Tag Archive for: release

The legal pitfalls of underground music

You’re about to sign a release with an unknown label? You want to do an edit of a track by Billy Eilish? You want to start your own vinyl only label?

We got you covered with this video.

This long interview with lawyer, electronic music expert, Mark Quail who also worked with artists such as Hawtin and Mathew Jonson, will provide you straight and surprising answers you didn’t think of. But I’ll point out a few highlights too as well as personal thoughts.

Ever since I started my coaching group on Facebook, I’ve seen a good number of people turn their home production into a release, which is a great thing but it also opened a can of worms, as in, what does it legally implies. For some reason, many artists feel like the underground is either a safe, no man’s land because it is a place of development and good vibes but it’s not always the case, of course.

Signing your first release or releasing on an unknown label

This is typical for new, emerging artists as bigger labels have their eyes on the bigger names, it’s rare that you’ll see them be interested in investing on younger, less known artists. There’s a reason why and that is clearly because a lesser known name demand a lot more leverage to push it’s release on various channels. Magazines are also less interested in covering them because they might not attract the same number of viewers and the return on your investment is most likely going to be a deficit. Does that mean that releasing on a small label is a bad thing?

No, not really. Building your profile by piggy ridding little labels is a great way to get your name out there. Also, small labels have sometimes a lot of passion for what they do and as Mark points out, a white flag to look for in the label you’ll work with, is how much they can promote your music. If they work their social medias properly and have a following, that’s usually a really great start.

TIP: This is why it’s crucial that when you submit to a label, you can showcase who you are and what you can bring them, plus also be clear on your expectations towards them.

In the video, we also discuss how less known labels often don’t offer a contract. This is so common and cause insecurity among artists so what does it implies? Is the risk big? The answer is grey on that one. In a way, it’s more for the label that a contract is useful. Mainly because if they don’t have a signed agreement that the artist accepts to work with them, they could be in hot waters. But a contract doesn’t mean you’ll get paid though as some labels aren’t the best with numbers and getting your money for sales might be, even with a contract, a pricey process that might not be worth it.

Mark’s tip: Be cautious to not signed multiple track unless you know more of what they can do for you.

A term we sometimes use in the music business is when you “sacrifice” a song for the sake of doing an experiment or to test something. This is something you can do with some labels, new streaming sites, give a free download or any other ideas that you want to test before going all-in. This goes along with what Mark says and in the end, it’s to see where you are fitting the most. It’s basically impossible to know if you’re a good match for a specific label until you give it a go… so does the label.

Starting a label from scratch

This one has been covered in the past and I questioned Mark about the essentials behind this kind of project. Well, as a label, there are all the elements of starting you own business, but also, you need a network, at least 6 releases beforehand to show you’re serious and be prepared to release on a regular basis. This is usually the most important part.

Comes in questions about Publishing, contracts and all that. You don’t need to have long, detailed documents, but it’s important to have something that all parties can understand and know what it means if they sign it.

The advantage of being on a label is the reach it can do for you. So if you want to start one, keep in mind that your main goal is to offer a platform and community for joining artists to expand, be known, reach people who love their music and ultimately, provide a significant income. When it comes to give artists a voice, it will be important to give a space space for the artist to come back over and over for more releases. Usually this is also a good sign that if you see one artist releasing multiple times with the same label, it often means the label can have healthy relationships with their people. As for artists who releases everywhere, it sometimes also means the artist might be hard to work with or that he’s constantly trying to expand.

As a label owner speaking, I can tell you that the last thing you want is to try to control your artists, both in their decisions, in their music and in their requests. This is where an agreement is important and one by email will not be enough. If you have something on paper, it is what you agreed with.

I invite you to read more about my blog post on how to start a label for the right reasons and listen to what Mark adds to that.

TIP from Mark: While some sites will provide you pennies, it’s collecting them that will eventually make dollars. In the penny economy, you need to run after all the crumbles to eventually see something coming out of it. If you don’t take care of that, someone else might collect it (eg. Publishing done wrong).

The limits of sampling

Mark comes up with a known case of where people think that if they sample less than a few seconds, they can get away with it but it doesn’t work that way. Some people do edits of known songs (Billy Eilish was very popular over the summer) and put it as a free download on their Soundcloud and think that’s no big deal. Well, not so fast on those ideas because there is a risk and being in the underground scene is not making you less vulnerable to some backfire.

