360 DEAL -BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN ARTIST AND A MUSIC INDUSTRY COMPANY. THE COMPANY AGREES TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTIST, INCLUDING DIRECT ADVANCES AS WELL AS FUNDS FOR MARKETING, PROMOTION AND TOURING. THE ARTIST AGREES TO GIVE THE COMPANY A PERCENTAGE OF ALL OF THEIR INCOME, INCLUDING SALES OF RECORDED MUSIC, LIVE PERFORMANCES AND ANY OTHER INCOME SUCH AS MERCHANDISE.
A&R THE A&R (ARTIST AND REPERTOIRE) DEPARTMENT IN A RECORD COMPANY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SPOTTING, NURTURING, AND DEVELOPING NEW ARTISTS AS WELL AS ACTING AS A POINT OF CONTACT FOR EXISTING ONES. THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ARTISTS THROUGHOUT RECORDING PROJECTS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH MANAGERS, PRODUCERS, SONGWRITERS AND OTHER MUSICIANS.
ADVANCE- AN ADVANCE IS A LOAN, NORMALLY FROM A RECORD LABEL TO AN ARTIST, TO BE REPAID (RECOUPED) FROM RECORD SALES. AN ADVANCE IS FOR ONE OR MORE ALBUMS DEPENDING ON THE CONTRACT. A PUBLISHER’S ADVANCE WOULD BE RECOUPED FROM PUBLISHING ROYALTIES.
AGENT IS SOMEONE WHO LIAISES WITH PROMOTERS AND VENUES TO BOOK GIGS FOR BANDS.
AIRPLAY (ROYALTIES) BROADCASTERS BUY PERFORMANCE LICENSES FROM PPL (RECORDINGS) AND PRS (COMPOSITIONS) FOR THE RIGHT TO PLAY LIVE AND RECORDED MUSIC. BIG STATIONS MAKE FULL USAGE RETURNS OF ALL THE MUSIC THEY PLAY TO PPL AND PRS. LICENSE MONEY IS SHARED AMONG MEMBERS MINUS THE SOCIETY COMMISSION.
ARRANGEMENT IS A MODIFICATION OF AN EXISTING COMPOSITION. ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE COPYRIGHTED SEPARATELY FROM THE COMPOSITIONS THEY REFERENCE. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, BOTH THE ARRANGER AND THE COMPOSER RECEIVE ROYALTIES. ONE OF THE PROTECTIONS THE COPYRIGHT LAW GIVES MUSICIANS IS THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO ARRANGE THEIR COMPOSITIONS, SO IT IS ILLEGAL TO ARRANGE A COPYRIGHTED WORK FOR DISTRIBUTION WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE COMPOSER
ARRANGER IS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO ARRANGED THE STRUCTURE OF A SONG. ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE COPYRIGHTED SEPARATELY FROM COMPOSITIONS. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, BOTH THE ARRANGER AND THE COMPOSER RECEIVE ROYALTIES.
ASSIGNMENT (COPYRIGHT) COPYRIGHT CAN BE ASSIGNED TO A LABEL, PUBLISHER, OR A THIRD PARTY SUCH AS A ROYALTY COLLECTION SOCIETY. THIS ALLOWS THEM TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER TO ISSUE LICENSES AND COLLECT ROYALTIES WITHIN THE TERMS OF THE ASSIGNMENT
AUDIO STREAMS- IS WHEN A DIGITAL FILE IS DELIVERED ELECTRONICALLY TO A COMPUTER, READ IN REAL TIME BY THE COMPUTER AND IS STORED TEMPORARILY ON THE COMPUTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF A ONE-TIME — USE. IT IS ANALOGOUS TO A RADIO TRANSMISSION. ON DEMAND STREAMING IS THE TERM GIVEN TO STREAMS THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR — USERS WHO WISH TO PLAY A SPECIFIC SONG AT A SPECIFIC TIME. PUBLIC PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES APPLY TO STREAMS AND MECHANICAL ROYALTIES DO NOT.
