If You’re an Indie Artist, Start Here!

As an independent artist pursuing a career in the music industry, it is crucial to learn the basic foundations of the music business. Knowing how the system works will be your bread and butter as you continue building your public brand, persona, and repertoire. If you are unfamiliar with royalties or whether hiring professionals is right for you, our Indie Artist Guide to Music Business will be your ultimate kickstart to point you in the right direction. Our guide can help you make decisions while curating productive groundwork for your next release or move in your career! It’s important to understand the most common terms used in the music industry language:

Music Manager

A music manager will help you acquire the necessary tools, connections, and strategies to elevate your career. Tasks such as: pitching you to record labels, seeking booking agents for shows, scheduling, taxes, bookkeeping, providing advice on difficult decisions, and identifying growth opportunities such as social media development, sync licensing, and knowing when to reach out to publicists, pitch you to playlists, etc. Having a manager can save you time and offer space for you to focus on your craft as an artist and songwriter. Hiring a manager is a serious decision to make for your career. Most often, you are in contract with them for a given term and usually owe them a percentage of your gross income. Wanting a music manager and needing one are two different things! According to MusicIndustryHowTo, you are ready for a music manager when you find it difficult to manage all of your music business activity, or when managers are showing interest in you. If possible, you should not hire a manager. Instead, let them come to you. If you have too much to manage without any management deal offerings, it would be best to hire an administrative assistant. 

Music Agent

Music Agents are similar to artist managers, but agents focus on scheduling concerts, tours, and in-person appearances for clients. Like talent agents, music agents may negotiate fees and contracts for booking. Berklee adds, “Agents may also oversee travel logistics and hospitality (hotels and meals) for artists who are on the road.”

Music Publicist

Beautifully put by Spotify, “Publicists primarily handle getting print and online press for artists—placing longer pieces such as interviews and features; securing audio or video premieres and album reviews; pitching journalists on story ideas; and helping their clients find their way to inclusion in trend features. Be wary that helping you earn radio play, booking tours, and career counseling do not belong in their job description. As professional storytellers and creators, there is a right time and place for requiring a publicist. “You do not need a publicist if you’re a relatively new band who has yet to put out an album, can’t tour outside of your hometown or your general geographic area, and if the cost of hiring a publicist is going to hurt you financially,” says Seide, who’s repped Tool, Baroness, and the Melvins. If you find yourself in this description, DIY publicity is key! Spotify suggests, “Reach out and connect with local music writers and editors, as well as smaller regional and national music blogs, and maintain a robust social-media presence.”

DSPs

DSPs are your Digital Service Providers, such as Spotify Music, Apple, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, etc. Each service functions differently and provides a unique interface. Spotify is known for its large catalog, while Deezer provides personalized music recommendations. Songtrust suggests that you keep a few things in mind when releasing your music on DSPs:

1. Is the DSP interactive or non-interactive? Non-interactive streaming services, like Pandora, generate only performance royalties. Interactive streaming services, like Spotify, generate both performance and mechanical royalties.
2. Does the DSP offer a free membership tier? Certain DSPs have both free and paid forms of membership, the corresponding streams of which can pay differently.
3. Is the DSP streaming-based or download-based? Different types of interactions on a service produce different royalties: a download generates only mechanical royalties (though at a much higher rate than a stream) while a stream generates both performance and mechanical royalties.
4. Which territories does the DSP serve? Keep an eye out for potential royalties that may come from international pay sources.
5. Make sure your publisher collects from the collection societies aligned with the DSPs you’re distributing to.”

PRO’S

PRO stands for Performing Rights Organization. You may have heard of ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, or PRS. They collect performance royalties for songwriters and publishers when a song is publicly broadcasted or performed. Examples include your song on radio, television, clubs, restaurants, concert venues, and other public spaces. It’s critical to join one of these organizations to receive your royalties, but signing up alone is not enough! According to Ari’s Take, most of the songwriter money you make from Spotify and Apple Music (etc) streams does NOT come from ASCAP or BMI (or SESAC or SOCAN or PRS). Check out his article discussing how to receive ALL your royalties, including mechanical royalties not paid through PRO’S.

Royalties

The money you earn from your music is known as royalties. You receive royalties when a company or individual plays your music. This is known as the ‘cut’ you receive in return. Since your music is copyrighted, earning royalties secures the legal act of your work being performed or used by others. In music publishing (in relationship to songwriting), there are four different types of royalties:

1. Mechanical royalties
2. Performance royalties
3. Synch royalties
4. Print music royalties

Mechanical royalties are distributed when a copy of a song is made or reproduced, such as a cover. Most modern mechanical royalties come from streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music, but only when a listener plays your song on demand or downloads it. In today’s world, everything is borrowed or mechanical. So be mindful when releasing a cover song on platforms that can earn you revenue. If you plan to earn income through a cover song by releasing it to DSPs such as Spotify, you will most likely need a mechanical license. Your distribution company may offer a mechanical license. When you reproduce a song that someone else wrote and change it to make it more unique, this is known to be a derivative work and may require a master’s license in addition to a mechanical license.

How Do I Get Paid?

If your music plays in public spaces, such as on the radio, in bars, stores, restaurants, clubs, etc., you receive performance royalties. Remember, you will need to register your music with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) like BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, SOCAN (Canada), or PRS (UK) to earn performance royalties. Songwriters earn synch royalties when their music features in a film, tv show, commercial, or other audio-visual mediums. The act of “synching” your music into these mediums provides you your share of sync royalties. These contracts can vary in commitment, copyright usage, ownership, share, and term, so pay close attention to language upon signing a deal.

Musicgateway and CDbaby (to name a few) collect sync royalties for artists!

Copyright & Trademark

General music copyright law allows the original creator to decide what others do with their song or work. According to The National Inventors Hall of Fame, “Sound recording and musical composition copyrights also protect musicians from unauthorized use of their music in YouTube videos, commercials, television shows, and movies. To use a song, typically a licensing fee must be paid to the track’s copyright owner.” Trademarks in the music industry protect band names, logos, and sometimes phrases related to specific song lyrics. National Inventors Hall of Fame also includes, “In contrast to the protections provided by copyrights, trademarks protect things that help fans and consumers identify the source of the music. For a musician or band that sells merchandise, trademarks are an essential way to ensure that other parties are held accountable if they try to profit through the sale of counterfeit products.”

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What’s Next?

Have a release coming up? Let us know how we can help! Save this page to visit again in preparation for your next project, or share it with a friend! Visit us at InterceptMusic.com to learn more about our artist and label promotion program and services. Find us on