Since Napster revolutionized the music industry by creating the ability for music to be downloaded digitally for free, sales of records have declined dramatically. Compact discs and vinyl units shipped have continued to shrink in favor of iTunes and music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora. Record sales are now considered a loss leader for acts to use as promotional tools for concert tickets and merchandising sales.
The one area of the music business that has now exploded has been in the realm of publishing. Songwriters have always made the bulk of the money within bands and as solo artists, Intellectual Property lawyers, also known as IP lawyers, have long devoted extensive resources to protecting songwriting catalogs as well as maximizing the revenue earning potential for as of yet unwritten songs from songwriters with proven track records. A look into the different revenue streams that songwriters derive income from includes the following:
Congress has mandated the rate for mechanical royalties for songwriters and producers on recordings (CD, vinyl, tape or digital), which stands at 9.1 cents per song per record for any release.
Performance rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI collect royalties globally from logged plays of songs via radio, TV, films, DVDs, jukeboxes and cover performances, even by wedding bands. Blanket agreement fees are paid by venues, radio stations, and broadcasters, and are distributed through the rights organizations in the form of payments based on an average number of plays multiplied by the few cents owed to the publisher and songwriter per play.
The increased proliferation of music in digital media and ads has created a huge demand for original songs. An instrumental passage and/or a sung verse or chorus that is included in a film or TV program can generate multiple revenue streams. A single song placement can earn up-front synchronization and mastering fees, back end broadcast royalties, soundtrack compilation record royalties, and possibly spin off or other inclusion rights from sites like HBO Go, Netflix, or others with licensing ties to original programming. Blu-Ray/DVD, cable, rerun, broadcast, syndication, and foreign broadcast royalties would also be added to the total equation.
Intellectual Property lawyers have also been able to extend publishing rights to songwriters in other arenas, some only recently emerged and others less likely but solidly viable. Among them are:
Video Games - narrative games like Grand Theft Auto and World of Wizardry often use originally composed instrumental music. Popular games like “Guitar Hero” use actual content from record masters, similarly to in film and TV.
Loops - Thanks to Hip-Hop, the use of popular records as backing tracks for rappers has created another revenue source for both mechanical as well as co-songwriting royalties.
Ringtones - the ability for smartphones to utilize a downloaded music snippet as a ringtone involves the download of a product, it is considered another mechanical royalty source.
Streaming - digital streaming has become the new radio format for the 21st century. YouTube pays $2.00 for every 1000 viewings of a monetized video, which has helped to launch artists like Psy (Gangnam Style) and Justin Bieber.
The music industry paradigm has shifted dramatically in the last decade and is still changing. IP lawyers are at the forefront of navigating these shifts for musician clients, and as such, are invaluable to songwriters’ livelihoods
The one area of the music business that has now exploded has been in the realm of publishing. Songwriters have always made the bulk of the money within bands and as solo artists, Intellectual Property lawyers, also known as IP lawyers, have long devoted extensive resources to protecting songwriting catalogs as well as maximizing the revenue earning potential for as of yet unwritten songs from songwriters with proven track records. A look into the different revenue streams that songwriters derive income from includes the following:
Congress has mandated the rate for mechanical royalties for songwriters and producers on recordings (CD, vinyl, tape or digital), which stands at 9.1 cents per song per record for any release.
Performance rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI collect royalties globally from logged plays of songs via radio, TV, films, DVDs, jukeboxes and cover performances, even by wedding bands. Blanket agreement fees are paid by venues, radio stations, and broadcasters, and are distributed through the rights organizations in the form of payments based on an average number of plays multiplied by the few cents owed to the publisher and songwriter per play.
The increased proliferation of music in digital media and ads has created a huge demand for original songs. An instrumental passage and/or a sung verse or chorus that is included in a film or TV program can generate multiple revenue streams. A single song placement can earn up-front synchronization and mastering fees, back end broadcast royalties, soundtrack compilation record royalties, and possibly spin off or other inclusion rights from sites like HBO Go, Netflix, or others with licensing ties to original programming. Blu-Ray/DVD, cable, rerun, broadcast, syndication, and foreign broadcast royalties would also be added to the total equation.
Intellectual Property lawyers have also been able to extend publishing rights to songwriters in other arenas, some only recently emerged and others less likely but solidly viable. Among them are:
Video Games - narrative games like Grand Theft Auto and World of Wizardry often use originally composed instrumental music. Popular games like “Guitar Hero” use actual content from record masters, similarly to in film and TV.
Loops - Thanks to Hip-Hop, the use of popular records as backing tracks for rappers has created another revenue source for both mechanical as well as co-songwriting royalties.
Ringtones - the ability for smartphones to utilize a downloaded music snippet as a ringtone involves the download of a product, it is considered another mechanical royalty source.
Streaming - digital streaming has become the new radio format for the 21st century. YouTube pays $2.00 for every 1000 viewings of a monetized video, which has helped to launch artists like Psy (Gangnam Style) and Justin Bieber.
The music industry paradigm has shifted dramatically in the last decade and is still changing. IP lawyers are at the forefront of navigating these shifts for musician clients, and as such, are invaluable to songwriters’ livelihoods