BAND CONTRACTS – A BAND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT SPELLS OUT THE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL BAND MEMBERS AND HOW THEY GET PAID. IF THERE IS NO BAND CONTRACT, ANYTHING NOT OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS IS LIABLE TO BE SHARED EQUALLY BETWEEN THE MEMBERS. UNEQUAL SHARES MUST BE FORMALIZED.
BARCODE- A BARCODE IS A MACHINE-READABLE NUMBER (E.G. UPC CODE) — USED FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES IN MANUFACTURE, RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL — USE OF CDS AND VINYL. BARCODES DON’T JUST IDENTIFY CDS AT THE COUNTER; THEY ARE ALSO — USED FOR CHART RETURNS. SOME DISTRIBUTORS AND RETAILERS INSIST ON BARCODING.
BDS NIELSEN BROADCAST DATA SYSTEMS IS THE WORLD’S LEADING PROVIDER OF AIRPLAY TRACKING FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. EMPLOYING A PATENTED DIGITAL PATTERN RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY, NIELSEN BDS CAPTURES IN EXCESS OF 100 MILLION SONG DETECTIONS ANNUALLY ON MORE THAN 1,600 RADIO STATIONS, SATELLITE RADIO AND CABLE MUSIC CHANNELS IN OVER 140 MARKETS IN THE U.S. (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO) AND 30 CANADIAN MARKETS
BILLBOARD CHARTS TABULATE THE RELATIVE WEEKLY POPULARITY OF SONGS OR ALBUMS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE RESULTS ARE PUBLISHED IN BILLBOARD MAGAZINE
BMI- IS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN SONGWRITERS AND THE BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WANT TO PLAY THEIR MUSIC PUBLICLY. AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN MUSIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT, BMI SERVES AS AN ADVOCATE FOR THE VALUE OF MUSIC, REPRESENTING MORE THAN 8.5 MILLION MUSICAL WORKS CREATED AND OWNED BY MORE THAN 600,000 SONGWRITERS, COMPOSERS AND MUSIC PUBLISHERS.
BLANKET LICENSE A LICENSE ISSUED BY A PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETY THAT AUTHORIZES THE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF ALL THE SONGS IN THE SOCIETY’S CATALOG. THIS ALLOWS THE LICENSEE TO PERFORM AS MANY OR AS FEW OF THE TITLES AS DESIRED.
BOOKING AGENT
-THE BOOKING AGENT IS USUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURING AND BOOKING GIGS FOR THE ARTIST.
BRANDING
TAKING YOUR BAND, MUSIC AND IMAGE AND CREATING SOMETHING UNIQUE AND SELLABLE
BROADCAST- THE REPLAYING OF PRE-RECORDED WORKS TO MULTIPLE LISTENERS THROUGH VARIOUS MEDIA OR IN A ‘SEMI-LIVE’ SETTING SUCH AS A BAR OR BOOKSTORE, AND INCLUDING RADIO, TV, WEBCASTING, PODCASTING, ETC. .
BUSINESS MANAGER- A REPRESENTATIVE WHO HELPS THE MUSICIAN WITH FINANCIAL PLANNING, INVESTMENT DECISIONS, TAX MATTERS, MONITORING OF INCOME FROM CONTRACTS, ESTATE PLANNING AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS.
CLEARANCE (COPYRIGHT) FOR THE RIGHT TO — USE MUSIC IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES IT MUST BE CLEARED WITH THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. CLEARANCE IS NEEDED FOR COPYING, NOT JUST FOR COMMERCIAL — USE. IT IS NORMALLY NEGOTIATED THROUGH LICENSING AND COLLECTION SOCIETIES, BUT MAY BE COLLECTED THROUGH LABELS AND PUBLISHERS.
COMPOSER- THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WROTE THE SONG, FOUND AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE TITLE PAGE AND — USED TO IDENTIFY A COPYRIGHTED WORK. OFTEN MULTIPLE SONGS SHARE THE SAME TITLE. SO THIS IS NECESSARY TO LOCATE THE PROPER COPYRIGHT HOLDER OF A SONG. IT IS ALSO REQUIRED INFORMATION UNDER THE COMPULSORY MECHANICAL LICENSING PROVISIONS.
