Preparing singers for careers in music

Patricia Feltmann,

Singing instructor

News Article

How would you like to earn some money selling CDs?  Many singers make more money selling retail (CDs, DVDs, photos, etc.) than they do with performance fees.  But you could lose a lot, a whole lot, if you are caught illegally distributing copyrighted material.

Here are some myths about selling copyrighted material:

· It’s not illegal if you give it away.  Wrong!  It’s illegal to distribute copyrighted material, even if you do not benefit from it.  So technically, those demo CDs people give out to fairs and festivals to try to get jobs are illegal.  I believe you should only have 30 seconds or less of each song on a demo CD.

· It’s not illegal if you make fewer than 500 copies.  Wrong!  You must pay for the minimum (usually 500) copies, even if you don’t use them all.  But you must still obtain the copyrights.

· You won’t get caught.  They don’t care about small numbers.  Wrong!  You never know who will be at one of your performances, or who the industry decides to make an example of.  Besides, it’s wrong.  Just don’t do it.

Here are some copyright do’s:

· Contact the Harry Fox Agency to obtain the rights to sell copies of each song.  You will have to buy rights for at least 500 copies, even if you don’t use them all.

· If you are singing with karaoke backgrounds, you must also buy the rights to use the karaoke background.  They often sell in units of 100.

· Read all of the fine print!  The Harry Fox website (www.harryfox.com) has a great deal of information on copyrights and exactly how to do it legally.  Follow it to the letter.  The karaoke company also has requirements.  Make sure you understand them.  You don’t want to pay out the money for the copyrights and still be doing something illegally.  This will include what you write on the CD cover and inserts and perhaps on the CD itself.

· Write your own music and put that on your CD!  It will save you a great deal of money!  Even if you have to pay for someone to make a background for you, you’ll be ahead because you can use it in any way you like.  Make sure the person who makes your background music signs off the rights to the use it.  Most local people will do this with the money you pay them to do the background as payment in full.

· I do recommend using cover songs in addition to your original music.  There are some great songs out there that will make your voice sound great and that people would love to hear you sing.  They are more likely to buy the CD if there are cover songs on there.

· The rights to do cover songs (someone else’s songs) on a DVD are administered differently.  I am not as familiar with that, but I think they are more expensive and are not covered by the copyrights you obtained for the CD.

· I believe having less than 30 seconds of someone else’s song on a demo is legal without obtaining copyrights.  But don't quote me on that.  Look it up yourself.  This may also include cover songs playing on your website, even if people can’t download them.

Getting a CD to sell legally is not hard, but it is time consuming and can be expensive up front, especially if you use all cover songs with karaoke backgrounds.  Just google “Harry Fox” to get official information.  You can sell your CDs at performances, contests, through your website, and to friends and family, the sky is the limit!!

Selling CD’s legally

Date: 03/15/07