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 Take This Five Point Self-Evaluation Before Starting Your Own Publishing Company Recently, at The Circle, we reviewed the three main jobs of a music publishing company: |
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Administration... Taking care of the business and legal issues, collecting revenue, policing and auditing of royalty statements and enforcement of amounts not paid. |
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Plugging... Pitching and promoting of songs for licensing such as mechanical, synchronization, print, digital, etc. |
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Development... Helping to improve songwriting talent and, thereby, making it more valuable (e.g., pairing a newer songwriting talent with a more experienced songwriter). |
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| If you have my workbook, Make Music, Make Money, you will find a more detailed explanation of these three jobs at pages 47-53. Of course, at The Circle meeting itself, I went even further into this topic by responding to specific questions going beyond the scope of the book. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| These three jobs require a great deal of expertise and responsibility. So, there's more to starting a publishing company than simply forming a legal business entity and having a decent budget. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is not meant to discourage you. Instead, the following five point self-evaluation is designed to help you better prepare for what can be a very profitable and exciting business venture. If you've already started your company, use the self-evaluation to further fine-tune your strengths and weaknesses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you have the experience and resources to do all of these jobs? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It's OK if you don't have enough experience or money. There are more educational resources today than ever before -- books, websites and seminars are readily and inexpensively available. If you have a business plan and a realistic budget, funding is also available. And even if you have experience and some capital, there is always more to learn and more that you can squeeze out of a dollar. The point is to honestly evaluate how much you really know and don't know. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you have enough experience and resources to do these jobs well? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here's where many people trip up. With enough effort, almost anyone can eventually fumble their way into a license. But is the license a good deal? Would you even be able to tell? Do you know what things are customary to ask for in a negotiation and what things you might get laughed at? Do you have the research skills to get the information you need quickly? Can you afford to make a mistake and to endure the long-term consequences? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you have enough experience and resources to do these jobs as well as or better than another publisher? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maybe your answer to Question 2 is that you are able to do these three jobs well. But take a look around. Are there other publishers who can do a better job of handling your kind of material? Are there publishers who can open up opportunities for you in an area that you are having trouble breaking into (e.g., video games, print music, etc.). Are there publishers who can market your material in a foreign country? If so, you should approach these companies (assuming that you have a track record of success). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you enjoy the work involved in doing these jobs? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The three jobs of a publisher are time-consuming and require a great deal of attention to detail. You have to genuinely enjoy doing this work. You don't have to love it as much as your passion for music. But if you find it boring, you will not have the motivation to overcome your weaknesses or to fine-tune your strengths. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| If you do not have the experience, then do you have the time to learn? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time is money. Even if you're inexperienced, your time still has value. Would you rather spend time learning the ropes or writing (or acquiring) more songs? Is it better to farm-out some of this work to an entertainment attorney? Sure, a lawyer is going to cost money. But in exchange, you free up your time for other tasks and you have the peace of mind of running things by someone with more experience. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| These are five additional questions that you will find on page 54 of Make Music, Make Money. The self-evaluation is drawn from years of providing a wide variety of services for clients: setting up publishing companies, writing and negotiating publishing agreements, teaching clients how to operate their companies, reviewing royalty statements and much more. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| If you have questions about publishing companies or if you're getting involved in a license, contact me about setting up a consultation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Many clients do the consults on a weekly or monthly basis. They use it as their private "classroom" to learn more about the business. It's better to learn specific information in a private setting than to learn general principles in a public class. And it's a lot less money than college tuition! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Not sure yet? Have
questions about the fee or services? Contact me to arrange for a free confidential telephone appointment to get more information. |
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| In the meantime, you can learn more about publishing by getting a copy of Make Music, Make Money and by attending the next meeting of The Circle - Manhattan or The Circle - Long Island. Make sure to tell your friends and colleagues. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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