COPYRIGHT
- A BUNDLE OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS GRANTED BY LAW TO THE CREATOR OF AN ORIGINAL LITERARY, ARTISTIC, OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL WORK – INCLUDING SONGS AND SOUND RECORDINGS.
THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE, PUBLISH, SELL OR DISTRIBUTE THE MATTER AND FORM OF AN ORIGINAL LITERARY, ARTISTIC, OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL WORK – INCLUDING SONGS AND SOUND RECORDINGS.
COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE FOR THE RIGHT TO — USE MUSIC, IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES IT MUST BE ‘CLEARED’ (IE AUTHORIZED) BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS. CLEARANCE IS ALSO NEEDED FOR COPYING, NOT JUST FOR COMMERCIAL — USE. IT IS NORMALLY NEGOTIATED THROUGH LICENSING AND COLLECTION SOCIETIES, BUT MAY BE THROUGH LABELS AND PUBLISHERS.
COVER RECORD
ANOTHER VERSION OF A SONG THAT ALREADY EXISTS BY A DIFFERENT ARTIST
DEMO
A SAMPLE RECORDING OF A BAND’S MUSIC. OFTEN ROUGH RECORDINGS OR EARLY VERSIONS OF “SONGS IN PROGRESS.”
DISTRIBUTION -OFTEN LABELS WILL APPROACH A DISTRIBUTOR TO ACT AS A MIDDLEMAN BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND RETAILERS. TRADITIONAL DISTRIBUTION IS ABOUT TAKING ORDERS FOR AND SUPPLYING CDS (OR OTHER PHYSICAL PRODUCT) FROM RECORD LABELS TO RETAIL, ALTHOUGH THEIR ROLE CAN BE MORE COMPLEX AND THEY MAY ALSO PROMOTE AND INVEST IN RELEASES. DIGITAL DISTRIBUTORS (SEE ‘AGGREGATORS’) SERVE ONLINE STORES (SUCH AS ITUNES) IN A SIMILAR FASHION, HANDLING DOWNLOADABLE RELEASES BY MANY LABELS AT THE SAME TIME AND ENSURING THEY ARE SUPPLIED TO ALL THE DIFFERENT ONLINE OUTLETS.
DOMAIN REGISTRAR IS AN ORGANIZATION OR COMMERCIAL ENTITY THAT MANAGES THE RESERVATION OF INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS
FOR PURPOSES OF COPYRIGHT LAW, THE PRIVILEGES THAT ONLY A COPYRIGHT OWNER HAS WITH RESPECT TO THE COPYRIGHTED WORK.
LABEL BUSINESS PLAN IS A FORMAL STATEMENT OF A SET OF BUSINESS GOALS, THE REASONS THEY ARE BELIEVED ATTAINABLE, AND THE PLAN FOR REACHING THOSE GOALS. IT MAY ALSO CONTAIN BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE LABEL OR TEAM ATTEMPTING TO REACH THOSE GOALS.
LICENSE
THE RIGHT, GRANTED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER, FOR A GIVEN PERSON OR ENTITY TO BROADCAST, RECREATE, PERFORM, OR LISTEN TO A RECORDED COPY OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK.
MASTERING THE PROCESS OF PREPARING THE FINAL MIX OF A SONG OR ALBUM FOR DUPLICATION – THE ‘MASTER’ IS THE FINALIZED SOURCE FROM WHICH ALL COPIES OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT WILL BE PRODUCED.
MECHANICAL LICENSE A LICENSE THAT GRANTS CERTAIN LIMITED PERMISSIONS TO WORK WITH, REINTERPRET, (RE-) RECORD (ETC.) MUSIC THAT IS NEITHER A FREE/OPEN SOURCE ITEM NOR IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. AUTHORIZATION FROM A MUSIC PUBLISHER OR SONG WRITER TO RECORD AND DISTRIBUTE A SONG ON PHONORECORDS. COMPARE TO COMPULSORY MECHANICAL LICENSE.
