(See also Encoding Music Issues 2)
Hello everyone. It is Feb. 22. Glad to see you
all! I have had so many questions from writers who have been
writing songs for a long time, but just now starting to approach
Publishers and the Industry, that they are terribly confused
about "what to do next". I'm going to start posting a
column link to that soon, just to help out, I think, because I
say the same thing in most emails on these topics. In the
meantime, if you are in this catagory, PLEASE read the "song
critique checklist" on the How To
Submit Material page, as this relates to the BUSINESS aspect
of your songs, as well as their form.
One of my experiences this week has been in pursuing encoding, (the
application of a "code" to your recording of a master,
so that it might be tracked totally as a work, i.e., the song,
writer, publisher, singer, date of cr, etc.) It is a bit more
complex than I had first heard (what in new technology is not?) I
am almost to the mastering stage of a new project. I had hoped
that our PRO's would reach an agreement on an encoding process,
but they have not. The biggest entity using encoding at the
moment in broadcasting (as far as I know) is NBC, with their
sports and olympics broadcasts commited to encoded works. They
are using the ARIS "musicode", and it seems to be
enormously accurate. But, unfortunately only available to major
catalogues, companies or SESAC writers at the moment. (You can
work with encoding now as a writer for about $100 per hour, but
an album project might really add up at this rate for an
independent.) I'm not sure which direction I'll go in yet.
I'll keep you posted. If you have encoding experience, please
email and tell me about it, alright?
Those of you earning or about to earn Royalties, learn how to
protect your future and how PRO's work to collect your
performance royalties. The educational AACO hosts GEMA on Feb. 22,
in Beverly Hills. See Affiliations
page.
©1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Janet Fisher, Goodnight Kiss Music