How Can You Tell If Uploading Your Cover Song To YouTube Is Infringing? You Can't | Techdirt

How Can You Tell If Uploading Your Cover Song To YouTube Is Infringing? You Can't from the broken-systems dept If there is such a thing as a functioning copyright system, one of its tenets should be that it is quite easy to know if what you're doing is infringement. Of course, as we've discovered over and over again, people infringe unkowingly all the time -- and it's not just because of negligence or ignorance. Often it's because it's simply impossible to figure it out. Take, for example, the quite common practice of uploading a cover of a song to YouTube. This happens all the time. Lots of people record themselves singing popular songs and put them on YouTube. According to Andy Baio, about 12,000 such cover songs are uploaded each day. Justin Bieber became Justin Bieber because of some YouTube videos of him singing someone else's songs.

 But is that breaking the law?

 Andy Baio dug into that question and discovered that it's almost impossible to determine that. Now, if you're merely recording a cover song for release, there are compulsory/mechanical license fees you can use. This is why you see cover songs on albums all the time. They're not done with "permission," but rather because someone paid the compulsory rate set by the government. The problem, however, is when you add video to the mix. Once you're talking about a video with music, a second license has to be secured: the sync license. And there are no compulsory rates with sync licenses -- meaning that the copyright holder can (and often does) demand exorbitant fees if they even respond to your request at all.

Now, as Baio notes, Google did sign a deal with the National Music Publishers Association to allow publishers to join a program where they get some money in exchange for allowing their songs to be played by others on YouTube. But no one knows whose publishing rights are actually covered by that agreement, meaning that it's effectively useless.

 The end result? It's likely that a rather large number of the cover song videos uploaded each day are infringing -- potentially opening up the uploaders to huge statutory fines for violating copyright law. This is a clear sign of where the law is broken. The law clearly wasn't mean for these kinds of situations, and it's easily fixable. Baio makes the point that here's an easy reform to copyright law that would decriminalize a very common behavior:

 The real question: Why is it illegal in the first place?
    Cover songs on YouTube are, almost universally, non-commercial in nature. They’re created by fans, mostly amateur musicians, with no negative impact on the market value of the original work. (If anything, it increases demand by acting as a free promotional vehicle for the track.)

   The best solution is the hardest one: To reform copyright law to legalize the distribution of free, non-commercial cover songs.
   Copyright law was intended to foster creativity by making it safe for creators to exclusively capitalize on their work for a limited period of time. Cover songs on YouTube don’t threaten that ability, and may actually prevent new works by chilling talent that could go on to do great things.

   Seems like a simple enough thing to fix... which is why it's unlikely to actually happen.

 How Can You Tell If Uploading Your Cover Song To YouTube Is Infringing? You Can't | Techdirt

How Can You Tell If Uploading Your Cover Song To YouTube Is Infringing? You Can't | Techdirt

Musicians: How to Turn Rejection Into an Opportunity | DIY Musician

Musicians: How to Turn Rejection Into an Opportunity | DIY Musician

Musicians: How to Turn Rejection Into an Opportunity | DIY Musician

the-monster-list-of-audio-sites

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the-monster-list-of-audio-sites

An Open Letter to Venues That Exploit Their Musicians

The below post has earned quite alot of attention over the last seven weeks. Full-time saxophonist, Dave Goldberg, wrote an honest letter to venue owners addressing their disregard and exploitation of the working musicians. The post is powerful and I asked David if I could republish this article on Grassrootsy. I’m hoping that you’ll read this and think about what part you play. Venues can take advantage of you, but only if you let them.

Source:Grassrootsy.com
grassrootsy» Blog Archive » An Open Letter to Venues That Exploit Their Musicians

An Open Letter to Venues That Exploit Their Musicians

Music Marketing for Independent Musicians | DIY Musician

Music Marketing for Independent Musicians | DIY Musician

Music Marketing for Independent Musicians | DIY Musician

3 Must-Read Articles on Targeting Your Audience | DIY Musician

3 Must-Read Articles on Targeting Your Audience | DIY Musician

3 Must-Read Articles on Targeting Your Audience | DIY Musician

This Machine Kills Record Labels, Pt. 1: What Record Labels Don’t Want You to Know | DIY Musician

For the next 5 days, Molly King and I will be in Memphis, Tennessee (home of Elvis, Stax Records, Sun Studios, and Beale Street) for the 24th International Folk Alliance Conference– an amazing event where thousands of independent folk, americana, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, and pop musicians come together in the Downtown Memphis Marriott to perform, collaborate, encourage one another, and make connections.


