Tuesday, July 11th, 2023.
Hey, it’s TJ Miller, “you want some game?” Let's #tipundathehat!
For the best indie music from indie artists, click, and follow Indie Artist Of The Week Unda The Hat. This week, VICTOR VC CALDWELL Be sure to hit the like button and follow this amazing group of indie artists. They will be big time soon.
Who’s your go-to PRO? - Let’s go -
Ok, so you wrote the song, your Mama nem all say they love it, your friends say the same, and to validate it even more you have over 10,000 friends on IG. Now I know you got your copyright, but what about your publishing? Did you sign up with a Music PRO? What’s a PRO you ask? No, it does not stand for Music Professional. A PRO or Performing Rights Organization collects royalties for songwriters and music publishers when your song is publicly broadcasted or performed. Public performances can include plays on the radio and television, and in clubs, restaurants, concert venues, and other public spaces. PROs collect fees from these establishments and pay them out to their members. Now you do know what music royalties are right? Well of course you do, they are payments made to rights holders, including songwriters, recording artists, and intermediaries like labels, publishers, or producers for the licensed use of their work. So you could be the singer, the rapper, or the instrumentalist and not get one cent of publishing royalties. Why? Because you are not the rights holder.
Here in the United States, there are three major PROs, BMI - Broadcast Music, Inc, ASCAP - American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. and SESAC - Society of European Stage Authors and Composers. BMI does not charge to affiliate as a songwriter, ASCAP does if you join only as a publisher. If you join as a writer and publisher it’s free. SESAC is just boogie, you have to be invited. Both BMI and ASCAP are non-profit organizations that are governed by a board of directors made up of music industry professionals. SESAC on the other hand is all about its chips, they are a for-profit company
Let’s be clear, music publishing relates to getting paid for the composition of the song, NOT the recording. In our world of DIY, most of you are both the songwriter and the performer so you are good in that respect. If you are the songwriter, composer, wrote lyrics, producer, the beatmaker, shuck your tambourine, stomped yo foot, and clapped your hands and own a part of the copyright (remember this word from last week?) then you will earn money from the publishing of that song. Several songs have more than one or two or even three writers, but they all have ownership in that song. For example, Don’t Wake Me Up by Chris Brown has 11 songwriters and 5 publishers. Everybody gets a piece of that pie. The bigger the pie the bigger the piece you get.
PROs play an important role in the music industry. They help to ensure that songwriters, composers, and music publishers are compensated for the use of their work. They also help to promote the use of music by licensing it to businesses and organizations.
If you are a songwriter, composer, or music publisher, you should… no, change that, you better register with a PRO. This will ensure that you get your money for the use of your work.
Here’s why you join a PRO:
- You will receive royalties for the use of your work.
- You will have access to marketing and promotional tools.
- You will be able to join a community of music creators.
- You will be able to protect your copyright.
If you are a business or organization that uses music, you should license it from a PRO. This will ensure that you are paying the appropriate royalties and that you are not infringing on copyright law. Don’t be the one that’s stealing money from musicians. Don’t make them PRO reps come over there and hit you with that paperwork, ‘cause trust me they will, and they should.
This week's #IAOTW - Independent Artists Of The Week is - Victor VC Caldwell. 
Kirk Whalum says that VC is one of those geniuses that usually operate in the background of music as a producer, engineer, or songwriter, yeah he’s that guy that’s been on more than 100 hit records and has the Grammys, Stellars, and Dove awards to prove it. Click on his name link, scroll down to his picture, then click and support. You won’t believe how talented this cat is.
For more information on this or to hire Unda The Hat as your brand or label consultant send a message via undathehat.com. See you next week!!