MUSIC BASICS For The INDEPENDENT SINGER-SONGWRITER

I began performing music in the mid-1960s, and here are some of the things I learned along the way.
1. ORGANIZE! This will save you a lot of headaches and confusion down the road.
a. Create a music catalog listing all of your songs by the title and dates written, if known.
b. Save, index, and catalog all of your lyric sheets and demo recordings.
c. Create backups of your audio masters & copyright deposits and store them in a safe place.
d. Create an outgoing Mailing/distribution List to keep track of where your products went.
e. As the songwriter/composer, you are your own publisher and you own all the rights.
2. Register your songs with the US Copyright Office in Washington DC. The forms come with instructions.
a. TX: For registering song lyrics. [All three forms can be used to register a collection of songs under one title.]
b. PA: For words & music and sheet music. Often used by indie artists and labels to protect their product.
c. SR: Use this for protecting the sound recording note for note as well as the basic words and melody.
d. Online registration is $35 per application, whereas the paper mail-in form is $65 per application.
e. Register a group of songs under one title for the same $35. [Ive registered over 500 songs this way!]
f. Registration is complete and effective once you have entered the information, paid the fee, and mailed,
uploaded, or hand delivered your deposit [CD, tape, etc] copies to the Copyright Office. [I registered my first
copyright in 1977 using paper forms, switched to online, and always hand delivered my deposit copies.]
g. If you co-write, always register those co-written songs separately from your solo written songs. Copyright
protects ownership, so dont give ownership of your solo songs to your co-writer!
h. Federal Courts are very reluctant to acknowledge the Poor Mans copyright in infringement cases!
i. Avoid those copyrighting services. Really similar to the poor mans copyright, and youll basically end up
paying more than U.S. Copyright registration.
j. I personally will not grant a Creative Commons License for the use of my songs because it strips away
certain exclusive rights, and circumvents some important provisions of the Compulsory License.
Library of Congress Copyright Office
[www.copyright.gov]
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20599-6000
[202-707-3000]
3. Join BMI as a writer/composer member and register your songs in your Works catalog.
a. Your songs cant earn performance royalties until theyre registered in your Works catalog!
b. BMI has a publisher membership, but if you are only publishing your own [and maybe your co-writer[s] songs,
theres not need to join as a publisher member.
c. You are not obligated to join BMI, but by doing so you can earn some extra pocket money from radio airplay
and the BMI Live program. You should also know this: The P.R.O.s, BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC are NOT
music publishers or record labels, and you do not need their permission [whether youre a member or not] to
record, publish, or produce your songs, start a record label or a publishing company!
[Im a BMI writer member with over 200 songs in my Works Catalog, and a Mechanical Copyright Protection
Society member, a United Kingdom organization that licenses my song Yeah Im A Cowboy that was also
released on a British record label in 2006]
BMI, Nashville
10 Music Square East
Nashville, Tn. 37203

[www.bmi.com]
[615-401 2000]

4. Join SoundExchange as the copyright owner and/or artist. They monitor streaming sites like Jango and
Pandora and collect for the public performances of your sound recordings. [My BMI songs are also registered
with SoundExchange]
SoundExchange
[www.soundexchange.com]
1121 14th Street NW, Suite 700
Washington DC 20005
[202-524 7839]

5. I have never paid for radio airplay in my life and Im not about to start! I have a stack of radio playlists
dating back to the early 90s listing my songs being broadcast internationally on real radio stations.
a. Real [terrestrial] radio stations do no charge you to play your songs!
b. A number of streaming services like Jango go under the guise of radio station and charge you to post
your music and then charge its members to stream/listen them. Know the difference, and check the directories for
real radio stations that you can snail-mail or upload your music to.
Familiarize yourself with some basic music terminology and learn how the different entities function.
exclusive right
non-exclusive right
music publisher
publishing contract
reversion clause
work-for-hire
recording contract
mechanical license
mechanical royalty
performance royalty
statutory royalty rate
compulsory license
major label
indie label
producer
subsidy publisher
subsidy record label
compilation label
The music publisher is the song supermarket and their sole purpose is to get as many cuts of your song as
they can. The music publisher is generally the only entity that youll give exclusive rights/ownership of
your song to because they will require you to assign your copyright to them for a specified period of time in order
for them to commercially exploit your song. The publishing contract should also include a reversion clause that
returns your copyright if the song hasnt been commercially released within a specified time. [6mo. to 1yr.]
Everyone else gets a non-exclusive one-time [and sometimes a world-wide] right for a specific use.
In the old days a publishing contract could span 35 years. Its considerably less now, since some songwriters
began to balk at the idea of their songs being held that long by lazy music publishers. Likewise, staff writers do
not own the songs they write [work-for-hire] for the publishing companies that employ them!
1. Read every contract very carefully. If you dont understand the provisions therein, ask questions. Dont allow
yourself to be pressured into signing on the spot, until you fully understand the contents.
2. A mechanical license is issued to anyone who wants to release your song on a fixed medium, and a mechanical
royalty is the money earned from the sale of the released [tape, CD, video] product.
3. A compulsory license is issued by the Library of Congress when you cant find the publisher or copyright
owner, or when the owner wants an outrageous fee. You will then be subjected to the current Statutory Royalty
rate set by the Copyright Office. Which means you will have to keep accounting records.
4. A performance royalty comes from license fees the PROs collect from radio stations and from the licensed
venues where you perform your songs live.
5. If someone wants to record [as opposed to live performance] your song, issue them a mechanical license,
and also know that they own the Masters and finished product. You own the song, but they own the product.
6. Any negotiation for the use of your songs should be made with a written contract. Honorable handshake
deals died with my grandfather! In the words of President Ronald Reagan, I dont remember!
7. Traditional Music Publishers do not accept song lyrics and song poems, and they do not charge you to
publish your song!!!
Recording Studio: [I dont do demos in the studio]
1. Whoever pays for the recording session owns the Masters, which is why Ive always paid for my sessions.
And you should really use the studio to record and not to rehearse.
2. You should not sign a recording contract to use a studio. You sign a receipt for the use of the studio time,
the engineer, the mixing, the master, copies, and session musicians if you hire any. Make sure that receipt does not
give the studio any rights to your songs or your Masters!
3. You are not required to hire a producer. If they insist, take your money and run! YOU are the producer
and you should record it the way you want it, not the way the studio wants you to! Remember, you are merely
renting their facility and services. On the other hand, if you dont mind their input & expertise, [which can be
beneficial] feel free, but remember, you are not obligated!
4. The recording studio does not own your Masters and has no right to keep or store it for future use, if you
dont want them to. You can take the Masters, but youll have to pay for the material. In the old days a number of

