Q & A Jose

Each month, as principle organizer of the New Mexico Music Awards, I write a column for the New Mexico Music Commission on the business of music. I get my column ideas from my 35 years experience as a musician and from the questions that are sent to me by readers of the column. You can send your questions to me at qandajose@joseantonioponce.com. I will research you question and answer you via e-mail and may use your question in a column. New Columns are added each month and the columns here are posted newest to oldest.

I also evaluate performance and technique for artists and songwriters in my area and contribute occasionally to music workshops in New Mexico. To contact me about an evaluation of your group or you as an artist or songwriter, please e-mail me at jose@joseantonioponce.com

NMMA Q&A

By Jose Antonio Ponce

For many, the term “serious musician” is an oxymoron. For those of you who have decided to choose this as a profession rather than just a way to get a date, you need a business plan. Yes, music as a career is a business, and if you try to skirt around this truth you will get cheated, either by an unscrupulous business partner, a record company or even a member of the band.

What’s in a business plan?

Yes, you need to know how to split up the money, but beyond that, you need to know how to put some of that money back into the band to get you into the position to accomplish all of your goals, so the first thing is to set some achievable goals with real deadlines. Do you want to record? Do you need new or better equipment? Would you like to travel? Get these things straight first and only then should you start putting together a plan.

First, determine the legal structure of the band. Are the band members partners, contracted musicians, or merely employees? Partners share in the profit and loss of the band’s financial future. Contracted musicians get a fee for their work but are under no obligation to the band at the end of their contract and the band has an obligation to keep these musicians working. Employees are “at will”. They can be fired without explanation and can apply for unemployment compensation. Employers must pay part of the employees FICA and Social Security taxes and must provide workman’s compensation for any injuries sustained during work (a true possibility for rock bands).

Partnerships require the following definitions and legal paperwork.

Division of labor

• Who has the authority to sign contracts and accept payment for services?
• Each member may contribute in some way beyond performance and be compensated accordingly. Some examples include:
1. Transportation
2. Booking / Accounting
3. Equipment loan
4. Rehearsal space rental

Compensation and investment

• How is the money divided?
• How much money goes back into the band? Ideally, a percentage of monies received should be funneled into individual funds before the band gets paid. Pick a figure (10-25%) and divide it into separate funds. Example:
1. Administrative (postage, CD duplication, promotional)
2. Transportation (gas, maintenance, plane tickets)
3. Lodging & Meals
4. Insurance (health & life)
5. Equipment
6. Recording
7. Wardrobe
8. Rainy day fund (for when there is not enough work)

Sorry, but serious musicians do not have a beer fund.

Creative

• Who owns the name of the band or the act and associated logo and trademarks?
• How are the copyrights divided? Are they owned individually or collectively? Do all members of the band contribute equally to the composition of original music?

Each partnership must have an End Game. Assets acquired as a group have to be divided and intellectual properties such as the group’s name and music have to be purchased or assigned. This is why it is always a good idea to copyright music as an individual prior to bringing the music to the group. That way there is no dispute over ownership.

Contract musicians need only to come to an agreement with the contractor as to compensation, rehearsal and performance times, and how much work is to be expected from the contractor. It could be one night, one week or one year. This is how the musician’s union works. You are guaranteed a fee for performance.

If you choose to go the employer/employee route, there will be lots of paperwork in store for you as you apply for federal employer ID numbers, fill out gross receipt, insurance and other tax forms and work out a payroll on schedule. Your best bet is to find a good accountant.

Most importantly, you should never go into business with other people without seeking the advice of lawyers. They are a necessary evil because people can become unreasonable over the smallest things. This is especially true of people in the creative community. We all get our feeling hurt very easily and can be quite petty. Take advice from one who knows, spend the money on a good attorney at the outset and you won’t have to spend money on a separate attorney at the end of this business relationship.

Hot site of the month. You can find generic work for hire and other contract forms on line at usforms.com.

Lately, I’ve been getting a few e-mail questions from people asking me to explain why the sky is blue, etc. Just to clarify, I will research any reasoned music industry question for you. You can reach me at qandajose@joseantonioponce.com.

NMMA Q&A

By Jose Antonio Ponce

RB writes—

I would like to pitch (some songs) to someone well known.

Ah, for the good old days, when talent scouts roamed the earth. This species lurked in small clubs looking for raw talent that they could mold into a superstar Also know as Artist and Repertoire representatives for the record companies.

There were once such people employed by Hollywood and the record companies, but they were either struggling artist agents who sold their clients contracts to a record company for a steady gig as a talent scout or talented producers, like Quincy Jones and John Hammond, who were asked to revive a record company.

It has never been easy getting your music to popular artists. Willie Nelson is likely the most famous of songwriters (Crazy, Hello Walls, Night Life) who sold much of his stuff on the street for less than $200.00 for the chance to make it big. These days, you need more than an opportune moment backstage with an artist. Sending stuff blindly in a shotgun effect doesn’t work well as you have to navigate between record company reps, management, publishers, personal assistants, etc. Don’t believe me? Just try to get something to Willie Nelson.