MECHANICAL ROYALTY EACH TIME A SONG IS REPRODUCED ON A RECORDING, THE SONG OWNER RECEIVES A PAYMENT FROM A RECORD COMPANY CALLED A MECHANICAL ROYALTY. ITS CALLED THIS BECA– USE IT’S PAID EACH TIME A SONG IS MECHANICALLY REPRODUCED.
MEDIA BASE IS A MUSIC INDUSTRY WEB SITE CONTAINING IN-DEPTH CHARTS AND ANALYSIS BASED ON THE MONITORING OF 1,836 RADIO STATIONS IN THE US AND CANADA, IN 175 RADIO MARKETS. MEDIABASE FEATURES REAL TIME CHARTS IN 25 RADIO FORMATS, BASED ON RADIO AIRPLAY. IN ADDITION, ITS SERVICES HAVE DOZENS OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS.
MERCHANDISE IS A BLANKET TERM FOR ARTIST-RELATED GOODS OTHER THAN MUSIC E.G. T-SHIRTS, POSTERS, ETC. SOME ARTIST-BRANDED PRODUCTS, E.G. USB STICKS, MAY BE BOTH MERCHANDISE AND PROMO.
MUSIC PUBLISHING IS A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A SONGWRITER OR MUSIC COMPOSER AND A MUSIC PUBLISHER. WHEREBY THE WRITER ASSIGNS PART OR ALL OF HIS OR HER MUSIC COPYRIGHTS TO THE PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PUBLISHER’S COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OF THE MUSIC.
ONE SHEET IS A SINGLE PAGE OF INFORMATION ABOUT A RECORD RELEASE INCLUDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTIST. ONE SHEETS NORMALLY FORM PART OF A PRESS KIT AND ARE — USED BY DISTRIBUTORS AND RETAILERS.
PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF A SONG FREQUENTLY GRANTED BY A PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETY THROUGH A BLANKET LICENSE.
PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETY THE ASSOCIATIONS OR COMPANIES THAT ISSUE PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENSES, TRACK PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, COLLECT PERFORMING LICENSE REVENUES AND DISTRIBUTE THOSE REVENUES TO SONG WRITERS AND MUSIC PUBLISHERS. THE PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES ARE ASCAP, BMI AND SESAC.
PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF A SONG FREQUENTLY GRANTED BY A PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETY THROUGH A BLANKET LICENSE.
PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETY ASCAP, BMI AND SESAC ARE THE MAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ISSUE PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENSES, TRACK PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, COLLECT PERFORMING LICENSE REVENUES AND DISTRIBUTE REVENUES TO SONG WRITERS AND MUSIC PUBLISHERS.
PERSONAL MANAGER A REPRESENTATIVE WHO ASSISTS THE MUSICIAN IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF HIS MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT CAREER
PRODUCER THE PRODUCER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THE RECORD/SONG/ALBUM TOGETHER AND MAKING IT SELLABLE. THIS CAN INVOLVE PICKING OUT SONGS OR HELPING THE ARTIST WITH SONGWRITING. A GOOD PRODUCER WILL USUALLY ENSURE THAT THE SONGS ARE ACCEPTABLE TO THE RECORD LABEL AND FOR RADIO AS WELL AS SEE THE PROJECT THROUGH, FROM PRE PRODUCTION TO THE FINAL MASTERING STAGE.
PROMOTER
-A PROMOTER STAGES EVENTS. THEY NORMALLY BID FOR RIGHTS TO STAGE A CONCERT OR A TOUR AND RECOUP THEIR OUTLAY THROUGH TICKETING AND SUB-LICENSING.
PUBLISHER
WHILST PUBLISHERS TRADITIONALLY MADE THEIR LIVING REPRODUCING AND SELLING SHEET MUSIC, TODAY THEY INVEST IN, PROMOTE AND REPRESENT SONGWRITERS (OR PARTICULAR SONG CATALOGUES) AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING PAYMENTS ARE MADE WHEN THEIR CLIENTS’ COMPOSITIONS ARE — USED COMMERCIALLY.
