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…

“How do I start a record label?” That is one of the most asked questions when someone comes up with the crazy idea that they would like to start selling their music.

That’s the question I had nearly 9 years ago. I had no experience in either setting up a business or even any experience about the music industry. I’m just a music fan.

I’m not a musician of any sort, nor could I write lyrics. As I mentioned before, I just like music. Sorry I mean “love” music.

So, when the idea of starting a record label came up I was weary and excited at the same time, as any one in their right mind can just imagine that selling music is not the most stable of career choices.

One of the many experiences I quickly learnt about starting a record label all those years ago was the spiraling costs of every thing you do. Especially when you’re just starting out. It was expensive to get a contract drawn up, expensive to book studio time, expensive to release a record and not to mention marketing costs (if you knew what you was doing).

And if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll start to wonder where all the money is going to come from to get you to be successful. Before you know it, you end up sounding like some hopeless dreamer that family and friends tell to get a “proper” career (God forbid)!

Now, I know many people juggle normal life with life as an artist quite well, but eventually something will have to give and ultimately one thing or another suffers.

So, what do you do? That is the million dollar/euro/pound question. What I did was segment my time between my day job and my time building my network of music industry links.

Yeah,I know, that might not suit everyone, but that is what worked for me.

Once you have go good handle on your time and you need to get some rest as also, you need to prioritize what it is you are trying to achieve – Are you doing this as a hobby, or do you want to get serious?

This, my friend is what I will leave you to think about for a minute.

At least until next time…..