Following are, in no particular order, 10 important things you need to do before you release your album:

1.) If you are hiring musicians (background singers, instrumentalists, etc.) to play on your album, you will need to make sure they fill out a Musician Release Agreement or talent release form. This agreement is not necessary for musicians that own their own record label, are performing on their own album, and will pay for and release the album themselves. It is used more for the "hired guns" than group members.

2.) All writers and publishers involved should fill out a Songwriter / Publisher Share Agreement that spells out their writer and publisher shares. This agreement is a document that all writers and publishers should sign and keep for their records. Any money made from the songs (except for money paid to the writers and publishers by their respective Performing Rights Organizations) should be split up according to what is spelled out in this agreement.

3.) All involved songwriters should fill out a Form PA and register their work (the songs) with the U.S. Copyright Office.

4.) The artists / performers or the record producer (or both), unless Musician Release Agreements have been signed, should fill out a Form SR and register the album (sound recording) with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you are the writer and performer / producer on the album, you can fill out just one Form SR instead of both forms.

5.) Register for an International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for your songs. The ISRC is a unique international identifier for songs (tracks) on sound recordings. The ISRC functions as a digital "fingerprint" for each track. Unlike a Universal Product Code (UPC), the ISRC is tied to the track and not the carrier of the track (CD, cassette, etc). In addition, the ISRC remains allocated to a track regardless of changes in ownership. It is an extremely powerful tool for royalty collection, administration, and anti-piracy safeguards in the digital arena. The ISRC is usually inserted onto the CD master during the mastering session.

6.) If you include songs on your album that you have not written yourself (i.e. covers), you will need to obtain a Mechanical License from the Harry Fox Agency (via Songfile) that will allow you to manufacture and distribute up to 2,500 copies to the public. If you happen to know the songwriter(s) yourself, you can negotiate a fee directly with them or just write up a Notice of Intention to obtain a Compulsory License and issue it to them.

7.) If you wish to have your own UPC Bar Code, you should become a member of the Uniform Code Council. Several companies, for example CD manufacturers, will offer you a UPC Bar Code free with their services. Keep in mind that in these cases the UPC Bar Code will belong to the CD manufacturer. If you produce another album, it will not have a UPC Bar Code unless you get another free one from them or someone else. Having your own Uniform Code Council account will allow you to assign all your music-related products a unique UPC Bar Code in your company's name.

8.) As a songwriter and/or publisher, in order to get paid for the performances of your songs on radio, TV, nightclubs, in airlines, elevators, jukeboxes, etc., you should join a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). In the United States, you can join ASCAP or BMI. Another U.S. PRO is SESAC, but affiliation with SESAC is by invitation only (subject to review by their writer / publisher relations staff).

9.) As a Sound Recording Copyright Owner (SRCO – e.g. artist, producer, record label), in order to get paid for non-interactive digital transmissions on cable, satellite and web cast services, you should join SoundExchange. They are designated to collect and distribute royalty payments to member Sound Recording Copyright Owners.

10.) Add your songs to the Gracenote Media Database. When correctly updated, song titles and artist names will be displayed on media players (e.g. home stereos, computer media players, satellite and terrestrial radio, mp3 players, cell phones and other wireless devices, etc.) that take advantage of the Gracenote Media Database data. Alternatively, you could use a freedb-aware program to upload your songs into the database.

Hey Herbie Great question!

Joanne

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For those who don't know, Jeremy is the producer/co-writer with Natalie Brown. Those guys rock!

When is the new album going to be finished Jeremy? Looking forward to checking it out. I think we got some demos for it for the awards, but don't forget to send in the finished one!

Perhaps we'll link this in the newsletter as a great tip sheet for folks!

Thanks for the input. I always get asked these questions (and many more) so I thought I would put together a list of 10 things people can do and post it on forums. Many people know much of this stuff, but if I can help a couple of people that would be cool. Sorry if all of it isn't relevant for everybody.

Jeremy

Herbie

Your information is a real contribution and very much appreciated. Don't be a stranger. Your thoughts, opinions and contributions are always welcome.

Thanks again for all the positive reaction/feedback.

Anybody here a writer/publisher member of SESAC? I hear they're pretty selective about membership and it's quite an "honor" to be a member. Also, how many of you take advantage of any of the ASCAP or BMI showcases? I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question.

Jody

For me it was getting a meeting with a SESAC artist rep in the first place. I went to a songwriters meeting that had a rep from all three organizations. At that point I wasn't happy with BMI, and most of the people at the meeting were ASCAP people who were pissed at ASCAP. I decided to talk to the SESAC rep who was essentially being ignored. I got a meeting with him at the SESAC office in LA.

I ended talking to him about my situation at the time and then he asked me to play him a bunch of my music. When we got done he said that everything he heard could easily be on the radio and would love to have me join SESAC. So started the process of extricating myself from BMI and making the switch over to SESAC, which ended up taking about 6 months. But it was well worth it.

But yes, it's a selective process as I've tried to bring friends in, and they didn't get in. So just because you know someone doesn't guarantee you'll get into SESAC. They have to like you, your music, and think you have potential - that's what I seem to think anyway. I don't really know they're process on who they take in.

I will say this, I've gotten more money, more promptly from SESAC than I ever did with BMI, and I don't have to ask (or more directly complain) to get it.

Jody

#10 is very new and confusing to me. Freedb.org lists so many possible freedb-aware programs to use to add your songs. Is there a particular freedb-aware program that anyone here has used that is free and easy to use?

Thanks for posting it Jeremy.

Michael Borges

Short,clean, and clear contracts work well when there is a lot of trust and an understanding about the music business among all involved. Keep in mind that the long ones tend to cover your a** much better when the s*** hits the fan, which isn't all that uncommon nowadays.