Music Business

Independent Record Labels: The Essential Steps to Successful Entrepreneurialism (2)

The Music Telegraph | Text 2019/11/18 [21:51]
Music Business

Independent Record Labels: The Essential Steps to Successful Entrepreneurialism (2)

The Music Telegraph| 입력 : 2019/11/18 [21:51]

 

© Pixabay



 

Independent Record Labels: The Essential Steps to Successful Entrepreneurialism (2) 

 

© 2001 Music Business Journal (by JoJo Gould)

 

 

The Following then is a summary overview of some of the key elements to be considered by those who wish to pursue the setting up of their own independent record label:

 

A record label is principally dependent on two key fundamentals - 'Artists' and 'Copyrights'. The  former are the label's product base, whilst the latter serve as the quantifiable assets of the company. Signed artists are also assets (as long as they are active), however most independent labels have short delas with their artists. (e.g. for two albums, or even just a few singles.) Note that artists are also notoriously unpredictable, and can therefore be difficult to plan around in the long term. A small number of labels cut out the artists altogether, and only deal in the area of compilations, or with the re-issuing of "back catalogue" works.

 

 

With regard to copyright, record labels should own their actual sound recordings - not just the physical master tapes, but also the intellectual property rights which accompany them. The inherent copyright in a sound recording is known as the phonographic master right. The rights of sound recording owners are protected by domestic laws and international treaties (the latter are mostcommonly administered by WIPO - the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland). Those who own this copyright can usually look forward to a 50-year revenue stream from a variety of sources such as: record sales, broadcasting and the right to incorporate (synchronise) their recordings into films and TV programmers (in the UK, for example, a sound recording is currently under copyright until the end of the calendar year 50 years after it is first released or first broadcast. (i.e. 'made available' to the public.)

 

 

On an international level, income streams from airplay can differ. Some countries for example - such as the United States - do not in fact pay record labels for broadcasting; however most of the other established markets do, and it is imperative that the new label registers their works with the relevant collection organisation for this purpose - such as the UK's PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited), Australia's PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia), Ireland's PPI (Phonographic Performance Ireland), and SENA (Stichting fer Exploitatie van Naburige Rechten) in the Dutch market. Membership of most of these organisations is free of charge; though  a commission on receipts will usually be levied. Note that some of these organisations (such as the UK's PPL) will also help issue you with ISRC codes (International Standard Recording Codes)for your product. These unique codes help to protect your copyright and ease sound recording administration matters with other industry bodies.

 

 

With regard to copyright, it is often cited that the party who pays for sound recordings owns them. This relationship can be ambiguous though, and should be clarified in writing in the form of alegally binding recording agreement. If a label's record agreement with their artist has only one clause in it, this should be the most important one - i.e. identifying precise ownership of the master recordings. 

 

 

Owning the rights to the master recordings also empowers the record label with the right to seet out licensing deals with other third party record labels and distributors - perhaps in foreign territories via affiliates. The most popular international network ing events for these kind of deals are: MIDEM (Cannes, France in January), PopKomm (Cologne, Germany in August), South By Southwest (Austin, Texas in March) and the Winter Music Conference (for dance music, in Miami, Florida in March). Assistance for attending such event is sometimes available from trade bodies, local enterprise bodies and development agencies.

 

 

 

 

 

< Copyright ⓒ The Music Telegraph :: Prohibit reprinting and redistribution >
The Music Telegraph Another articles
Comment
  • 도배방지 이미지

광고
Most Read
1
Designing an Effective Club Mix
2
‘Slooply’ - Creating music has never been easier!
3
Bunker Samples ‘Off-World Vol.1’: The Creative and Modern Approach to Vietnamese Traditional Instrument ‘Dan Bau’
4
Review #7 (Digital Audio)
5
Pre-Delay and Decay Time in Reverb
6
Basic Waveforms of Synthesizer: Sine Wave (1)
7
Broadway Orchestra Wage Scales: What Musicians Earn
8
Behind the Sound: The Critical Roles of Monitor and FOH Engineers in Live Performance
9
Removing Low-Frequency Rumble from Recordings
10
The Role of Bias Frequency in Analog Tape Machines
광고
Music Business (popular articles)
광고
Most Recent
Frap Tools 'Magnolia': An 8-Voice Analog Thru-Zero FM Synthesizer
Behind the Sound: The Critical Roles of Monitor and FOH Engineers in Live Performance
Inside the Psychedelic Mix: Creating Motion, Depth, and Sonic Warmth
How We Hear Harmony: Frequency Relationships and the Science of Critical Bands
Crafting an Alternative Mix: Depth, Power, and Vocal Presence
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고