Many of these folkies are professional musicians who make a living managing their own careers.


The Folk Alliance Conference is always fun to attend for the simple reason that everywhere you turn (in lobbies, hallways, hotel rooms, exhibit halls, and on showcase stages) there’s amazing music being made; but it’s also incredible to see these talented artists doing their OWN networking with concert and festival promoters, DJs, house-show bookers, bloggers, and other industry professionals. It’s one of the clearest signs that things have changed forever.
The major label system is dead; the time for musical independence is here!


Now you have at your disposal all the tools you need to achieve musical success on your own terms. Armed with just a guitar and a laptop, you can sustain a musical career without selling your soul or giving away all of your musical rights to someone who is just looking at the bottom line.


You no longer have to fit into the mainstream machine’s mold; you’re free to pursue your art the way YOU want to.
In the new music business you can:


Build your own following. From recording to promotion, you now have the tools you need to achieve and sustain a suc- cessful independent music career.


Keep all your rights. No more signing your life away in blood on a barroom napkin. You get to decide how your music is heard, licensed, and distributed.


Earn money and KEEP it. Gone are the days when a label kept the lion’s share (or more) of your earnings. It’s YOUR hard work and music; you should make the money.

——————————


Over the next 3 days, we’ll look at each one of those areas and share information with you that will help you move your music career forward.


Oh, and if you happen to be in Memphis at the International Folk Alliance Conference, stop by the CD Baby booth! Molly and I will be giving out some amazing prizes– including a beautiful Nashville-strung acoustic guitar, rad CD Baby trucker hats, and some other fun stuff.


For a chance to win, we’ll be giving away free temporary tattoos with the “This Machine Kills Record Labels” logo pictured above. Grab one of those, apply it, take a picture, and then upload to Twitter or Facebook. Be sure to leave a creative caption and tag CD Baby. At the end of each day, we’ll choose our favorites for the prize winners.


-Chris R. at CD Baby



This Machine Kills Record Labels, Pt. 1: What Record Labels Don’t Want You to Know | DIY Musician

This Machine Kills Record Labels, Pt. 1: What Record Labels Don’t Want You to Know | DIY Musician

Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: Should You Quit Your Band?

Should You Quit Your Band?

Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: Should You Quit Your Band?

Digital Music News - 42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn Money...

Digital Music News - 42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn Money...

Digital Music News - 42 Different Ways That Artists Can Earn Money...

How To Use Facebook to Promote Your Music – Video Available Now | Michael Brandvold Marketing - Music Marketing

How To Use Facebook to Promote Your Music – Video Available Now | Michael Brandvold Marketing - Music Marketing

How To Use Facebook to Promote Your Music – Video Available Now | Michael Brandvold Marketing - Music Marketing

Licensing Revealed: The Little Secrets of Music Licensing | DIY Musician

Licensing Revealed: The Little Secrets of Music Licensing | DIY Musician

Licensing Revealed: The Little Secrets of Music Licensing | DIY Musician

35 Audio Tutorial Sites That Will Keep You Learning

35 Audio Tutorial Sites That Will Keep You Learning

35 Audio Tutorial Sites That Will Keep You Learning

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 1 | DIY Musician

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 1 | DIY Musician

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 1 | DIY Musician

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 2 | DIY Musician

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 2 | DIY Musician

Blogging 101 for Independent Musicians, Pt. 2 | DIY Musician

It’s Called the Music Business for a Reason by Ally Burnett - Tips and Strategies for Independent Musicians

It’s Called the Music Business for a Reason by Ally Burnett - Tips and Strategies for Independent Musicians

It’s Called the Music Business for a Reason by Ally Burnett

This article was written by
Featured Artist

Follow @ihelpmusicians

“But I’m an ARTIST! Focusing on the ‘business’ will make me less of one.”

