FAQ

You should sign with a manager when the opportunities a manager can create are better than the ones you can create yourself. Or if you are spending more time deal making than writing songs, you should get a manager. A good manager can drum up new business, coordinate your existing business activities, and generally advise you and propel your career forward. Managers get a percentage of your earnings, so your ideal candidate (a) believes in your career and its possibilities, (b) is aggressive in seeking out new revenue streams, (c) is looking out for your long-term best interests in any deals that are made and (d) is trustworthy.

There is no set formula. It is up to you and your publisher to negotiate the terms of a publishing deal.

Hopefully you are signed up with a performing rights organization like BMI (see Is a Performing Rights Organization the Same Thing as a Publisher?. PROs collect money from radio stations (and other businesses that use music) and distribute them as royalties to songwriters. You can only get paid from radio play if you are affiliated with a PRO.

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Mechanical royalties are per-unit payments collected by record companies for the manufacture and distribution of songs on CDs and tapes, usually based on the current statutory rate as fixed by the Copyright Act. In 2004, the rate is 8.5 cents per song or 1.65 cents per minute, whichever is greater.

You should register your songs as soon as you have officially registered as a songwriter. Again, most offer online works registration or you can call your local office for the paperwork.

No, that’s part of the PRO’s function. If your songs are registered with a performing rights organization and you are receiving radio play, then the PRO will get that information automatically.

The Musician’s Atlas and the Music Registry are just two examples, but there are lots of directories on the market. Google can help you find them and most are available via Amazon.com.

Yes, a new version of an old song, also called a derivative work, should be copyrighted, noting the ways it’s been altered from the previous version.

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