Career Roadmap

Music Related Career Choices

Creative

• Singer (lead & back-up)
• Deejay
• Songwriter
• Dub poet
• Composer
• Arranger
• Engineer
• Musician
• Producer
• Disc Jockey (radio and sound system)
• Video (director, producer, editor, cameraman)

Administrative/support services

• Accountant
• Administrator (studio/record/production company)
• Booking Agent
• Broadcaster
• Choreographer
• Entertainment Coordinator
• Entertainment Attorney
• Executive Producer
• Fashion Designer
• Graphic Artist
• Instruments (sales and repairs)
• Lighting Technician
• Manager (Personal/Business/Road)
• Manufacturers (vinyl/CD/cassettes)
• Merchandiser
• Photographer
• Project Coordinator
• Production Manager
• Promoter
• Publicist
• Publisher
• Receptionist
• Record Company Executive (A&R, Sales, PR, Marketing, etc.)
• Retailer
• Secretary
• Security
• Sound System Owner
• Stage Manager
• Studio Owner/Operator
• Teacher
• Writer (news/magazine/liner notes/biographies)

Producing a Record

For an Existing Label:

• Identify/get recommendations on a good/reputable label
• Call and arrange an audition with the recording company
• If the record company is interested in signing you to their label, you should seek legal advise to ensure that all parties are happy with the terms of the contract
• The record company will bring all recorded songs to the stage of a finished record before sending it to any manufacturing and distributing company
• Royalty payments with respect to each record only become payable to artiste/writer after all charges associated with the recording, manufacture and distribution of the particular record have been recouped by the label.

For Yourself:

• Hire a producer to produce the track
• Book studio time and hire musical talent (musicians, vocalists. Etc.)
• Record and mix songs/tracks
• Master the tracks and prepare label/cover artwork
• Press/manufacture finished product
• Shop for distribution deal through local or overseas companies or license the product territory by territory

Industry Players

Artiste

An artiste in the music business is one who performs and/or records and/or creates musical works

Artiste & Repertoire (A&R)

The A&R department of a record company is the department responsible for talent scouting and the coordination of the studio recording process

Author

An author is the creator of a literary or dramatic work and includes the writer of the lyrics to a song. Composers and authors are collectively referred to as songwriters where they collaborate to write a song

Booking Agents

A booking agent secures performing engagements on behalf of the artiste

Broadcasters

A broadcaster is anyone who transmits by wireless telegraphy, sounds or visual images or both for reception by the public. Broadcasters include radio stations, television stations, concerts, clubs, etc.

Composer

A composer is a person who creates a musical work. A composer puts together melody, harmony, phrases and/or themes, which express a musical idea. Under the Jamaican Copyright Act, a musical work is defined as a work consisting of music, exclusive of any words, intended to be sung or spoken with the music

Engineer

An engineer works in the record studio or at live concerts to ensure that the quality of the sound acoustics being produced is clear and generally of a high standard. He/she is also overseer in the recording and mixing of the music on the various tracks that finally produce the finished recorded work

Executive Producer

This is the individual or company responsible for financing the recording process. The executive producer normally owns the master of the completed sound recording

Lawyers/Attorneys

A lawyer is a person who has studied and practices law. In the practice of law, a lawyer may:

1. Advise clients on the best legal course of action to take in order to protect the interest/rights of his client
2. Represent the client in a court of law regarding a legal matter

Managers

A performing artist may have two types of managers (i.e. a business manager and a personal manager)

A business manager is the person responsible for the financial guidance of the artiste. Business managers ultimately control the flow of funds, manage investments and keep a close watch over the tax consequences of the artiste’s affairs. Business managers are usually accountants or tax attorneys

A personal manager is a person who gives advise and counsel to an artiste in the following areas:

1. The selection of literary, artistic and musical materials
2. Any and all matters relating to publicity, public relations and advertising
3. The adoption of the proper format for the best presentation of the artiste’s talent
4. The selection of booking agents to procure maximum employment for the artistes
5. The types of employment which the artiste should accept and which would prove most beneficial to their careers
6. The selection and supervision of accountants and attorneys other than those used by the manager

Manufacturers/Distributors

Record manufacturers or distributors are usually contracted by record companies to produce copies of the original demo of a recorded work for sale and distribution to retail outlets

Music Dealers/Record Shops

Music dealers operate retail outlets (record shops) for the sale of recorded music (i.e. cassettes, records, CDs, etc.) and other subsidiary products. It is through these outlets that the music product is made available for sale to the general public

Producer

This is the person responsible for planning and coordinating the various creative and artistic inputs necessary to bring a sound recording to the stage where there is a master tape suitable for use in the manufacturing of records, cassettes, CDs, etc.

Promoters

A promoter is a person or company which stages live music performances. To do this they:

• Do an overall budget
• Find sponsors for the event
• Find the venue/location
• Book artistes to perform
• Book backing bands
• Light and sound engineers, and
• Advertise the event

Publisher

Music publishing is concerned with management of the various legal ownership rights to artistic property, such as recorded music. A music publisher will therefore liaise or negotiate contracts involving the use of the intellectual property, which he manages, to ensure that the rights of the copyright owner in the musical work is protected. These contracts include contracts with recording companies, film producers and any other production, distribution or promotional contracts.

Record Company

A record company/label is the trademark under which sound recordings are released and made available to the public. Record labels are usually owned by companies, or individuals, who often times give their business the same name as the label they own. Record label owners may either be production entities or record companies.

In the case of production entities, the rights in the master used in manufacturing CDs, cassettes, etc., are usually vested in the production companies by virtue of the fact that the entity financed the production. In the case of record companies, the rights in the master are either acquired by agreement with original master owners or through the record companies’ activities as a financier of production.

