This post is important when you are starting a record label. Reason is, you want to start off with as much of the *boring* stuff in place as possible. Non-the-less, you will need to have the following from the start as it will protect you and your record label.

So, lets get to it…

Are you ready to get noticed?  You don’t want to start without joining the right associations.  Making sure that you are connected on a world wide basis with your record label will provide you with more options for protecting your music and getting your music out there.

Look into the associations that will protect you as an artist and your record label.  For example, if you are in the US, you will want to have a membership with ASCAP or BMI, in the UK MCPS-PRS Alliance, Canada SOCAN or Australia with APRA-AMCOS.  These will give you performance and mechanical rights.

The above associations will protect the publishing and mechanical rights for you or your artist. It will also pay you royalties when someone purchases your music whether physical or download, online or offline and when you perform your *registered* songs live on stage.

Generally, ASCAP, BMI, MCPS-PRS, SOCAN and APRA-AMCOS are very helpful when you are looking for information. They will give you advice and contact details for all the associations that you need for when you register as a member.

If your budget is big enough or you can find the resources to make  promo videos, you will also want to join your country’s video licensing association. These types of associations organize the licensing and broadcasting of your promo videos on a worldwide basis when they are aired on the TV. This means that if a TV channel (terrestrial, cable or satellite) plays your video (say MTV), you will get a royalty fee for every time it is aired.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Ask your legal representative to point you in the right direction for the relevant associations that you need to join*.

Join a good digital distribution company. Digital distribution companies work just like normal CD and record distributor companies, except they distribute online. You will need to have the relevant ISRC codes in place when registering your music with these distributors. The ISRC codes are obtained when you register your individual music tracks with your mechanical rights associations. The good thing about these online distributors is that they can get you world wide distribution for your songs.

You can also look into other country specific areas that work as associations to help and protect record labels.  These will allow you to get out there, stay protected and have a back up when you need it.

Stay tuned!  We will be bringing you more information on how to make your record business thrive!

To learn about how to start your record label and get it up and running, click here to get it step by step. Or post your comments below, please…

Here’s part 2 of Setting Up Your Company Structure:

This post will follow up from the last email, helping you to lay the foundations for your record labels success.

Recruiting Help

Once you start to run as a record company, you will realize that there is a lot of work to be done. It will continue as time goes by. Even if you could, you don’t have to do this alone.  Making sure that you set up an internal structure that works for you will allow you to have more man (or woman) power to help you or your company move in the direction that you want to proceed in.

There are many one person record labels that will choose to do everything alone when they are starting out.  However, if you are interested in having a working environment that helps you to meet full capacity, then you will need to approach the situation a little differently.

A good working environment that combines with a correct business structure should start with putting in place the legalities of working with others. Things such as payroll and partnerships should be defined through legal help or by setting agreements, contracts and working standards with others.  Make sure you seek advice from your legal representative and accountant before you reach to this point.

Once you have done this, you can recruit help or staff for your business.

Finding other musicians or like minded individuals who want to be a part of the deal or who are interested in becoming a part of your record label can help to take some of the burden off of your shoulders.  Dividing up tasks such as  admin, driver, coffee maker to engineering, mastering, pre-mixing and or recording, etc, will provide you with much needed help, so that you can concentrate on the parts of the business that you are good at, like making sure all the parts of your business is running like it is supposed to .  Going solo will mean having to wear many hats and could become very demanding.

Plan out exactly how you want your record company to be run and tell whoever works along side you to follow the company plans and goals. This will enable a professional working environment and will allow you to drive your label in the direction towards success.

If you missed part 1 of Setting Up Your Record Label Structure, you can catch up by going here.

Until the next time, stay tuned!