Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

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Bushido
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Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

Post by Bushido » Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:33 am

Hi all,

I had a question you might be able to help me clarify, regarding using your legal name and/or artist name.

I have both my legal name and paid to have an artist name registered to my PRO account.

I have used my legal name on contracts thus far, but I'm thinking it should be OK if I would like to use my registered artist name too.

So the question is, in addition to having your legal name, if you have registered an artist name with your PRO, can you use the artist name on a contract instead without worry? Will you be able to receive your money all the same using the artist name? Can you give your artist name to the people at Taxi to get signed without issues.

I saw a more recent Episode of Taxi TV where they suggested it's best to use only your legal name across everything, so just looking for some clarity on this.

Thank you!

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Re: Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

Post by PeteCrane » Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:02 pm

There have been threads on this before. But I've registered my artist name under a separate IPI number with my PRO too and signed onto Music Libraries using this name. When the Music Libraries registered my tracks, they showed up in my PRO account just fine. It's annoying that some Music Libraries don't have the capacity to cater for a separate artist name to list tracks under, but that's how it is.

Side-note: is it normal to have to pay a PRO to register a separate artist name? I didn't have to pay here in Australia with our PRO APRA.

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Re: Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

Post by Bushido » Thu Feb 23, 2023 3:42 pm

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your response and I apologize if it's been covered before, I'll try to clarify what I was getting at.

I understand that using whichever IPI should work, I was assuming that it should too too, so thanks for the confirmation.

My concern came after watching this more recent Taxi TV episode on this subject:

https://www.youtube.com/live/_lBBvL59NL ... are&t=1425

Let me clarify the question. What if your legal name is Matthew Pickles or Steven Pickles or Christopher Pickles or Jonathan Pickles and you are using Matt Pickles, Steve Pickles, Chris Pickles, or Jon Pickles in all your correspondence and on your Taxi profile and account, and even paid to have it as your registered artist/stage name in addition to your full legal name. Is it OK? Or say your name is more ethnic and the abbreviated version may be less obvious.

I get if your legal name is Matthew Pickles, Steven Pickles, Christopher Pickles or Jonathan Pickles and your artist/stage name is Cranberry Juice. It's not even in the same ballpark. So I'm thinking that's what they are referring to here.

However, the last thing I want to do is cause issues for anyone at Taxi on a simple technicality especially when they're trying so hard to help us.

Do you think if it's in the same ballpark they're going to understand? OR, if it's legally Matthew Pickles, Steven Pickles, Christopher Pickles, or Jonathan Pickles you simply don't use Matt, Steve, Chris, or Jon. If those abbreviations/nick names technically don't match your birth certificate, passport, or your social security...should you use the full name or not.

I am probably overly worried about nothing but better safe than sorry.

Thank you!

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Re: Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

Post by PeteCrane » Thu Feb 23, 2023 4:45 pm

Thanks for the link. I think the discussion there was more around clarifying with the client and the PRO who they're dealing with. Using a totally unrelated pseudonym like Cranberry Juice might be confusing because clients may think they're dealing with a band with multiple members or a management representative and that will be frustrating when it comes to quick turnarounds, so sticking to your legal name every step of the way gives consistency for your interactions as well as your career. I know it can be frustrating trying to track down an artist where sometimes they have abbreviations or middle names or middle initials or suffixes and it's all inconsistent.

I'd be interested about the sheer legalities of signing a contract under anything other than your full legal name as it appears on your birth certificate, or where the line can safely be drawn with abbreviations, which doesn't appear to be addressed in the video.

For me though, my artist name is just like my username i.e. Pete - my legal name as per my original IPI registration is Peter plus some middle names. So in my case I felt safe signing a legal contract under my artist name since it's basically the same as my legal name, and I was sure to have a separate IPI registered for "Pete" so the royalty tracking side of things was sorted out too. I did this to help with consistency as I've only ever worked in the music world under the abbreviation of my first name.

I'd say, client/career/PRO-wise, go with the consistent abbreviation all day. Legal-wise though, I'll admit I'm less sure.

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Re: Legal Name or Artist Name - Both Registered with PRO - So Can You Use Both?

Post by Bushido » Wed Mar 01, 2023 6:56 am

Hi Peter/Pete!

Sorry for my delay in response. I appreciate your feedback, that's exactly what I was getting at.

Peter Pete, Christopher Chris, Jonathan, Jon, Matthew Matt etc. but all with the same last name.

I've got both abbreviated and full legal with the same last name registered with my PRO too. One being registered as my "artist" name. I am also using the abbreviated on all platforms.

Just hoping not to cause any issues for anyone at Taxi when they go to put an album together and they think it's Chris or Pete but the legal name is technically Christopher or Peter!

Sounds like we both think it should be OK, and sense it probably is. It would just be great to have 110% peace of mind on it from the Taxi team after watching that video. He seemed pretty adamant about it. Don't want to frustrate people.

There's got to be other less obvious names out there that might fit into this too (using abbreviated first with same last name).

Thanks again.

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