Blog Entries - January 2008

Sound Accounting - Tax Tips for the Touring Musician by Alyson Miller

Alyson

Alyson Miller is a CPA who provides specialized accounting and tax services solely to music and entertainment clients.

Taxes
are usually the last thing on the agenda of the touring musician but
as tax season approaches it’s a good time for you to get organized.
There are a number of tax deductions that are unique to musicians and
therefore handled incorrectly on the tax return or forgotten all
together. Before we discuss what can potent [...]

Music Publishing Terminology by Garry Velletri

garryvelletri

Garry Velletri is Senior Vice President of Bug Music. He has been with Bug since 1985 and is based in New York.

Music Publishing Terminology

The ownership and management of exploited music copyrights by licensing and registering certain

rong>rights and the collection of the resulting royalties and fees including mechanical royalties, performance royalties and synch fees.

[...]

The $52.45 Music Marketing Plan by David Rose

drose

If you’re a musician working to build a career in the music business hopefully you have already covered the basics like getting your own website, setting up a MySpace page and signing up for distribution through a company like CD Baby or TuneCore.

There are numerous solutions now available for marketing music at a minimal cost but keep
in mind that none of them can offer a magic bullet for success in the
music business. Below are a few categories and companies worth
c [...]

What Would John Doe Do - Sharing Songwriter Royalties

johndoe

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde

Question from Kathy in South Carolina

Hi JD,

I am a songwriter in an emerging band and we are about to complete and release our debut cd. What is your take on sharing songwriter royalties with others in the band? Also, how does one decide which performing rights organization to join these d [...]

You Have a Band and a MySpace Page, Now What by David Rose

drose

If you set up your MySpace page to help launch your music career but fame and fortune haven’t automatically followed here are some additional ideas to consider:

1. Be really, really, really good

Work extraordinarily hard at perfecting your craft. Write some great songs. Quality matters more than ever, make sure your songs are exceptional and the recording sounds good as well. You will
often have only one chance to [...]