Well, one important thing to keep in mind that platforms such as Soundcloud, Youtube and Bandcamp are using algorithms that improve really fast and can pinpoint the use of copyrighted material. A few years back, Soundcloud was made fun of because everyone kept getting warnings over material but they got better and we see it happen lesser than before. Youtube is more advanced on that topic and while some people post edits of tracks on there, they’re putting themselves at risks because there’s potentially some bot that might find out. Labels get a notification if that’s the case to which they can check if there was some substantial money made out of it, and then possibly can make legal action. All those clips people make at festivals can, at some point, even make a backfire as that can be a proof a song was performed and publishing could be raised. In Canada, clubs and festivals have to pay an amount to a royalty collecting company on the behalf of artists… who can claim that money later on.

As for people simply using another artist’s music to make it theirs, that can be a bit more complicated but according to Mark’s view, although we didn’t go far on that topic, there’s not much you can do about it and while you could potentially do something, it would become way more expensive than what you’d get in return. But between you and I, the person who doesn’t have morals and does such thing is shooting himself in the foot; he is publicly showing that he’s too creatively limited to do something on his own, also he should know that people will eventually know and that will play against him in his networking attempts.

As for giving away music for free, using other’s samples, a label could claim this does harm to the original track and come after the artist who did that. This is, to my experience, very rare. It was something I’ve seen in the days of mixed CDs where some labels weren’t consulted and that ended up being really bad for the label and artist in the end.

If you perform the known melody of a song and record it yourself, you keep the royalties but the original artist has the publishing rights over it.

In some cases, everyone can be a winner in such scenarios if it’s done right. That means clearing the rights to use the samples. It can be sometimes surprisingly affordable. It’s worth asking and in some case, the original artist might even like what you did and who knows, work with you in other ways.

SEE ALSO : Sending demos to record labels as an “unsigned” artist—an online experiment

Getting Lost in the Sea of Tracks

Searching for music these days has become a real skill. I was in a few music stores recently browsing for new tracks for an upcoming DJ gig, and I realized just how counter-intuitive the experience had become — not only because music stores are, in general, a huge mess, but also because the noise factor was so high that I just couldn’t find what I was looking for. By “noise factor,” I’m referring to the ratio of songs I found that were irrelevant to my search.

sea of tracks, music production, crowd, vacationsWe can attribute part of this to the accessibility of music softwares today, which helped democratize electronic music by bringing production within reach for so many people. Part of it can also be blamed on the fact that launching a label has become so simple that basically anyone with the resources can start one. It might seem ironic for a music production blog to point this out, but this is the reality. I’m pretty sure that if you’re reading this, you’re someone who is dedicated to your art and is looking to really make something happen.

But how do you find your way through this wall of noise?

Consumers have more difficulty than ever finding the music they like. Scroll back in time and you’ll understand that the invention of records was to answer a simple need: to be able to play something again. Once that need was met, a lot of the innovations were centred on making the music sound better. robot, missing hubRadio appeared later as a way of broadcasting over distances. Then, at the same time as music was becoming easier to make, the internet came along to dramatically expand its accessibility and reach, leading to an overall decrease in the quality of what’s available. The sea of music out there today is the result of this over-proliferation caused by these technological advances all converging at the same time. For the consumer faced with thousands of new songs daily, it can be very disorienting. One’s community of peers therefore become an important reference.

Artists have difficulty finding appropriate labels to release their music. If you’ve overcome the technical challenges and are now hunting for a label, you might feel overwhelmed. Like I explained in a previous post, you’ll have to spend a considerable amount of time in music shops and online just trying to pinpoint which labels are a good fit for your sound. But with so little time and so many choices, finding what you’re looking for can be a huge challenge.

What seems to be missing is a hub between both parties.

So what’s the solution?

headphones, music, selectiveStop searching elsewhere, rely on your network. I have a few people who I follow attentively on Spotify or Soundcloud. These guys seem to either have a great radar or amazing connections, because they’re always finding gems. I’ve been told that a great way to keep up to date is to follow as many artists as you can, and then cut out those who are idle too long or change styles abruptly. I also ask my friends who are DJs or label owners to share their recent discoveries with me every now and then, and I do the same. Very efficient.

Find influencers. Influencers are individuals who seem to be at the intersection of multiple networks, who are followed by many people and will make waves with their track picks in charts or podcasts. Each genre has its own influencers, of course. Perhaps check a site like Resident Advisor to get an idea of who they think is trending currently.

SEE ALSO : The New Face Of Albums 

Strategic Guide To Releases Planning And Production

In this first post of the year, I try to share my own perspective on music release planning for both labels and musicians. It will be looking into how a busy agenda can do wonders.

Music release planning is a game-changer

I’d say most of the musicians I know will produce music in bursts of inspiration. They’ll make music as they can and as they are able to finish it. When you understand how labels work and when they release music, you can also organize your strategy for submitting music.

By the way, if you haven’t signed up on Bandcamp yet, I strongly encourage you to get an account now!

