing the artist up to that point. In this Internet age, it is more the artist or band themselves or an independent label that must build the quality sound that is ready as a commercially viable product. On top of that, they need to have an established fan base, basic music business skills, perhaps even the early music sales of a well produced CD. Labels are looking for pre-packaged, very talented musicians that are already showing their value. A music career is a charted path to follow. Artist development involves all the issues surrounding and arising from that charted path, and crosses into knowledge of product development. Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate:
|
| Home | About Us | Privacy | Sitemap | FAQs | Terms and Conditions |