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Jessica is joining ASCAP...it asks for the band name or musical group of which you are a member if any..would she just use her name as she is a solo artist or leave it blank?

Hey Slimcharm,This depends on what experience you sited to join. If she sited work as a solo artist, and doesn't play with any groups, then leave it blank.I'm pretty sure that it doesn't really matter, though. They seem to accept anyone who fills out the form completely.Good luckZink

What if she co-writes or sings someone elses stuff? Thanks!

Hey,Singing someone else's material isn't grounds to join ASCAP. The whole point of ASCAP is to get paid for music you write. As far as co-writing, I would say leave the Band Affiliation space blank. (I'm guessing you plan to site a "commercial recording" on the ASCAP form), unless she wrote this in a band situation. Is she in a Band?Z

I think the 'band' information would only apply if the band was run as a corporation. In which the band owns the writer's share and the members are considered employees of the corporation, (band)...

Yes she also writes her own material.BTW we just ordered a set up for her so she can make quality recordings at home ..her Xmas gift..a good mic and mbox and a few other things..and we got a nice discount in addition to the one they were offering and the ebates one using her friends ASCAP number. Prior to this the quality of what she had to send back and forth for collaborations was AVS and a noodle $19 mic from Amazon.

That better equipment should make a big difference, not only in the audio quality, but in her confidence as an artist!Yep, I know it! ASCAP gives out some great discounts.

Now if we could only figure out how to work the darn stuff! Which we got yesterday. I amazed myself by actually figuring out how to put the mic stand together and plug in the cords etc!However shockmounts are ridiculous..Surely someone can come up with a contraption that is not held together by rubber bands (if anyone gets fed up trying to make it as a musician here...there is money in building a better shockmount!) Now if I can only figure out why I needed it and what it does.

Nyuk! Shockmounts can be a challenge when you first run across one. They help to isolate the mic from external vibration. The mic you have is probably fairly powerful -- able to pick up birds singing outside and cars driving by if you crank the gain levels enough. The reason it is so powerful is that it must be able to pick up the very subtle nuances in a singer's voice. When a mic is cranked to those levels, though, the mic can pick up vibration transmitted through the mic stand, which will cause unwanted noise to be added to the vocal. The shockmount isolates the mic from this vibration. You get a cleaner, more realistic vocal in return!I'm not very familiar with the mbox, so I can't give you any help with setting levels. But to give you an idea, have her sing at about six inches from the mic. Make adjustments from there until you find the best distance for her and the right settings on the mbox to find the best overall combination.Best wishes...