I have met far more than one person in this industry that holds this belief. While I understand that everyone has their own way of working, knowing the ins and outs of doing business proves to be extremely helpful in the long run. How many musicians do you know that have entered into a bad contract? Are stuck with a manager from hell that gets paid for doing nothing? That signed the first crappy record deal they were offered and can’t get out of it? Had those people taken the time to do just a little research, they might have been able to make better and more informed decisions. This industry can be a really rough place if you aren’t surrounded by people that know what they’re doing and it’s often hard for some to know who they can really trust. While there are some (hard) lessons you will learn only from experience, I’d like to give you some advice I think might help.

Find a good lawyer/attorney and don’t sign anything until they review it.

Make sure they specialize in entertainment. This is particularly important because a truly good lawyer will prevent you from ever signing into something that will hurt you. Every entertainment lawyer is different and none of them come cheap, but I can guarantee you the right one is worth every penny. Plus, they allow you to remain “the artist” and keep your professional relationships pleasant by handling things like negotiations.

SERIOUSLY, DON’T SIGN ANYTHING YOUR LAWYER HASN’T APPROVED

You may think you’ve read enough contracts to understand the gist of the legal jargon within said contracts by now, but you should still never sign into anything without the approval of a lawyer. Ignoring this advice is how bands end up with terrible deals that lock them in for too long and don’t do anything for them. It’s how managers can still take your money even after you part ways and how companies will try to cheat you out of time, money and your rights. Five years from now when you’re still tied to a label that hasn’t even released your music, you’ll wish you would’ve hired that lawyer.

ABC: Always Be cautious

This piece of advice may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised how hard a concept it is for some people to grasp. There are so many scammers in this industry just ready to pounce on anyone naive enough to fall victim to their schemes. If something seems too good to be true, proceed with caution or not at all. Let me tell you a story.

I recently received an email from what I can only assume is a “management” company (they don’t even specifically list their job title on their website) stating that one of their “scouts” had expressed interest in me and asking if I would be available to for a call. I responded with the times I would be available for a call, and they decided to reply with an email telling me what they do. The email was obviously copy/pasted after my name and rattled off details that signaled big red flags to me. They claimed they wanted me to work with their production team and cut a single, that they would pay a percentage and I would “only have to pay blahblah”. At this point, it was entirely obvious to me that the person emailing me had clearly NEVER EVEN LISTENED TO MY MUSIC, let alone taken the time to do any research. Had they done so, the email wouldn’t have been completely impersonal. I replied asking them a couple of questions and politely explained that I’m very cautious about who I work with and what deals I enter into. The biggest red flag that they were just trying to get traffic to a studio? I never received the phone call or a reply via email. It became very clear to me that they were merely trying to get people in to record at the studio they work with.

Stuff like this happens more often than it should. Keep caution in mind when it comes to working with new people. Do you research and do your best to work with people that someone else you know can vouch for.

Know A Little Bit About Everything You Do

It’s impossible to know everything, sure, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to learn a little bit about everything you do. Know who presses your merch, know how much it costs, know who the promoter for every show is, know where the spare van keys are, know how much our producer is charging you, know how much you’re spending and how much you’re making. I’m not saying you have to take on every task yourself, but you should know how to just in case you have to someday. This is especially important for solo artists. Being self reliant is a beautiful thing when you’re an independent artist. Knowing what you’re doing can also save you from making uninformed decisions that end up being disastrous. And for everything you really can’t do for yourself….

Hire A Professional

Sure, it’s nice to save money on photo shoots by setting up a tripod with your point and shoot camera and snapping some pics of you or your band but….really? You know that saying “It takes money to make money”? Well, it’s kind of true. Let me put it to you this way: imagine that you work for a record label, management company or PR firm. Now, imagine that you’re looking over two press kits. One has professional pictures and professionally produced/mixed/mastered and pressed CDs. The other has low quality, self shot images and a burned disc of some demos that were recorded at home. You really want to like the second one, but the poor quality of the recording makes it hard to tell whether the song is actually good or not. You choose the first press kit, because it’s clear to you that the band takes what they do seriously enough to invest in their career. If you’re not willing to invest in your career, why should anyone else be willing to? Sure there are still people out there listening to demos that sound awful and finding the potential in them, or relying on how a band or artist performs live, but it’s a bit more courteous to present your music as best you can so as not to waste your time or anyone else’s. Give your good product some good packaging!