Most labels who release monthly or more plan most of the year in advance. They receive many demos and they will fix some dates. There’s a strategy for the ones that are a bit more organized. Here are some tips:

  • Festivals. There are peak points in the year where music gets played by DJs, and festivals are one of those busy moments for networking and exposure. If your track gets played, many people will be wanting to play it too.
  • Downtime = vacations. Certain periods in the year have lower sales. This happens around vacation times when DJs are playing less. This time is good for consumer music releases though, as they will be your main audience.

I remember once spending an afternoon at HardWax in Berlin and discussing music releasing strategies for producers.

Pete and Shed were both agreeing that an artist, to be seen enough but without overwhelming his followers, should release 3 times per year. That has been a magical number I’ve always kept in mind.

 

Producers should keep in mind that it takes between 3 to 6 months for a label to organize a release. This involves proper mixing, mastering, artwork and promotion.

For labels, here are some tips and target points for music-release planning. Let’s analyze a year’s activity.

 

 

January

 

For music release planning, remember that the BPM Festival in Mexico in January is one of the busiest electronic music festivals in the world, with 300+ artists and pretty much all industry players there.One of the busiest festivals is certainly the BPM festival in Mexico. 300+ artists and pretty much all of the main industry players are there. It is an excellent excuse for people to extend their New Year’s vacations, while artists network in the following months. January used to be really dead for sales, but that’s changing today.

Producers: This is a good moment to network, spend time making new tracks, and listen to live streams and podcasts to see what’s working. Make a list of the labels that release the kind of music you make, and establish new contacts.

Labels: If you’re releasing here, dance-floor material will be appreciated. This is a good month to test the waters with compilations that can define the upcoming months of music.

 

February-March

 

Mid-January to early March is a period when sales tend to be low. North America and Europe are in winter mode and people go out less, but an important moment of the year is coming up next, so preparation is key.

Tip: Slow months mean studio time should be really active.

Producers: Tracks done, time to hunt for labels and follow up. This is a good moment to consider getting a release out for early summer.

Labels: Time to prepare a sampler/demo to send to key DJs for the upcoming spring festivals. If you want to release ambient music or more downtempo, this is a good period too.

 

 

March

 

When planning music releases, remember that the WMC in March is another big moment of the year.Another big moment of the year is the famous WMC, where so much is happening. Some DJs are ending a winter tour there and will be happy to play your bombs. It’s also a really key moment to test your important release as the peak of the year is 2 months away, in May.

Tip: Contact some DJs you see being booked beforehand to share unreleased material with them.

Producers: If you can travel, now’s a good time. Focus on shopping for labels. Studio time can be on pause to give your inspiration a break and renew.

Labels: Promotion, promotion, and promotion. A good time to invest in marketing. Ambient releases are okay too.

 

April-May

 

May is a great time for music producers to plan a release, with DEMF, Spain's Sonar, and Montreal's MUTEK (pictured) all back-to-back.

credit: Vice Thump

May is a great moment for a release. You tested in March and crowds might know some strong tunes, so then releasing now for Germany’s famous May Day is an excellent move. That’s also because what’s hot in that moment will help define some of the summer hits that will play at important events. Many key artists will be on tour, and with Detroit’s DEMF, Sonar in Spain or Montreal’s MUTEK, you have back-to-back events where artists want the best to play.

Producers and labels will have to network at this point.

 


June-August

 

This is the beginning of festival season. A lot of the bigger festivals have all of the same big names, while many lesser-known artists won’t be booked. Romania’s Sunwaves is around this time and is a good destination too. If your music is not prime-time, this period might be a bit low for sales. It’s also a very bad time to release a vinyl as people spend less time shopping and rely mostly on the music they gathered in early summer.

If you can’t relax, spending time in the studio should be more than valuable for the last stretch of the year.

 

September-October

 

The back-to-school period is a very busy period for clubs, just like spring is. Consider this to be an important period for releasing dance-floor music. DJs are back from festivals and hungry for new material. It’s an excellent moment to release an album. There’s a lot of buzz around the Burning Man festival, where more and more artists attend each year. It can be something to watch.

 

November-December

 

These are slow months. They’re a good moment for studio time and preparation for New Year’s, but also for the BPM festival, as described at the beginning. The end of the year is also a moment for labels to look back at what they did that year and evaluate their sales. Perhaps you can also take notes and do a post-mortem before the following year’s music-release planning.

For producers, I find that with the Black Friday sales, November is a good time to invest in gear and equipment. A lot of gear will be on sale and you can check out what was released that year, look into reviews, and then decide how to spend your money best.

 SEE ALSO :  Make Your Music Bucket List Happen