PUBLISHERS HELP MUSICIANS GIVE PERMISSION AND COLLECT PAYMENTS WHEN THEY SHARE THEIR COMPOSITIONS WITH OTHERS. THEY ALSO HELP MUSICIANS PROMOTE AND DISTRIBUTE THEIR COMPOSITIONS. PUBLISHERS ALSO HELP WITH PRINT RIGHTS, MECHANICAL AND SYNCHRONIZATION RIGHTS. SOME MUSICIANS CHOOSE TO SELF-PUBLISH, MEANING THEY HANDLE THESE TASKS ON THEIR OWN.
RECORD LABELS- A RECORD LABEL (OR RECORD COMPANY) HELPS MUSICIANS SELL RECORDINGS OF THEIR MUSIC. RECORD LABELS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING RIGHTS FROM MUSIC PUBLISHERS IN ORDER TO PUBLISH AND DISTRIBUTE SONGS. SOME MUSICIANS CHOOSE TO START THEIR OWN RECORD LABEL HANDLING THESE TASKS ON THEIR OWN.
ROYALTY
-THE PAYMENT THAT GOES TO A COPYRIGHT HOLDER IN EXCHANGE FOR PERMISSION TO — USE THEIR MUSIC.
ROYALTIES
ROYALTIES ARE FEES PAID TO RIGHTS OWNERS (NORMALLY RECORD LABELS, PUBLISHERS, WRITERS AND PERFORMERS) FOR THE — USE OF THEIR WORK.
SAMPLING SAMPLING IS THE ACT OF COPYING A PORTION OF ONE SOUND RECORDING AND REUSING IT IN A NEW RECORDING. WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE CLEARANCE FROM THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OF THE ORIGINAL SONG, SAMPLING CAN BE HELD TO BE AN INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IN THE ORIGINAL SOUND RECORDING FROM WHICH THE SAMPLE WAS TAKEN.
SOUNDSCAN IS THE OFFICIAL METHOD OF TRACKING SALES OF MUSIC AND MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. DATA IS COLLECTED WEEKLY AND MADE AVAILABLE EVERY WEDNESDAY TO SUBSCRIBERS, WHICH INCLUDES RECORD COMPANIES, PUBLISHING FIRMS, MUSIC RETAILERS, INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS, FILM AND TV COMPANIES, AND ARTIST MANAGERS.
SPLIT OWNERSHIP-
WHEN COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP RIGHTS ARE SPLIT AMONG MULTIPLE OWNERS. OFTEN SEVERAL OWNERS WILL SHARE RIGHTS TO A SINGLE SONG.
STREAMING
STREAMING AUDIO OR VIDEO IS THAT WHICH IS PROCESSED AND WATCHED OVER THE INTERNET IN ‘REAL TIME’, RATHER THAN BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD, STORE AND WATCH AT ANOTHER TIME.
SYNC LICENSE- A MUSIC SYNCHRONIZATION LICENSE (OR ‘SYNC’) IS REQUIRED TO — USE A COPYRIGHTED PIECE OF MUSIC IN (FOR EXAMPLE) A FILM, GAME, OR ADVERT. IT WILL USUALLY COVER A SPECIFIC PERIOD OF TIME AND STIPULATE HOW THE SONG CAN BE — USED
TALENT AGENT IS A REPRESENTATIVE WHO ARRANGES LIVE PERFORMANCES AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR A MUSICIAN. ALSO REFERRED TO AS A BOOKING AGENT.
TALENT AGENCY
-A COMPANY THAT ARRANGES LIVE PERFORMANCES AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR A MUSICIAN. THERE MAY BE SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE AGENCY WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE PERFORMER(S).
TERM
IS REFERRING TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THE RECORDING OF A SONG IS PROTECTED UNDER CURRENT COPYRIGHT LAW.
TITLE THE NAME OF A SONG, FOUND AT THE TOP CENTER OF THE TITLE PAGE AND — USED TO IDENTIFY A COPYRIGHTED WORK.
TRADEMARK -THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF A TRADEMARK IS ABOUT MIS– USE OF THE BUSINESS ASSET, PASSING OFF AND CONFUSING POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. IT ISN’T AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THE TRADEMARKED NAME.