We’ve spoken at length about liability insurance for live bands, especially touring bands and...
Band Management
Learn more about the music business and band management, including music licensing, booking your own DIY tour, music publishing, copyright law, music royalties, music promotion, music distribution and performing rights organizations.
10 Tips for Making it in Today’s Music Industry
Dear Indie Musician, You’re Not Going to Make It Well, there is ONE secret… It’s harsh, it’s...
How to Use YouTube to Promote Your Band
YouTube can be a powerful tool for promotion. But how do you move from gradually increasing the...
Twitter #Music for Indie Artists (part 2 of 2)
Why the Social Media Giant Will Become Your Most Essential Promo Tool Twitter #Music is officially in the wild and available as an app in your favorite store or you can visit the standalone web...
Concert Security: How to Protect Yourself, Your Fans, and Avoid a Lawsuit
THE SAME ELEMENTS THAT MAKE FOR A GREAT SHOW can sometimes turn against you. The combination of large crowds, loud music, dancing, booze and a host of other elements are often a breeding ground for...
LEGAL PAD: Tips for International Touring
No matter what side of the spectrum you are on, touring in a foreign land can be complicated. If you’re considering your first tour or festival overseas, here are some things to keep in mind:...
LEGAL PAD: Stealing Your Way Up The Charts
The website www.ThatSongSoundsLike.com is dedicated to one mission: placing similar sounding audio clips from well-known artists side-by-side. With hundreds of submissions posted over six years,...
Forget a Record Deal, Get a Rights Management Deal
A Look at the BMG Chrysalis Master Model If you are a frequent reader of this column, you know that I have strong opinions on signing to major label. Specifically, I'm adamantly against it (for many...
BMI on Rights Withdrawal: An Open Letter to the Music Industry
It is a dynamic time in our industry; it is a time of experimentation and transformation of many of the models which have generated revenue for recorded music and for music publishing, impacting...
Make Money & Fans in Second Life
I spoke recently with musician Seth Regan, whose online avatar Mankind Tracer is one of the most popular virtual performers in Second Life. Second Life is an online virtual world started in 2003,...
How to (Legally) Break Free From Your Industry Contracts
CONTRACTS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. You’ll enter into dozens of contract over the course of your career, binding your professional relationships with managers, record labels,...
LEGAL PAD: Registering Your Band’s Trademark
YOUR BAND NAME IS A BRAND NAME, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Registering your band’s name and logo with the United States Patent & Trademark Office is the most effective way of protecting your band’s...
LEGAL PAD: The End of the First Sale Doctrine?
AS A MUSICIAN, YOU WILL BUY AND SELL HUNDREDS OF ITEMS over the course of your career. From instruments to gear, tour vans to used albums, nearly everything you own – minus a handful of cherished...