Mechanical Royalties Money Flow
Mechanical Royalties
About.com – A basic definition of mechanical royalties.
Final note - This article addresses challenges faced by composers whom do not share
publishing earnings with their respective publishing companies.
Music publishing terminology.
Historical listing of statutory mechanical royalty rates.
Mechanical royalty calculator.
Process
1. Create intellectual property or represent creative entities.
2. Protect the material by filing the appropriate copyright forms along with a
tangible copy of the work and a check for the correct amount made payable to the
Register of Copyrights. Alternatively, use a poor person’s copyright as discussed
in class. The alternative method should include a tangible copy of the work along
with proof of ownership such as a notarized document and/or a certified mailing.
In all cases, make sure to store the materials in a safe location. Note that the U.S
copyright office does make it possible for persons to search records via the U.S.
Copyright Office website.
3. Writers should consider creating their own publishing companies. At the very
least, writers should always try to control a minimum of 50% of their publishing
interests. Writers own 100% of all publishing interests until these are negotiated
away to publishers, managers, record companies, or other persons, companies,
organizations, or parasites. Those interested in founding a publishing company in
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the state of Florida can start by visiting Florida’s Department of Corporations at
www.sunbiz.org.
4. Publishers may want to affiliate themselves with the Harry Fox Agency, the
world’s largest music licensing organization, in order to have Harry Fox collect
mechanical royalties for them. Publishers can also collect these royalties on their
own.
5. In order to collect airplay, broadcasts, and live performance royalties fro their
copyrighted works, writers and publishers should affiliate themselves with a
performing rights organization of their own choosing. The three American
performing rights organizations listed in alphabetical order are: ASCAP, BMI,
and SESAC.
6. Artists, studio musicians, and sound recording copyright owners should register
their materials with Sound Exchange in order to receive digital broadcast royalties
made possible with President William Jefferson Clinton’s signing of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
7. All industry professionals should monitor changing trends and laws in order to
best protect and profit from any and all intellectual property with which they are
associated.
The Team
1. Management
a. Personal managers (Day-to-day and career oversight)
b. Business managers (Financial managers)
2. Booking agents
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3. Partners and bands
4. Producers
5. Legal representation
6. Publishing
7. Record companies and distributors
8. Unions and guilds
a. The American Federation of Musicians
b. The Screen Actors Guild
c. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
d. Actor’s Equity
9. Merchandising
10. Promotion and marketing
a. Recordings
b. Videos
c. Websites
d. Mailing lists
e. Live performance
f. Bio, resume, press releases
g. Photos
Weblinks
www.ascap.com
www.bmi.com
www.copyright.gov
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www.harryfox.com
www.kochent.com
www.musicbizadvice.com
www.professorcalle.com
www.sesac.com
www.taxi.com
www.themusicbiz.com
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References
About, Inc. (2008). Mechanical royalties [Electronic version]. Retrieved January 24,
2008, from: http://musicians.about.com/od/glossary/g/mechanicalroyal.htm
Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (2008). Mechanical royalty calculator. Retrieved January 24,
2008, from: http://www.harryfox.com/public/royaltyCalculation.jsp
Howard, G. (2004). Performances and booking agents: The live life [Electronic version].
Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.musicbizadvice.com/music_business_lessons_performances_and_boo
king_agents_the_live_life.htm
MusicBizAdvice.com. (2003). Q & A: The Difference Between Managers, Personal
Managers, Tour Managers, and Business Managers, and What They Do
[Electronic version]. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.musicbizadvice.com/qa%20What's%20the%20difference%20between
%20a%20manager%20a%20personal%20manager%20a%20tour%20manager%2
0and%20a%20business%20manager.htm
Northam, M. (2006, September 8). The beginning of the end of performance royalties for
film & TV music? [Electronic version]. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://finalnote.blogspot.com/2006/09/beginning-of-end-of-performance.html
U.S. Copyright Office. (2006, May 30). Copyright royalty rates: Section 115, the
mechanical license [Electronic version]. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.copyright.gov/carp/m200a.html
Velletri, G. (2008, January 21). Music publishing terminology [Electronic version].
Retrieved January 24, 2008, from:
http://www.knowthemusicbiz.com/index.php/BIZ-BLOG/BIZ-BLOG/MusicPublishing-Terminology-by-Garry-Velletri.html