Knowing the business aspects of music can really help you with your career. There are quite a few independent artists out there that make it without the help of a label because they learned how to take things on and do things for themselves. Being independently successful is a beautiful thing. Don’t be afraid to take on the “business” in “music business”!

It’s Called the Music Business for a Reason by Ally Burnett - Tips and Strategies for Independent Musicians

3 Examples Why SOPA/PIPA Would Not Help the Music Industry [GUEST POST] | Tight Mix Blog

3 Examples Why SOPA/PIPA Would Not Help the Music Industry [GUEST POST] | Tight Mix Blog

3 Examples Why SOPA/PIPA Would Not Help the Music Industry [GUEST POST] | Tight Mix Blog

10 Quick Tips For Safeguarding Your Songs « The Essential Secrets of Songwriting Blog

10 Quick Tips For Safeguarding Your Songs « The Essential Secrets of Songwriting Blog

10 Quick Tips For Safeguarding Your Songs « The Essential Secrets of Songwriting Blog

grassrootsy» Blog Archive » Grassrootsy’s Top 10 FREE Resources for Musicians

grassrootsy» Blog Archive » Grassrootsy’s Top 10 FREE Resources for Musicians


We’re excited about EVERY SINGLE one of the following resources. We hope you will be too!

INDIE ON THE MOVE
Yes, we truly love these guys. We wrote about them a while back, but quite alot has changed since our original post in 2009! For one thing, IOTM is still the #1 place to get an artists opinion on a venue they’ve played. Was it worth the trip? Was the venue easy to work with? Or did they blow you off and treat you like trash? Its also the premier place to get booking information, discover venues you’ve never heard of, and find gig opportunities in a city you’re passing through. IOTM is the answer to a touring artist’s empty calendar.

ARTISTDATA
You have no excuse not to be using Artist Data. Its the cleanest looking web calendar there is – giving you html to embed within your website (example), and your own page on their server to host your calendar (example).

NOISETRADE
Honestly, who hasn’t heard of Noisetrade by now. It’s the go-to place for downloading free music from artists you love, and artists you’ve never heard of. Make your music available on NT and get emails in return. It might not seem like a revolutionary idea, but when you collect hundreds or thousands of emails from new fans that you wouldn’t have had otherwise, Noisetrade turns out to be a pretty genius idea. You increase your fanbase exponentially. A few friends and I did with our December Christmas EP and we were able to collect a few thousand emails.

FLAVORS.me
These guys are the answer for every artist who doesn’t yet own a website, doesn’t have the money to invest in one, or hates WordPress. Flavors.me keeps it simple, clean, and fun. Integrate your social networks, upload a background image, choose a layout and colors, and you have a website. If you want to customize and personalize your link, its as simple as buying a domain name and forwarding it to your Flavors account. Check out this example from Grassrootsy reader Michael Natrin.

ROOTMUSIC
It’s the missing piece of your Facebook Band Page. RootMusic is a classy, simple music/video player and show calendar for Facebook (example). Yea, there are tons like it, but these guys do it right. I’ve seen my fair share of audio players and calendars and most are cluttered (bad design) or just straight up ugly. As an extra advantage, RM syncs with ArtistData, so when I plug my shows into AD, they appear on RM. Maaan, I love this stuff!

NEXT BIG SOUND
These guys are like your virtual accountability partner. They help you make sure you’re doing your job. simply type in your name and see how how your fanbase is growing across all of your social networks. NBS will tell you how many fans you made last month and then tell you whether or not if it was an improvement from the prior month (example). Why do we like this site? Because its the perfect way to gauge what social networks are most effective for you and which ones you need to improve on. Give it a try! If you don’t see your information, create an account, plug in your social networks, and start tracking.

