How Your Music Spins On The Table

In one Indieology series, I made a brief yet long rundown of all the groupings in the music business chopped down in three criteria. I’ll try to somehow recap what I have discussed so far to refresh and get a clearer view of how every person in the music business is tied to each other.

But this time, I will do it by describing a succession of events and I’d like to start from the back end. Take note that my focus is the song as this is what should "fly" (read Indieology #3).

Step 1: The Audition

A struggling songwriter Bebon writes a song called “Big Winner”, records a demo and sends it to Dico Music Inc.(DMI), a music publisher. If the publisher sees potential in the material, he may ask a lawyer to draft a contract and sends it to the songwriter. Bebon reviews the contract with his entertainment lawyer friend, finds the deal fair, signs it, and sends it back to DMI.

Step 2: The Licensing Agreement

Happy All Records, an independent record label just signed a new and promising band called Plastic Eyes and the label needs one more song to complete the band’s album. Enter DMI with Bebon’s demo, pitches it in and, fortunately for Bebon, the label executives and A&R liked it.

Since Plastic Eyes is doing an album, a Mechanical License Agreement is issued by Happy All Records and DMI’s entertainment lawyer reviews it. The lawyer finds the agreement fair and advices the publisher to take it. The contract is signed, the label pays an advanced royalty to the publisher and the latter pays the lawyer and taxes, and splits the net 50% to Bebon.

Step 3: The Production

The song is now in studio production. People who are involved are the record producer (the main man), the recording engineer, the musicians (or the band), the artist (or the singer), and sometimes the band manager. Everybody should get rewarded for a job well done.

Before an album is released to the media, the recordings must be mastered. This entails another process and there are specialized studios that do this. I’d like to skip this part since it’s actually a boring topic to talk about (but if you are really interested, I’d be happy to talk with you over a cup of coffee).

Step 4: Release Date

Now Happy all Records is ready to release “Big Winner” as Plastic Eyes’ carrier single and is preparing the schedule of activities. Press kits are made and sent out to the press for immediate press release. Podcasters, internet radios, physical radios, satellite radios and other media venues are sent with a radio edit version of the song for its world premiere.

At this point, I’d like to emphasize that the release date of the song is also the official date “Big Winner” is published. I repeat, the published date of the song is essentially the day it got launched into the public.

Step 5: Marketing and Promotion

A few days after it is launched, an agent from the label went to all the TV networks with a music video to support the product. Three weeks later, the video is topping the charts and so is the song in radio stations and internet. Now the entire country is going gaga over Plastic Eyes and “Big Winner” is played as the finale in the band’s concerts.

Soon, with the help of booking agents, Plastic Eyes, is now one of the most popular bands in the land. They are performing in afternoon variety shows, guesting in music channels, performing in concerts as opening acts for an established band, and a nationwide tour tied up with a product endorsement.

Because of the band’s successful turnout, Happy All Records, with the help of the independent promoters and booking agents, intend to keep them in that limelight until “Big Winner” starts moving down the charts.

Ok. I’ll stop here.

So the band became famous, and the song made it to No. 1 in various charts for months. But remember, “Big Winner” is not written by any member of Plastic Eyes. It’s a song administered by Dico Music Inc. on behalf of Bebon, the struggling songwriter.

Applying the Copyright Law, and considering that the song had succeeded to its full potential the entire year – radio airplay, movie soundtracks of the same title with different versions, TV commercials, music downloads, album sales and so on – Bebon gets to be the one paid.

Think of royalty as something that is paid to someone for doing something right the first time. And when I say “doing something right the first time”, it doesn’t only mean writing a good song alone. One must also believe, religiously in fact, that the Copyright Law actually works if you send it to the right channels – technically that is.

Right now, Bebon could be sitting pretty and counting his royalty earnings. Maybe in 5 years time, another label would license the song for another artist and he would be earning again from the same song. Two years after that, a bank may be interested in using “Big Winner” as its jingle. Three years after that, a rapper uses the chorus part for his works. Who knows?

He continues to write songs and keeps sending them to DMI and other music publishers as well, hoping that one of those tunes could spark another fanbase. Who knows?

Right now Bebon is happy.