Artists and there agents get music from a variety of sources; publishers, other artists, popular songwriters, agents, managers, and record companies pushing their own stable of artists and writers. There are literally millions of songs out there, most not very good. If you had to wade through this sea of mediocrity, you would do your best to streamline the process.

You can get your music to an artist or individual with a little hard work and some research. You have something that Willie, Kris and Johnny did not have: The Internet.

First, research an artist through their affiliation with ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. Do a hard search of the artist’s name. This should give you a list of titles. Click on the most recent titles and this will give you the name of the publishing house that owns the rights to the music. Now click on the publisher link. This will give you an address and phone number to the publisher.

You may have to wade through any number of links and make dozens of calls, but eventually, you will make contact with someone who has the ear of the artist or, perhaps, the artist themselves.

Next you will need a marketing plan Artists these days can spend upwards from one hundred thousand dollars to market themselves to a record company. Songwriters don’t have to spend that much, but do have to separate themselves from the rest of the pack..

In the late 70’s, I worked for Welk Music. We had full time salesmen that brought big name artists into the offices and pitched them song after song after song for their new projects. Yes, you may have a contact name, but so do about a thousand other people hawking their music, and many have already built a relationship with the record company, publisher, management or the artist. You may only get one shot at this, so you want to make the best of it. Your marketing plan you be simple. Here’s what you should put together.

Make the process simple for the artist or publisher.

· Create an interactive website with mp3 samples. Make your commercially available CD’s easy to purchase. Provide a link just for publishers and those interested in buying you music.

· A simple, professionally done promo package with your best material should be available for mailing. Include music, video, recent press and reviews, a few photos and contact information on a mixed media CD. If you have tracks of your commercially released material that are simple, (Guitar and vocals, piano and vocals, stuff that’s uncomplicated) include these on the CD.

· Don’t send out bulky folders or a complex history of the songwriter. Frankly, nobody cares what your background is or how personal the songs are to you. They want to know if these songs can sell a million copies.

· Hire someone to handle all of the correspondence and answer if somebody should respond. They should have all of your information at their fingertips.

· Have an entertainment attorney that interested parties can contact Most companies and artists handle all of their transactions through a law firm. It is in your best interests to have someone working for you who speaks their language.

· Be willing to travel to close the deal. You are not the mountain; you are Mohammed.

Make sure that your paperwork is in order.

· Copyright everything you have commercially produced. This means having a certificate from the US Library of Congress. If you own the publishing rights through your own company, make sure that this is indicated on everything you send out.

· Have a simple contract for purchase or use of your songs drawn up by an attorney. This protects you from unscrupulous people.

Be flexible.

· Most publishing contracts require you giving up some of your copyright to the company. These companies know that where the money lies is in mechanical (airplay) revenue and leasing you music out for commercial purposes. Always make these deals through an attorney.

Hot site of the month. Go to ascap.com, bmi.com, sesac.com and copyright.gov to begin your search. Good luck!

NMMA Q&A

By Jose Antonio Ponce

CG writes: Could you direct me to a free or affordable resource? I need a release form for session musicians that have already performed and have already been paid for a CD project. I would like to be clear to license for TV and film. I have a release form for any future studio musicians I intend to hire-but need to clear this past one.

First, the release form you have may work just fine if you plug in the right dates. If not, there are a number of sites offering legal forms for free or for a small fee. Type legal forms into your search engine and refine your search until you find what you need.

If you are talking about hiring musicians for a recording session where they were recording music that you own the rights to, you need a basic Work for Hire Agreement-Musical Arrangement ($12.00 at uslegalforms.com). If there was music being created by the musicians during the recording session, things get a little dicey. Who owns the copyright? Is it for sale? If so, then you need an Agreement to Acquire Material form specific to what you are doing. Once executed, this will give you the legal right to market the music, lyrics or other material to anyone, including film and television.

There are forms specific to the entertainment and recording industry available, however, the more specific you get, the pricier the form and you must be sure that the form you need is legal in the state where the action or event takes place.

More the problem is getting everyone to agree on signing the document after the fact. Artists are a suspicious lot and always sure that someone is out to steal their creations and turn them into moneymaking projects. Which brings me to the heart of this month’s column-paperwork.

Once you have the right mix of musicians, instruments, music, arrangements gigs and money, it is not just a simple matter of hard work and good music. You need paperwork.

In the 40’s and 50’s in New York and around the world, if you wanted to play in a club, you needed your Club Card; without it, you were unemployable. Even Charlie Parker had trouble finding work without one. While things have changed, there are still small bits of paper that can hold you back. Here are just some of the things you need to stay solvent and become successful.

Contract Agreements between you and your band mates, you and the club or venue owner, you and your publisher, you and your promoter or manager. Everybody has a stake in what you are doing creatively. Everyone needs to know specifically what their rights are.

• A band contract spells out exactly what is expected of the band members, rehearsal time’s payment and re-investment in the group. If the band is creating music as a unit, each person needs to know that their creative rights are protected. Band members need to know what they are investing and what their return is.