STORENVY
Looking for a web store to sell your band’s merchandise? There are so many wonderful sites out there. It was hard to pick one. Actually it was pretty easy. We (I personally) love these guys and have been using them for my swag since 2010 (example). They allow you to sell as many items as you want and don’t require any fee to host your store. They’re layout is super clean and easy to understand for shoppers. We wrote a whole blog on them several months back. You can read it here.

STOCK.XCHNG
As a singer/songwriter, I am continually creating artwork for posters, Facebook Events, flyers…etc. I love stock photo sites that offer royalty-free images that I can incorporate into my artwork. Stock.Xchng is just one of them. Create an account, search for photos and use the ones that you like. You also have the option of paying for certain, “better quality” images. Its a great site that has come in handy many times.

HOOTSUITE
Do you have multiple twitter accounts? Or do you want a place where you can view all of your social networks in the same dashboard? Hootsuite allows you to keep track of everything in one place. Lets say for example that you run your personal twitter account and your bands twitter account. Why not keep track of both via Hootsuite instead of signing out of one account in order to sign into the other. It minimizes the hassle. Hootsuite supports Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Linked In, Foursquare, and more.

CRAIGSLIST
Hmmm…does this count? Yes! Craigslist is the answer for all things unanswered. It’s like duct tape. Need to buy a boom stand? Need a photographer or designer to work on the cover for your next album? Need to sell your amp? Don’t underestimate craigslist :)



In the process of writing this blog, we’ve come across many other resources. If you have something you’d like to submit, put it in the comments or shoot us an email at grassrootsyonline@gmail.com. It must be a FREE-to-use resource.

grassrootsy» Blog Archive » Grassrootsy’s Top 10 FREE Resources for Musicians

Making Money From Your Home Studio

Making Money From Your Home Studio


This is a guest post from Nick Lewis of Brighton Mastering.

After reading Joe’s post about charging for your work, I had a few thoughts about home studio engineers starting out, and the current state of the recording industry.

As an online mastering engineer, I get sent very respectable sounding home-brew mixes all the time, but a lot of home studio owners don’t feel confident enough to charge for their work. Your studio and your skills are an asset, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t benefit from that.
Investment

All businesses require investments of two sorts: tools and labour.

A typical home studio owner has invested hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars into their equipment and countless man hours learning their trade.

Most haven’t had the benefit of formal training or the traditional ‘tea boy’ route (harder than ever to afford or find a venue for). But that doesn’t mean they haven’t studied, and aren’t talented at what they do.

If you’ve invested in tools and labour, and can produce a professional product as a result, then you’ve got yourself a business – that’s true of any industry, recording included.
Keeping the Client Happy

The only thing any business really has to do is keep its clients happy.

The biggest obstacle standing in the way of most home studio owners charging for their work is a lack of confidence which stems from aiming to match the highest budget, glossiest major label recordings.

As long as you’re confident you can work to a standard that will satisfy your client, then take the job. It doesn’t matter if it matches up to the latest Britney Spears record, it just matters that your client is satisfied enough with the work to pay you.

Obviously you want to do a good job, and this is not an excuse to be complacent and aim lower. It’s just something to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to start charging for work.

The trick is to be honest about where you are in the quality scale and price accordingly. It doesn’t make sense to charge the same rates as Abbey Road when you’ve got a laptop, a £500 audio interface and an SM58. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t charge at all if that’s all you need to get a decent sound.
Thinking Business

Take an objective look at what you’re doing. Ask people you’ve worked with what they honestly think of you work. Pitch your price at the right level. Work to the highest standard you can.

A copywriter needs a copy of Word and the ability to write. An audio engineer needs a studio and the ability to make things sound good. If you’ve got that, you’re in business.

This is a guest post from Nick Lewis. Nick runs Brighton Mastering, a mastering studio based in Brighton, UK. For more tips, tricks and opinion, check out his blog.

Making Money From Your Home Studio

The scam of certain licensing sites. « Loren Weisman’s Blog

The scam of certain licensing sites. « Loren Weisman’s Blog

The scam of certain licensing sites. « Loren Weisman’s Blog