Palace Music Group, LLC

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Music Royalties will start being paid for plays on YouTube

Did you know that 48 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every MINUTE?!? It’s hard to even conceive of… but it’s true and without question… heaps of the uploaded content contains music that could and should be earning royalties for plays on YouTube.

In an effort to begin to manage content on YouTube and start paying copyright holders royalties whenever music is included in a video that is played on YouTube, Google (the owner of YouTube) has purchased RightsFlow (a start-up that processes music royalties to help musicians, songwriters and music labels be compensated for their work).

RightsFlow has a music database of over 30 million songs and already processes licenses and royalty payments for thousands of publishers. Integrating the RightsFlow database and technology into YouTube’s content management systems promises to start paying $$ to musicians and music rights holders who have been uncompensated for the use of their music on the site. (Search for any popular band or song on YouTube and you will find an extensive mix of results that include recordings of copyrighted music).

Managing and protecting copyrighted content has is an ongoing concern for YouTube. Currently, a copyright holder can request YouTube to remove a video posted to the site that includes copyrighted content that is being used without authorization. However, won’t it be even better… to be paid for the use of your music!

I heard one of YouTube’s Music Managers speak earlier this year and she mentioned a point that is KEY to getting paid royalty payments:

People (this means YOU)/musicians/record companies… who want their content monetized will have to say so. (ie.. you have to be PROACTIVE to receive royalties)
See the YouTube Licensing offer:http://www.youtubelicenseoffer.com/

US Copyright Office set to RAISE FEES in early 2013

The US Copyright Office is planning to raise the cost for filing a claim to register works for copyright registration early next year. So, you have plenty of time (a good 3 months) to make the most of the current $35 copyright registration fee.

A $10 fee increase has been proposed for single authors filing an online registration for a single work of their own. And a slightly higher fee increase of $30 has been proposed for works made for hire (ie companies and entities that own and register works of others including employees)

US Copyright Office Registration (*proposed new fees in 2013)

1 author, 1 work (same claimant not a work made for hire, eCO filing).. now-$35/New fee* $45
All other claims eCO filing (including work for hire) .. now-$35/New fee* $64
Forms PA, SR, TX, VA, SE (paper filing) .. now-$65/New fee* $100

The US Copyright Office explains that these proposed fee increases are necessary to cover a higher percentage of registration costs, while still being in line with its mission to keep the copyright registration accessible and affordable. To be honest, I think it makes sense. I appreciate the cost being lower for artists, writers, musicians and creators registering their own work.

Click here for the entire chart of the US Copyright Office’s Schedule of Proposed Fees. From now through 5:00pm EST on May 14, 2012 the US Copyright Office is accepting comments on the proposed fee schedules at http://www.copyright.gov/docs/newfees/comments/

Take advantage of the $35 registration fee while you can! (you’ve got the rest of 2012!)

Spotify Takes Second Place for Most Record Label Revenue Generated

One of the many things that record labels have said in the past is that because physical record labels have fallen, that means file-sharing is killing the industry. The reality has been that sources of revenue has shifted and the fact that Spotify has now become the second largest source of revenue for the record labels is simply further evidence of this.

Business Insider is noting that Spotify has become the second largest source of revenue for the record labels. The number 1 source is still apparently iTunes, but one Spotify investor says that if growth of the company continues like it has been, Spotify will become the number one source of revenue in two years:

“iTunes is way up here,” our source said, gesturing up high, “and everyone else is way down here.”

At this year’s SXSW conference in Austin, early Spotify investor Sean Parker said: “If we [Spotify] continue growing at our current rate in terms of subscriptions and downloads, we’ll overtake iTunes in terms of contributions to the recorded music business in under two years.

I think that this just further cements the fact that people consume music differently now. One of the themes I picked up during my analysis of file-sharing studies was that the sales of physical albums has been so frequently used as a benchmark for how the industry is doing. In more recent years, total revenue was also used to say that the industry is somehow suffering from file-sharing (which is misleading because, as the studies have noted clearly, the unbundling of albums and people buying singles rather than whole physical albums could also explain the decline in total revenue).

While revenue may very well be down for record labels, the cost of distribution is also way down. Gone are the days where the primary and almost exclusive source of revenue is the physical CD. The industry isn’t totally depending on using a factory to burn and stamp CDs, stuff them in jewel cases, ship them in pallets via truck to numerous stores separated by thousands of miles and hoping that people would physically drive to the stores after seeing the music video on MTV and buying the album. Now, the market growth is available right in the home thanks to an Internet connection. It’s simply a matter of uploading the music digitally to a server so that people can stream the music or purchase the digital copy of the song. The process is substantially more streamlined and efficient for everyone involved.

Tips For Getting Your Music In A Commercial

By Andy Lykens

I’d be lying if I told you it’s easy and didn’t take a long time to get something placed. Even major publishers and labels have dedicated people (like me!) pitching music ALL the time. At the end of the day it’s a combination of a lot of different ideas, connections, and decision-makers and it can STILL get shot down by a final party at the end - more about all that in a later article. However at the most fundamental level there are some things you can consider about getting your music in an ad (please note these are also relevant to placing your music in film and TV).

