Band Performing My Songs, Receiving Royalties Question

[dtrain1234]

Hi,

I just had a Christian rock band contact me in regards to 2 of my gospel songs that they want to perform them. They are also planning to go into the studio to record for their first album sometime later this year. I'm a member of ASCAP as a writer and publisher, so how can I add a party agreement between me and the band for performance royalties? They might add the songs to their album as well, but they want to see how the public receives my songs first. Thanks for your time and I'm learning so much about the music business already!

[mazz]

I don't know too much about the live performance side of things, but I do know that performance royalties aren't paid by the band themselves, they're paid by the venues and the networks. ASCAP, BMI, etc., collect license fees from any entity that uses music by their writers and then distributes it to the writers quarterly based on whatever surveys, formulas, etc. that they use.

As far as the live performances of your pieces go, I'm not sure how to get that information ASCAP and whether the churches your songs would be played in would pay license fees to the PROs. All I know is that the band is not on the hook to pay you for performance royalties, unless you negotiate something over and above that with the band.

If they record the songs, you can negotiate some payment from them for the use of your songs, but if the songs get broadcast or licensed, then the royalties would be paid by ASCAP. Again, the band is not responsible for paying performance royalties to you.

There's plenty of good information out there in books about the music business. This is pretty basic stuff but seems to be generally misunderstood. Study up on the business side, it's not rocket science and it's in your own best interest to have a working knowledge of it BEFORE you sign any deals.

Congrats on the interest in your songs and good luck with it.

Mazz

[matto]

As far as the live performance of your songs, you should contact ASCAP and ask if they need anything from you to help with the collection and disbursment of live performance royalties from the applicable venues. Unless these guys perform in major venues the royalties generated will probably be negligable.

As far as the recording side, if you are the sole writer and publisher you would be entitled to collect the full statutory mechanical royalty for your songs (9.1cents per song for every CD (or permanent digital download) sold). This mechanical royalty would be paid to you by the record company. You won't get any kind of upfront "recording fee" from the band or record company. Additionally if the songs receive radio, tv or qualifying internet airplay, ASCAP would be paying you so called "performance royalties" for those uses.
All you have to do to get the performance royalties is register your songs with ASCAP and make sure you are credited on the record.

[dtrain1234]

Thank you to both of you for your words of wisdom! Haha, I am going to buy some books on songwriting too, so I will have to buy one that deals with the business side of music, but I'm not sure which one yet. Any suggestions? So I will have to negotiate a price with the band, or else let them do it for free. If it gets the cut on the album, I will have to negotiate the royalties for that as well? Do they do it by percentage of copies/digital downloads sold or an 'x' dollar amount?

[simonparker]

Hi Darin:

There are many good books on the music business that deal with the questions you're asking. However, the book that I find myself going to the most, time after time, is "This Business of Songwriting" by Jason Blume. The book methodically discusses all avenues of revenue streams for your songs, the different types of licenses, as well as issues commonly (and some uncommonly) seen that arise.

With regard to what was mentioned earlier, your mechanical royalties will be roughly 9.1 cents per 'copy' as legally required in the United States. You can create a mechanical license for the band that discusses royalty rates, etc. Keep in mind you can also register with Harry Fox Agency (in the US) for mechanical rights licensing and administration. Due note that if this song has multiple jurisdictions (i.e. Canada, UK, Australia) you will have to work with different agencies and mechanical rates. Likewise, your PRO will have to ascertain how you would collect performance royalties from them. Finally, you will also have to consider other avenues of royalties such as those that are provided by Sound Exchange.

hope this helps, and best of luck...

[DorothyWallace]

D Train,

I had one song recorded by another artist and registered it with Harry Fox (www.harryfox.com). It's very easy.

Dorothy