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The Business Plan
It may help
to think of your recording project as a business
venture. The recording session has a cost,
measured in time and money, but it also has
benefits. The benefits are derived from
what you do with your recording after the
session is done.
For
example, an established, independent artist may
spend several thousand dollars recording an
album. As with any venture of this size,
they will draw up a business plan, both to
attract investors, and to keep themselves on
track, should they be investing the money
themselves.
A business
plan may contain the following details:
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The
nature of the project
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The
goals and objectives of the project
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Tasks
necessary to attain those goals and
objectives
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The
product that will be manufactured and sold
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Details
of the production and manufacturing costs
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Identification of the market
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Strategy for selling and marketing
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Why
this strategy will work
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Breakdown of costs for marketing and
promotion
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Evidence that the market is interested
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Cash
flow projections
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Profit
and loss statements
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Balance
sheets
This may
sound complicated, but it's really just common
sense. It's important that you (and your
investor) be really clear on the realities and
possibilities for your project.
There are
many excellent books on drawing up business
plans, and almost anyone who's been through the
process of building or running a small business
should be able to help you. In the case of
this particular artist, they may determine that
they need to sell 3,000 CDs at a profit of $10
apiece, to recoup their initial investment.
Their
business plan will outline how the initial
$30,000 is going to be spent, and their plan for
how to sell 3,000 CD's at retail outlets,
concerts, over the internet etc. to recover that
investment. The band may have other
sources of income, as well as other expenses,
and these may also taken into account in the
business plan.
Your goal
may not be to sell 3,000 CDs. Your
objective may be to land a record deal. In
this case you may attract an investor who put up
the money in exchange for a percentage of the
royalties on the album. The details of the
business plan will be different, but the
fundamentals remain the same.
If you have
any questions about business plans, and how to
recoup your recording costs, contact us, and
we'll be glad to share some of the strategies
that have worked for other artists.
Preparing
For Your Recording Session
Coming in
to a professional recording studio to work on an
album or demo is always an exciting prospect.
However, you can make the most of your time in
the studio by following a few simple guidelines:
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Pick
your songs well in advance. Choose songs in
a variety of tempos, textures and key
signatures
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Make
sure the songs and parts are well rehearsed
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Record
your rehearsal sessions so that you can
listen back for awkward spots in the songs
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Make
sure your instruments are in good condition.
The better they sound, the better they'll
sound on tape
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Most
pop/rock recordings are recorded with a
click track. Ensure that your drummer is
comfortable playing the material to a click
track or metronome
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If
you're going to have "guest" players, make
sure they're prepared well in advance. Have
them practice with you so that you know how
well their parts are going to fit in.
-
Work
with your engineer or producer to create a
plan for the sessions, so that you know
which parts and which songs are going to be
recorded when.
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Remember to relax, have fun and take breaks.
Music is supposed to be fun!
Copyright Resources
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Important Notice:
LRM Studio
Productions can take no responsibility
for the ownership of any material that
is produced in our studio other than
what is written by the owners of the
studio, themselves. The
responsibility of securing copyrights
for original music produced in our
studio as well as mechanical licenses
for other people's music is the sole
responsibility of the client.
For information on how to protect
yourself and your music as well as how
to legally use other people's music,
please refer to the information below.
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How to Copyright a
song
You must obtain either FORM PA or FORM
SR from the Library of Congress.
FORM PA is the Performing Arts from and
is the standard for copyrighting most song
lyrics.
FORM SR is the form used for Sound
Recordings and is mostly used to protect both
song lyrics and/or the music.
For either form you can register 1 song or you
can register a group of songs under a single
title for a fee of $30.00. If you choose
to register a group of songs, then you can later
have the titles each registered using FORM CA
for $30.00 more dollars for a total of $60.00!
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Obtain
forms from the Library of Congress and fill
them out
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Include
2 copies of types lyrics and (song tapes if
using FORM SR
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Include
your check/money order for $30.00 to the
"Register of Copyrights".
Package
them up and mail them to:
FORM PA
Use FORM PA for copyright registration of
published or unpublished works of the performing
arts. This class includes works prepared
for the purpose of being "performed" directly
before an audience or indirectly "by means of
any device or process." Works of the
performing arts include: (1) musical works,
including any accompanying words; (2) dramatic
works, including any accompanying music; (3)
pantomimes and choreographic works; and (4)
motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
FORM SR
Use FORM SR for copyright registration of
published or unpublished sound recordings.
It should be used when the copyright claim is
limited to the sound recording itself, and it
may also be used where the same copyright
claimant is seeking simultaneous registration of
the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary
work embodied in the phonorecord.
With one exception, "sound recordings" are works
that result from the fixation of a series of
musical, spoken, or other sounds. The
exception is for the audio portions of
audiovisual works, such as a motion picture
soundtrack or an audio cassette accompanying a
filmstrip; these are considered a part of the
audiovisual work as a whole.
FORM CA
Use Form CA when: (1) An earlier copyright
registration has been completed in the Copyright
Office; and (2) some of the facts given in that
copyright registration are incorrect or
incomplete; and (3) you want to place the
correct or complete facts on record.
BMI
BMI is a music performing rights organization
and company that represents songwriters even if
they also happen to be recording artists.
They also collect money from people who use
music in the course of their business and then
pays that money to the writers and publishers of
the songs they use.
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BMI
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New York
320 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019-3790
(212) 586-2000
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Los Angeles
8730 Sunset Blvd. 3rd Flr West
West Hollywood, CA 90069-2211
(310) 659-9109
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Nashville
10 Music Square East
Nashville, TN 37203-4399
(615) 401-2000
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Miami
5201 Blue Lagoon Drive Suite 310
Miami, FL 33126
(305) 266-3636
ASCAP (American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers)
ASCAP is the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers, a membership association
of over 80,000 composers, songwriters, lyricists
and music publishers. ASCAP's function is
to protect the rights of its members by
licensing and paying royalties for the public
performances of their copyrighted works.
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rights reserved.
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about this site to webmaster@lrmsp.com.
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