Leave Copywriting to the Pros - At times people in other departments at Imagem will throw us ideas like “Hey, you should pitch this song for an electric company commercial because the lyrics are all about being in the dark!” or an artist manager might make some obvious connection of a song with one line about “rolling along” and think it’d be just PERFECT for a car commercial. While that may seem highly relevant consider this:

The agency probably already has an idea of the kind of song they want to use (if any) or any type of lyrical theme. These people are paid to be highly creative and the chances of them either changing their original concept or basing one on a blatantly obvious connection to a lyric is really small. Most of the time when choosing a song (unless they’re doing a brand partnership with a certain artist) they already know what they want.

Instead, focus on making your lyrics GREAT. Edit them over and over again until you’re not using too many or too few words, get your metaphors just right, and leave the creative interpretation to the pros. Often times staying on theme and on point with your lyrics can really make your music stand out.

Have Your Splits Ready- While not always necessary, it’s really important to have your backing tracks bounced out and ready to roll. Sometimes agency will want just the instrumental because there’s a lot of VO (Voice Over) on the spot, and sometimes they may want to have just the chorus come in at a certain timing.

The point is, if you don’t have them now it will probably take you too long to track them down once they’re requested. That means if a brief calls for a non-vocal cut, your music simply won’t be considered. And guess what? Non-vocal usage usually pays just as much as a spot with vocals.

Do Your Homework - And you thought your days of homework ended when you handed in your last Schenkerian analysis! Just because you’re not in school anymore doesn’t mean you can’t constantly be improving and learning. Since you’re so keen on getting your music in a commercial, why not learn about trends in advertising?

Ever notice how lots of commercials for the past few years have sounded a heck of a lot like the Juno Soundtrack? And before that all you heard were songs that sounded like “Clocks”? The Moldy Peaches and U2 seemed to have made a lasting impression on advertising. Currently, that genre has been expanded and if you’ve got something folky and slightly under-produced that has whistling, hand-claps, a ukulele, or some combination thereof you’re seemingly in good shape.

All half-kidding aside, people involved in branding are susceptible to trends just like everyone else. Head over to AdWeek.com and check out the AdFreak section. Watch a ton of ads and note what musical elements are common in them. Does your sound match anything you hear? What do certain brands choose as the soundtrack to how the want to be presented to millions of people?

Keep in mind I’m not suggesting you immediately run into the studio and record based on what you hear in the latest Old Spice commercial (a solo whistling album probably wouldn’t be on anyone’s top 10 anyway). In my opinion being yourself and finding your own voice will ALWAYS be the MOST important thing. But it does help to take a look at which music brands are choosing to use in their ads.

Release Date		Artist / Title
2/7	RESTORATION	Mario -
2/7	THE MF LIFE	Melanie Fiona -
2/14	THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW	Maino -
2/14	PINK FRIDAY: ROMAN RELOADED	Nicki Minaj Universal
2/14	#WILLPOWER	Will.i.am -
2/21	NEW LIFE	Monica -
2/28	WZRD	Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius -
2/28	ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT BLACK RADIO	Robert Glasper -
3/1	ELECTRO LOVE	Cassie -
3/6	THE STONED IMMACULATE	Curren$y -
3/13	STRANGE CLOUDS	B.o.B. -
3/20	NAKED PURPLE LADIES	Odd Future -
4/3	JOJO + JUMPING TRAINS	JoJo -
4/3	WILLOW: YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME	Willow Smith -
4/17	PLUTO	Future -
4/24	BRAVEHEART	Ashanti -
6/5	THE STONED IMMACULATE	Curren$y -
6/5	LES IS MORE	Ryan Leslie -
6/5	MORE GUNZ LESS BUTTAH	Cam Ron & Vado -
6/12	UNDERRATED	Bow Wow -
6/12	TRIPLE F LIFE	Wacka Flocka Flame -
6/26	UNDISPUTED	DMX -
6/26	SELF MADE VOL.2	MMG -
6/26	CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS (IMPORT)	Eminem -
6/29	KONKRETE JUNGLE	Akon -
7/2	5 (MURDER BY NUMBERS)	50 Cent -
7/3	FORTUNE	Chris Brown -
7/17	EXCUSE MY FRENCH	French Montana -
8/14	BASED ON A TRU STORY	2 Chainz -
8/21	KISS THE RING	DJ Khaled -
8/28	WELCOME TO: OUR HOUSE	Slaughterhouse -
9/4	TROUBLE MAN	T.I. -

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Music Royalties will start being paid for plays on YouTube

US Copyright Office set to RAISE FEES in early 2013

Spotify Takes Second Place for Most Record Label Revenue Generated

Tips For Getting Your Music In A Commercial

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