Digital Distribution for Independent Artists

Finished an album? Got the cd in your hand? Want to get the music up and selling in iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody and other internet outlets that sell digital downloads? Want to manage your digital distribution yourself? You need a digital aggregator.

One of the great benefits for independent artists in recent years has been the ability for artists to reach across the internet and offer music to fans directly. That's where digital aggregators come in. Basically, a digital aggregator will take the artist's music, distribute it to outlets like iTunes and Napster, and funnel the income back to the artist.

Let me mention a couple of them. TuneCore (www.tunecore.com) will place music into each of the international iTunes Stores, Napster and Rhapsody. There's a modest startup fee, about $30 at the moment, and a yearly maintenance fee. They take music from all artists, and funnel full royalties back to the artists. For iTunes, that means $7 an album and 70 cents per individual track sold.

CDBaby (www.cdbaby.net) sells hard copy cds for independent artists, and also provides digital distribution in iTunes and the like. In other words, they sell cds and digital downloads for artists.

Here's an interesting website with a few more digital aggregators to add to the list: http://www.bemuso.com/musicbiz/digitaldistribution.html#independentaggregators

I hope all your digital distribution dreams come true!

http://www.hawaiiguitar.com

Album Update

The recording, mixing, mastering are done! Final touch-ups on the artwork are in progress, then it's off to the manufacturer.

The album is called, "Five Years and Many Miles." The title is a tribute to the time my wife and I spent in New York City. We moved to NYC just a couple weeks prior to 9/11, and moved away from the city a couple months after the five year anniversary of that history-defining tragedy. One of the pieces on this album is called "Five Years," because it was written on 9/11/06, the five year anniversary of the terrorist attack.

It is an incredibly rewarding, time consuming and educational process to produce, record and manufacture your own music. The music industry is changing, and for independent musicians like myself, the change is for the better. Distribution is more accessible. Manufacturing is more accessible. Recording tools are more accessible. But, the goal of capturing emotion through music is still constant. The music is still the focus, the magic and the energy that keeps everything moving forward.

It will be an interesting adventure to have this album with a home base of Hawaii, rather than NYC, but so far everyone has been more than welcoming as I'm making the musical adjustment to being in Hawaii.

Thanks for supporting!

www.hawaiiguitar.com

Music and Passion

Composer Mike Post is the "Tiger Woods" of television music production. His resume includes Law and Order, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and Magnum PI just to name a few. He's produced for the likes of Van Halen, and has two pieces of music playing somewhere in the world every second of every day. His interview on Greater Good Radio is nothing short of inspiring, and in my opinion, a must listen for musicians and music fans alike. Mike has a single-minded passion for music, and his enthusiasm is contagious. You can listen to the interview here.

www.hawaiiguitar.com

Hawaiian Music Conference

To all you Hawaii-based musicians, the Hawaiian Music Conference is happening January 27, 2007 on Maui. This is a great opportunity to hear from industry greats like songwriters Keli`i Tau`a, Keali`i Reichel, Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and Pu`ueo Pata, industry legend and keynote speaker Kenneth Makuakane, recording engineers Gaylord Holomalia, Dave Russell and Jake Rohrer the Barefoot Natives, marketing gurus Aunty Maria, Keola Donaghy and Karey Oura, music attorneys Bill Meyer and myself and a Grammy update from Alan Yamamoto. See you there!

Details here: http://www.hiedb.org/Conference.htm

www.hawaiiguitar.com

Performing Rights Organizations

If you're a songwriter and your songs are being played on the radio or internet, there may be income waiting for you.

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) collect royalty payments on behalf of publishers and songwriters for public performances of their songs. Here's how PROs work.

If you're a songwriter, you have the exclusive right to publicly perform your song under Section 106 of the Copyright Act. However, it's virtually impossible to know when your songs are being played and by whom. PROs were set up to remedy this problem. Songwriters (and publishers) sign up with a PRO, giving the PRO authority to collect public performance royalties on behalf of the songwriter. It turn, the PROs have licenses all across the country (and even beyond) with radio stations, internet radio providers, shopping malls, restaurants and anyone else who plays music in their establishment. The PROs collect money on behalf of the songwriter, take a small fee, and distribute the money to the songwriter.

The major PROs are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Each PRO provides lots of information on their websites about how to sign up and how they work.

Notice and Disclaimer: This posting is not legal advice and not intended as legal advice. It is intended only to provide non-specific legal information. This post does not cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to you may make the outcome different than you anticipate. This posting is based on United States law. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the laws of your country. This posting does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Darin Leong. This posting is not a solicitation.

www.hawaiiguitar.com

Ray Sowders - Beautiful Music

Ray Sowders is an O`ahu based slack key musician with a sweet and lilting guitar style and a rich baritone voice. His recent album, Ho`omalie just won a first place "Just Plain Folks" Music Award among 2400 album entries. Check out his music. You'll be glad you did.

www.hawaiiguitar.com

Mechanical Licenses for Song "Covers"

When a band or musician records and releases a "cover" of someone else's published song, that band/musician generally falls under the the "Compulsory License" provisions in Section 115 of the Copyright Act. This is often referred to as a mechanical license. The mechanical license requires that the band/musician must pay the copyright owner of the song for each copy of the song that is distributed (e.g. CDs, digital downloads). The current rate is 9.1 cents per song, for each song under 5 minutes long.

Here are the steps for acquiring a mechanical license:

1) Decide whether the song you are covering requires a mechanical license. For example, some songs are no longer covered by copyright (i.e. they are in the "public domain"). A copyright attorney can help you determine whether your "cover" requires a mechanical license.

2) Determine who owns the rights to the song you are covering. The Harry Fox Agency is often a good place to start when attempting to locate the copyright owner of a song. You might also find contact information for the copyright owner on the liner notes of the CD containing the song you intend to "cover."

3) Give notice to the copyright owner of your intention to "cover" his/her song. The notice requirements are also found in Section 115(b). You must give notice within 30 days after making your CD, and before you distribute it. You can also attempt to negotiate a rate that is lower than the 9.1 cents per song rate.

4) Pay for the copies that you make and distribute.

Notice and Disclaimer: This posting is not legal advice and not intended as legal advice. It is intended only to provide non-specific legal information. This post does not cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to you may make the outcome different than you anticipate. This posting is based on United States law. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the laws of your country. This posting does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Darin Leong. This posting is not a solicitation.

www.hawaiiguitar.com