Indie Bible - zankMusic.com

When to get a lawyer
Every band’s situation is different, and the lists of questions to consider
will be as different as there are different band personalities and diff e r e n t
band members. The band may be better off, if a lawyer prepares the
AABM. In a perfect world, all band members would be separately
represented by a different attorney, but that is not realistic.
Should all these considerations prevent a band from creating a good
AABM? Absolutely not, the band should at least try to resolve amongst its
own members, the answers to all of the “what if” questions that will likely
come up in the life cycle of any band. The band can try to resolve these
questions on paper. Thereafter when affordable, one of the band members
may decide to consult with an attorney to review and revise the band’s
starting-point document - (typically, this turns out in practice to be the band
member with the most at stake in the outcome).
Be aware that one attorney may well not be able, or be allowed to
represent all band members simultaneously. This is due to concerns about
possible conflicts of interest, (especially if different band members have
d i fferent percentage investments at stake in the band’s commercial
endeavors.)
It is best to draft some kind of written agreement between band
members, since doing so now can save a lot of heartache and expense
down the road in the future.
John Tormey III is a New York lawyer who handles general commerc i a l ,
transactional, and corporate matters. John is also admitted to practice law
in California, and in Washington, D.C. John’s focus is in the area of
e n t e rtainment, arts, and media, including endeavors to market art i s t i c
material to professional entertainment industry recipients. Please contact:
w w w. t o r m e y. o rg
HOW TO LEGALLY S E L L DOWNLOADS OF COVER
SONGS
by Derek Sivers, CD Baby
© 2008 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.
♦
Please note that the below is not official legal advice. It is ONLY for the
U.S.A. We are not your lawyers, and you should always contact your
attorney before entering into any contract such as a license.
If you have recorded a cover version of someone else’s song, and you
plan to make that recording available over the Internet, the following
information applies to you. You must follow these steps BEFORE you
make your recording available for distribution to the public!
If you record a cover version of a song, (meaning your performance of
a song that has been released in the U.S. with consent of the copyright
owner), you are entitled by law to release your recording commercially,
and the owner of the copyright to the song cannot prevent you from doing
so.
The Copyright Act provides for what is called a “Compulsory
License” for downloads and CD sales, which means that if you follow the
steps set forth by statute, you can distribute your recording of that song on
a CD or over the internet. This Compulsory License is only available for
sales in the United States. Other uses of masters, such as streaming,
conditional downloads, and the like, are not subject to a Compulsory
License. A separate license from the publisher is needed in those cases.
The following details the procedure for individuals to obtain a
compulsory license to digitally distribute cover songs over the Internet to
end users in the United States.
Identify the Copyright Owner - the publisher
The first step is to identify the owner(s) of the copyright to the song. T h e
p u b l i s h e r. The easiest way to do this is to search the songwriter/publisher
databases, here:
BMI (bmi.com)
A S C A P (ascap.com)
SESAC (sesac.com)
Harry Fox (songfile.com)
U.S. Copyright Office (copyright.gov)
Keep in mind that the owner of these rights is typically a publisher, and
that the owner of the rights in the song is not the same as the owner of the
rights to any particular recording of the song. In other words, Record
Labels are almost never the owners of the copyright to the musical
composition - they typically own only sound recordings. You should be
looking for the name of a publisher (or in some cases an individual).
Be careful to identify the exact song you want, as there are many
songs with the same names. If you cannot find the owner through these
websites, search the records of the Copyright Office online.
If you cannot find the copyright holder(s) after a thorough search, you
can send the letter to the Copyright Office, along with a small filing fee,
currently $12.00. See the Copyright Office website for the proper address
and current filing fees if you are going to be sending the letter of intent to
them.
Instructions on how to do that are on “Circular 73” from the U.S.
Copyright Office, on a PDF file, here: copyright.gov/circs/circ73.pdf
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND DOWNLOADING A N D
READING THIS FILE, because it carries the essence of this entire
a rticle.
Send a Letter of Intent - EXACTLY like this
You must send one letter for each song for which you seek a compulsory
license 30 days before you begin distribution of your downloads. The letter
must be sent by registered or certified mail and contain the following:
1. A clear subject line/title that says “Notice of Intention to Obtain a
Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords”
2. Your full legal name
3. All fictitious/assumed names (stage name, band name) used
4. The names of each individual owning a 25% interest or more in the
distribution of the song (band members, if you split your sales
income)
5. Your fiscal year (usually January 1st - December 31st)
6. Your full physical address - P.O. boxes are unacceptable, unless that is
the only option for addresses in your geographic region
7. The title of the song
8. Name(s) of the author(s) of that song
9. The type of configuration expecting to be made (a music file
distributed over the Internet is called a “Digital Phonorecord
Delivery” (DPD))
10. The expected first date of distribution
11. The name of the performer/band doing the cover
12. Your signature.
If there is more than one publisher listed, sending a letter to one of them is
s u fficient for the compulsory mechanical license; however, if one or more
of the copyright holders is not from the United States, it is best to send the
notice to all copyright holders.
Send royalty statements and pay royalties
Once you begin distributing the song over the Internet, you must send
monthly statements of royalties on or before the 20th of each month, and
pay the royalties.
The monthly statement must be sent by registered or certified mail
and include:
1. A clear title that says “Monthly Statement of Account Under
Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords”
2. The period (month and year) covered by the statement
3. Your full legal name
4. All fictitious/assumed names (stage name, band name) used
5. The names of each individual owning a 25% interest or more in the
distribution of the song (band members, if you split your sales
income)