• Work for Hire or Performance Contracts tell the club or venue owner more than your price. They should be specific as to method and time of payment; accommodations; equipment (backline) provided, if any; transportation to and from the event; length of set or performance; type of music performed (original or covers); promotional rights; film or TV rights and publicity.

• Copyright and Publishing rights give each member of the band or the creative head of the band control over the commercial use of the copyrighted material. You never know when something you wrote or recorded may spark interest beyond the bar room.

• Management Contracts tell the artist and promoter what to expect out of their relationship. Management can specify that the artist or group to be available for certain gigs throughout the year and the band has the right to expect to be employed at a certain price for a specific number of performances per year. Be careful. Many management companies place a penalty clause in their contracts that allow them to charge the artist for missed gigs, playing certain unauthorized venues.

• A passport allows you to travel the world, multiplying you income and giving you a chance to travel and get paid for it. Getting a passport is easy. Cost is $67.00 US plus a $30.00 processing fee and takes about 6 weeks although this can be expedited to 2 weeks for an additional $60.00 and overnight delivery fees. First time applicants must apply in person and provide a birth certificate, legal ID and 2 recent photos.

Hot Site of the Month: For detailed information on getting or renewing a passport, go to http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html

Ask me any question and I’ll research the answer for you. You can e-mail me at qandajose@joseantonioponce.com

NMMA Q&A

By Jose Antonio Ponce

Looking For Musicians

The NMMA is looking for 50 musicians, songwriters, producers or engineers to perform or create workshops for public schools throughout New Mexico, particularly in rural areas.

Arts program have been disappearing from public schools for the past ten years. Many schools have been forced to cut the programs in favor of other basic educational curriculum. Teachers and community volunteers spend their own time and money to keep arts in the classroom. As artists, we should do our part as well.

We are looking for a minimum of 50 music industry professionals to produce workshops or perform at least once in a public school this year. We realize that there are already many of you in the public schools on a volunteer basis. What we are looking for is a way to coordinate this effort.

Logistics for the program are yet to be worked out. Because of state and local rules, the school system can not always be as receptive as they would like to be. What needs to happen is for the New Mexico music community to show education officials that we are organized and ready to go once a system is in place for this effort. With luck, we can get the next legislature to consider funding for these programs in the future.

Please e-mail me at qandajose@joseantonioponce.com with contact information about your group or workshop and I will put that information on a list and get it into the right hands.

How To Get A Gig

This is the question most frequently asked of me. How can I get paid for playing music? The hard truth is that there are a hundred musicians out there that are better than you and a hundred that work cheaper. You need to be one of those two hundred people. Here are some simple tips to get you work.

• Think globally. You need to find a place to play and those places are everywhere. Don’t limit yourself to your home base. Your market is already over-saturated with talent. Do a hard search of live venues on the internet and see what’s out there.
• Make sure that everyone is on the same page. Make sure that everyone agrees to the details of what you’re asking for ($$$) and availability. Gigs don’t gel because someone doesn’t agree with the money or the timing of the gig.
• Have all the answers. How much do you charge? How long do you play? How many sets? What kind of music? Do you do weddings? What kind of setup (power; backline) do you need? Answers to these questions weed out the looky-lous and the cheapazoids and let club/venue owners know that you actually know what you’re doing.
• Try not to discriminate. OK, if someone from the American Nazi Party calls, you may not want that gig, but if someone offers you a job, it’s because they heard about you or like what they are hearing about you through your marketing. Your aunt Sophie’s wedding may not be the ideal gig, but someone there may own a club or have something better for you.
• One hundred contacts per week. At most, you will get three to ten responses, but this is a game of percentages. Consider purchasing a cell phone and pass it around with everyone making 20-30 calls each per week. Unlimited minutes and long distance is about 50 bucks a month, but it should pay for itself with the first gig.
• Get online. Websites are cheap and software is free. Twenty bucks should get you registered and online.
• Follow up. Respond to messages within 24 hours. Have a script available with all of the answers when you call back so you don’t have to make more than one return call.
• Be flexible. “Sorry man, we only play original music.” CLICK! Next contestant. Every band should have a few cover tunes that they can count on. Once you’re on stage, you can play all of your original material and simply introduce it by saying, “Here’s an old Nirvana tune.”
• Don’t be afraid to play for free every now and then. This is a great way to market you band. Keep a watch for upcoming festivals, city and state events, TV and radio shows and other marketing opportunities. Three to four times a year should be plenty.

Let’s be honest You are going to run into complete jerks in the club industry. People will take advantage of you, “forget” to pay you, threaten you and make promises they can’t keep, but, hey…you wanted the gig.

Hot Site of the Month: pubs.com lists traditional English pubs and inns online. The Brits love American music and it’s a great gig for a small duo or trio and a great way to see Europe. There are currently 111 pubs online.

Ask me any question and I’ll research the answer for you. You can e-mail me at qandajose@joseantonioponce.com