us in Nashville did this with studios we regularly used, and kept a duplicate master at home. However, some of the
Masters I hadnt duplicated were lost in a studio fire! The choice is yours.
5. Evaluate studio block time rates and compare them with by-the-hour recording. Block time comes with
a lot of pressure and can be very exhausting for some. It might be advisable to break up your project into several
smaller sessions so that you are relaxed and get what you want.
6. Package deals to produce x amount of CDs are basically extra money makers for the recording studio. A
number of artists generally take their Masters and do their own duplicating or use an independent house.
Traditional Record labels usually sign you to a written contract for x-number of years, pay for all the
production expenses, and put you on tour because they see you as a marketable entity. In general, you become their
property. The money split generally works like this: The Record Label splits the gross 50/50 with the Song
Publisher. The Publisher splits 50/50 with the writers, and the label gives the artist about 15% of the net, after
theyve recouped the production expenses! Should you land a traditional label deal, be wary of taking too
many advances because you wont see a penny until all of this money is recouped by the label!
Subsidy Record labels make you pay them to produce your music. Some of them capitalize on ones vanity
and not so often on artist marketability because (1) they dont have the capital to produce you, (2) they may not
really have a lot of faith in your marketability (3) some dont care if you lack talent, as long as youre footing the
bill theyll keep churning out copies and tell you what you want to hear.
Compilation record labels are not real record labels. Youre merely buying a slot on their production for
radio airplay distribution, promotional purposes, and they very rarely do commercial distributions. While none of
these subsidy organizations are illegal, you should try and determine if their service is beneficial to you.
Once youve released your product, learn who and who not to give freebies to. Generally, youll get the most
lip service about how great you are from those that wont buy anything. I generally set aside about 5% of each
release for freebies. Fans that have been consistently buying my products over the years get periodic freebies. A
select few of them have permanent freebie entitlement to any of my products! I also send freebies to some of my
DJs to give to their listeners. You take care of those that take care of you.
1. Your talent can take you places, but your demeanor and ethics will take your farther.
2. Always be polite. You dont have to like, be friends with, or agree with every musician you meet, but dont
short-change yourself by snubbing or ignoring a potential resource that might be able to help you somewhere
down the line.
3. For the same reason, always check out the information on the music materials you are given because these
will also help you determine who really is or isnt a viable resource that might benefit you.
4. Dont be afraid to share music tips or refer others for a gig that you cant or dont want to do. [I cant begin to
tell you how valuable this has been to me, and make sure you recommend a reliable person!]
5. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Pretentious and unreliable people are a waste of time!
6. Listen, learn, observe, promote, and look for possible positive things in negative criticism. It will help you grow.
7. Writers Digest has a wonderful series of books about the music business!
8. When you perform in public you have very limited privacy rights. Youre going to be photographed &
filmed. It comes with the territory and also provides extra exposure.
9. Nobody likes a jerk, no matter how good you are, and dont waste your creative energy being jealous and
resentful of others. Dont be intimidated by others, do what YOU do best and keep on making music!
Serious songwriters and music publishers know that its very important to protect their songs from illegal
usage, and unintentional ownership by others. Dont be discouraged. Even though the music business is a
complex uphill endeavor, research, perseverance, organizing, self promotion, and level-headed thinking will spare
you a lot of headaches. Be vigilant, but not paranoid, and have FUN!
From 1995 to 2002 I published a magazine called the Top-Rail Chatter for indie country music artists that dealt
with these topics. In 1979 when I finally decided to get serious about my music I only wanted to be a songwriter
and have my songs played on the radio. We dont always get what we want when we want it, so along the way I
also had to sing, yodel, publish, promote, produce, and distribute my songs. If I can, you can!
Mike Johnson
ARM YOURSELF by EDUCATING YOURSELF! And Good Luck!

Over 1200 Mike Johnson Song Lyrics * Mike Johnsons Copyright, Art, Music, Literature, Photography, and Mail-out catalogs

Mike Johnsons song Copyright Masters & Cassette Masters

Mike Johnsons Nashville Studio Masters

Radio DJ Playlists featuring Mike Johnson songs

Over 100 Mike Johnson demo tapes

Mike Johnsons Roughshod Records CD stock & some VHS Video Masters * Mike Johnsons music catalogs, reference books, and
individual files for singers, songwriters, radio stations & playlists, production companies, songwriting organizations, indie record labels,
book manuscripts, and camera ready formats for art work, flyers, posters, brochures, sheet music, and Top-Rail Chatter magazine layouts,
etc.
a Top-Rail Chatter Supplement 2010 MAJJ Productions, P.O. Box 100933, Arlington Va. 22210
Art, Literature, Music, Photography, Video * www.freewebs.com/blackyodelno1 * www.cdbaby.com/artist/mikejohnson * www.youtube.com/by1no1
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