There are many services available to sell your music online and/or get it distributed to retail stores.
- Note that although most services are "non-exclusive", you can only use one service to put your music into stores such as iTunes. But a non-exclusive service will still allow you to sell your music with different services (just can't use more than one service to deliver your music to iTunes).
Some of the most well known services available online are:
(Note that this is NOT an exhaustive list, there are many, many services available if you search.)
A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials of a person, company, or organization distributed to members of the media for promotional use. They are often distributed to announce a release or for a news conference. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_kit
What to include:
- Biography
- Music clips
- High resolution press photos
- Tour dates
- Promotional videos
- Offline website or website links
- Press reviews and interviews
- Recommended if you like list (list of artists in similar styles or genres)
- Contact information
- High resolution photos or images of key executives, the company logo, products, etc.
A one-sheet is a document (one piece of paper in length) that a distributor uses to sell your album to retail stores.
Some information to consider including on your one-sheet:
- Information about your release.
- A little info about you as an artist or your band.
- A photo.
- Contact Information
- Dealer price.
- Formats of release.
- UPC code
- A small quote from the press.
Some things to remember when writing a one-sheet:
- It must be clear, concise and to the point.
- It is supposed to be a professional document, so use standard/legible fonts and stay away from extreme decoration and overly creative designs (it's not an art project).
- Don't make the main font too small or too big.
SoundExchange (http://www.soundexchange.com) is "a non-profit performance rights organization that collects royalties on the behalf of sound recording copyright owners (SRCOs — record labels, generally) and featured artists for non-interactive digital transmissions, including satellite and Internet radio" ("SoundExchange," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia).
SoundExchange exists to administer statutory licenses for sound recording copyrights, primarily through the collection and distribution of royalties for sound recording performances occurring under the jurisdiction of U.S. law. SoundExchange handles the following duties with respect to statutory licenses:
- Collects performance royalties from the statutory licensees;
- Collects and processes all data associated with the performance of the sound recordings;
- Allocates royalties for the performance of the sound recording based on all of the data collected and processed;
- Distributes the featured artist's share directly to the artist;
- Distributes the Sound Recording Copyright Owners' share directly to the copyright owner;
- Distributes the non-featured artist's share to AFTRA and AFM's Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund; and
- Provides detailed reports summarizing the titles, featured artists and royalty amounts for each of the sound recordings performed by the statutory licensees.
An administrative fee is deducted from royalties before they are distributed, with remainder being divided between the performing artists on a given recording, and the copyright owner of that recording.
SoundExchange collects and distributes royalties for all artists and copyright owners covered under the statutory licenses; these parties do not need to be members of SoundExchange for royalties to be collected on their behalf and distributed to them. (Wikipedia again, getting too lazy to cite).
In the UK the main performing rights organizations are PRS for Music (http://www.prsformusic.com) and PPL (http://www.ppluk.com/). They collect license fees for songwriters, music publishers and composers.
In order to receive potential license fees for your work, you have to become a member of one of these organizations. For some people, these organizations help a great deal, for some other people they may not be appealing.
More information about these organizations is readily available around the web and their respective websites.
In the United States, ASCAP (http://www.ascap.com/) and BMI (http://www.bmi.com) are the main performing rights organizations. They collect license fees for songwriters, music publishers and composers.
In order to receive potential license fees for your work, you have to become a member of one of these organizations. For some people, these organizations help a great deal, for some other people they may not be appealing.
More information about these organizations is readily available around the web and their respective websites.
"Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable" ("Public domain," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia) .
Music is in the public domain as with any other work in the public domain if
- all rights have expired or
- the authors have explicitly put a work into the public domain
- there never were copyrights
Music that entered the public domain was generally, but not necessarily composed before January 1, 1923 (as of the year 2012).
How long does copyright on a work last until it enters the public domain (in the U.S.)?
The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. For works first published prior to 1978, the term will vary depending on several factors. To determine the length of copyright protection for a particular work, consult chapter 3 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the United States Code). More information on the term of copyright can be found in Circular 15a, Duration of Copyright, and Circular 1, Copyright Basics. - from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html - See this chart for more info: http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm
Remember: If an artist records a public domain composition, the artist is granted a copyright to the recording. You can't use their recording without permission. But if you have the score to the composition, that is in the public domain, you can record your own interpretation of the composition.
In the United States copyright is "a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works". - Your work is also protected by copyright automatically in the U.S. the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form. - Even though copyright is automatic in the U.S. it's still a good idea to register your work.
CD Replication is defined as "the process of producing discs via methods that do not involve "burning" blank CD, DVD or other discs; the latter is known as duplication" ("Replication (optical media)," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia).
The replication of optical discs involves:
- the creation of a glass master from a client original master.
- the creation of a nickel stamper from that glass master.
- the injection molding of clear optical-grade polycarbonate substrates (clear discs) from that stamper.
- the metallizing and lacquering of those substrates to produce compact discs and DVDs.
Replication is used to make the retail ready CD's that we buy in stores.
"Replication (optical media)." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Sept. 2012. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
CD Duplication is defined as "the process of assembling source material—video, audio or other data—into the proper logical volume format to then be recorded ("burned") onto an optical disc (typically a compact disc or DVD)" ("Optical disc authoring," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia).
- This is exactly what you do when you burn your audio/files to a CD-R on your home computer.
"Optical disc authoring." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
Invented by Alan Blumlein, in which he called it binaural sound, is used to create a realistic stereo image. The quality depends on the acoustics of the room and size of the sound source. This method works really well with classical music recordings.
Two matched bi-directional (figure-8) microphones positioned 90 degrees from each other. The line bisecting the angle between the two microphones must point towards the sound source.
The decca tree is a stereo miking technique generally using 3 omni-directional microphones in a T shape. The microphones are panned left, center, and right. This technique is most often used to record large orchestras, choirs, medium to large chamber ensembles, etc..
Here's a link to recording engineer Torgny Lundmark's website summarizing how he miked a singer and pianist, as well as a piano soloist:
- http://www.torgny.biz/Recording%20sound_3.htm
Here's a link to the main page of his website, which includes lecture snippets and articles on acoustics, speakers, recording sound and other possibly helpful recording tips from his perspective:
- http://www.torgny.biz/
This technique involves two figure-of-eight microphones, parallel to each other and spaced 20 cm (7.87 in.) apart.
- This technique seems to be mostly used for an orchestra or chamber ensemble.
I would really like to see 4-point editing features and more options (possibly with its own menu) for crossfades. You can see what I mean by 4-point editing in the video below using Sequoia. There's a workaround for 4 point editing using Reaper (2nd attached video), it would be great to have this implemented into Studio One.
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