Blog #18: My Takeaways From A Music Conference

In February of this year (2024) I was fortunate enough to attend a fantastic music conference here in New Zealand called Syncposium. It was filled with awesome guests on the panels, including people who’d worked on major films such as Pulp Fiction and shows like Ozark and White Lotus, an Executive VP of a major music label, (now) music managers who’d previously toured the world, music lawyers, and composers of major television series’. Suffice it to say, there was a treasure trove of information and a wealth of experience in the room.

Despite my head spinning from all the info and great stories we took in over the two days, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some of the things I took away from the event.?

Some of you who follow me may know I work with artists as well as write music for tv and work with libraries, publishers and sync agencies etc. So, this blog will sort of be dedicated to points on both sides of the music equation.?

Lastly, before we get started, fair warning that this blog contains a few terms and words which you may not be familiar with - that’s exactly what I’m writing it for. To try to clear up as much of this as I can. And, if you need more help afterwards, don’t hesitate to reach out through email.

Let's dive in.?

#1 First thing’s first… Get your song cuts, splits, and copyright information sorted as soon as you’ve finished working on a song - or even while you’re working on it. If you’ve given a % away to a music producer, get it in writing - something signed. No verbal agreements. I have a free template on my website for this specific thing - it's as important for the artist as it is for the producer. After this blog I think I’ll have to put up a free template of a song split sheet for artists and co-writers too.?

This info should include:?

- Song title/s

- Names of those who worked on it

- Date

- Signatures

- %’s of those who are entitled to a cut

- Contact details

- PRO information of each writer/copyright holder

#2Get your PRO and song registration game on point. Depending on which country you’re in, you’ll have a different PRO for your territory. They are organisations which collect royalties on your behalf, and then distribute those to you. Ours here in NZ and Australia is called APRA, and there are several in the US such as BMI and ASCAP, and so on. I recommend googling “(country you're in) music performance rights association” and you should find it fairly easily. Registering is usually either free or cheap, and is a simple process.?

Register all of your songs with the correct writer (splits) information before releasing them. This is the best habit to get int, even if you're still only receiving small checks from Spotify streams.

#3?Get a better understanding of copyright and how it works.?

Technically, within music copyright (specifically with recordings) there are two sides of copyright which each make up a half of the whole. We’re talking about the master recording itself (known as the P/production copyright) and the intellectual property of the songwriting and song - the C copyright.?

As the person who wrote the song, you automatically own the IP to it. But it’s always a good idea to register it with your PRO so that there’s a digital/paper trail which can be traced back to you. The same goes for the rights around the “master” or recording - this is often where people get confused with regards to another term, Publishing.?

This follows onto the next point.?

#4?If you are an independent artist and are self-produced, or hire a producer etc. Then you (and anyone else who has a % on the track) own your masters. This is referred to as “Copyright Controlled”.?

When looking into getting your music synced, the fee and deal structures usually apply in a 50/50 fashion with regards to the two copyrights which I explained above. 50% will be for the songwriting portion of the copyright, and 50% will be for the use of the master recording (production copyright).?

In some countries, it is standard practice for songwriters to be self-published. This is different to “copyright controlled” in the sense that: you as yourself create a separate registered company which represents the publishing side of your own music. It’s still you, but through the entity of a business. If you are certain countries like USA then you are required to do this in order to receive that half of your royalty payout. Also, if you don't have your own publishing company to represent yourself, you may just miss out on deals straight up because people who license music don't want to have to deal with that headache.

So to keep it as simple as possible:?

C copyright - you own this as the individual by default because it’s your IP (songwriting and ideas)?

P copyright - you assign this to your company that you’ve set up (again, yourself) to collect that half of your total royalties separately.?

It’s confusing at first, but is just the way that things are done with regards to royalty collection due to the fact that music copyright is split into halves.?

It’s really important to understand all of these things, and have documentation for all of it - to protect yourself for any legal situations down the line.?

#5?People often think they need to find a Publisher to represent them, but this isnt always the case.?

Publishing looks a little different depending on which side of the industry you are looking for representation in, meaning: commercial music publisher, or production/library music publisher (music for film and tv).?

If you’re an artist in the commercial music space, a publishing deal can potentially be something that actually ties you down with many restrictions - inhibiting you from potentially being able to participate in great opportunities because of the terms you signed in the deal. While the contract might be for some specific tracks, it may also have clauses which lay claim to future works (songs) of yours. Be careful of this. They also can have a long time horizon meaning they prevent you from being able to be published in any other instances with other representatives.

If you’re an artist in the production music space, a publishing deal usually only applies for the specific tracks/songs/titles which are on the contract. They have zero claim over any other works of yours outside of the deal - which means you're free to work with whoever you want outside of that deal and cast your net wide if you want. The contracts are also much easier to terminate if you feel like you either want to; self-represent/self-publish those songs or titles, or want to send those titles to be represented by another publisher. This varies from contract to contract, but is mostly a lot easier to navigate.?

Publishers in both cases will also take a % fee of any money earned by those pieces of music. That’s how they make their money for representing your music. So, make sure you read all the details of a contract carefully before just signing away. It’s always good to speak to a music lawyer in a case like the above, especially if it’s your first one.?

#6?Writing music for film and TV is a long game, not a short one.?

This is a HUGE misconception with the recent rise in popularity around the idea of music sync and song placements. Contrary to all these gurus on the internet, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all “get rich quick” method. It takes time and dedication, just like any other career.?

In the spirit of being open, I’ll list as much of my music which is out there working for me as I can below, and even then, I’m still just scratching the surface of what’s required to make a good, full-time living off of writing music for film and tv: (excluding all of my productions I do for artists who hire me)

(At the time of this blog)?

- 3 10-song albums with a major library music company

- 5 songs on a compilation album with another major library company/label

- Over 60 pieces of instrumental production music (excluding alt. versions and stems) with various libraries around the world

- 10+ songs I’ve co-written and produced with other sync artists and vocalists which are all

represented by a host of sync agencies.?

- Custom writes for commercials direct to advertising agencies

- Custom writes for podcast shows

So, as you can see, it takes a LOT of hustle, and I still have PLENTY to go.?

Wrapping up

It really can be overwhelming when walking into a 2-day conference and just having constant information coming at you. But I also recognise that it can be even more overwhelming when you aren’t able to attend these events, and have no access to this kind of info at all. It’s so easy to feel like you’re on the outside, and starting is the hardest part.?

I hope these explanations help shed some light on the topics above and clear up some of your confusion.?

But, last thing to hammer home... get all of your paperwork, split sheets, PRO information and song registrations in order. It’s a small amount of admin to prevent big headaches down the line if you ever get involved with publishers, music sync, or find yourself negotiating a deal.?

Just as I said above, feel free to email me or fill out the contact form on my site, and I’ll be happy to try clarify anything else.?

And, finally - keep a look out for the free song splits sheet template which I’ll put in my members’ area with all of the other free downloads.?

Peace!?

K

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