A record company is responsible for the production of the demo of an artiste’s recorded work. They arrange the music and do all the sound, engineering and recording work required to produce a finished record demo. Artistes usually contract with record companies for the production of these demo records

Recording Studio

A recording studio has facilities to record musical works. These facilities include sound and acoustic equipment, recording, etc., and are used by artistes, musicians and producers to record and mix songs bringing them to a point where a master tape incorporating the song is produced. It is from this master tape that manufacturers make the CDs, cassettes, etc., which are made available to the public

Songwriters

Any composer who writes songs is a songwriter. This term is applied particularly to composers and lyricists of popular songs in the 20 th Century.

Video Companies

Record companies contract video companies or production houses to produce music videos for a particular musical work or performer. These music videos are primarily promotional tools to boost record sales

There are at least 16 separate and clearly identifiable functions involved in the music business: namely, singers, musicians, songwriters, producers, audio engineers, publishers, record manufacturers, promoters, managers, disc jockeys (radio, club and sound system), booking agents, venue operators, merchandise manufacturers, entertainment attorneys, distributors and retailers. Combined, the above-mentioned activities result in the production and provision of most of the products and services available in the business of music.

Recorded music products

Despite much crossover and integration among separate activities, there are four distinct phases of the recorded music business, i.e. recording, manufacturing, marketing & distribution and retailing phases.

1. Recording

The first phase of the process involves the making of a master recording of a musical work whereby singers, musicians, songwriters, sound engineers and record producers assemble in a recording studio in order to produce a master recording (studio recording facilities are generally rented). This completes the first phase of the music making process.

The record producer is usually the owner of the master recording (but not the song itself, which remains the property of the creators by virtue of the law of copyright). The commercial exploitation of the recording and the song incorporated in the recording normally generates income by way of royalties. Royalties generated from the exploitation of the recording are shared amongst the producer and the artist, whilst royalties from the exploitation of the song are shared between the creator (songwriter) and the publishers. The publisher, by virtue of song-writing agreements, secures rights to administer the copyrights on behalf of the songwriters. Publishers and songwriters usually secure the services of music agencies, such as the Performing Rights Society (PRS). American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Harry Fox Agency, to deal copyright collection with the issuance of licenses for the use of musical works and the collection and distribution of royalties generated from the use of the works.

The record producer’s responsibility is usually to finance the cost of the studio recording process and to coordinate the activities of songwriters, singers, musicians, and recording engineers in the recording studio. The master recording, which results from the studio recording sessions, is usually the property of the record producer.

1. Manufacturing of the finished products

Following the completion of the master recording, the record producer, who owns the particular sound recording of the song in question, enters an agreement with a manufacturer or distributor, who is generally given the right to manufacture and distribute the finished product in the form of vinyl records, cassettes, compact discs, mini discs or digital compact discs (DCDs). This is the second stage of the process, which is usually done at a record manufacturing facility or plant, such as a CD-pressing or manufacturing plant, or a vinyl or cassette tape manufacturing facility. At this plant, hundreds or even thousands of copies are made for the mass market. Such a facility could be either physically separate or under one roof with the recording studios discussed in phase 1. This phase is considered to be the least costly part of the process on a per unit basis, once the physical plant and equipment are set up. The latter is characterized by high capital costs requirements.

1. Marketing & Distribution

The third phase of the recorded music process involves marketing and distribution of the finished products. It is common for the marketing and distribution of the finished products to be ‘handled’ by the same entity. The process consists of bringing the product to the final consumer and to the necessary promotion and advertising required to sell the product. Both promotion and advertising are very costly and are frequently undertaken by one entity. This is usually the most capital-intensive phase, owing to high costs of advertising and promotion.

1. Retailing

Retailing is typically conducted by different companies from those found in previous phases although not always; there is much variation. Retailers can either be small or large, e.g. in the United States large retail chains such as Sam Goody’s, Tower Records, Virgin, HMV and others. Being close to the final consumers, retailers are sensitive to the changing market demand patterns and can exert an influence on all the three preceding phases. Retailers can also play an important role in the third phase of the process (especially marketing) and normally command a high mark-up for their services.

Recording Artiste

Preparing Your Career

So, you and/or others believe you have talent as an artiste. But, are you really? Do you really have what it takes to be successful in the entertainment business or is it just that you enjoy listening to music and singing along with your favourite tunes? The first thing you have to do is to be totally honest with yourself and determine if you truly are talented.

Ok, so you realize that you are as talented as people say. Do you now have the drive? Are you willing to face rejection after rejection? Are you strong enough to fight a seemingly losing battle when things look rough and the odds are against you? What if you don’t make it? Do you have a back-up plan? And, how will you know that you should give up your dreams and will have to follow that back-up plan?

Don’t be fooled, regardless of how it may seem, even if you

Now what?

Promoting Yourself

Promoting Your Music

Live Appearances

Managing Your Career

Getting A Recording Deal

Touring

Songwriter

Lyrics & Music to Song

Copyright

Music Publisher

Song to Record

Collection Agency/JACAP

Producer

Concert Promoter

Definitions/Key Terms

Copyright

There are two different components of a song – the lyrics of the song and the underlying musical composition.

Six (6) separate rights also exist in each component:

• The right to make copies

…. of a work that are fixed in practically any form, including CDs, records and sheet music

• The right to distribute

…. the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership/possession

• The right to display

…. images of a work such as projecting it on a screen

• The right to perform

…. the copyrighted work publicly

• The right to make derivatives

…. based on original work such as translations, motion picture adaptations, sound recordings, etc.

• The right to digital performance

…. of sound recording audio transmission

Each right requires permission/license and any use otherwise may be considered an infringement upon the owner’s legal rights (unless the use can be considered fair-use).

The lyrics and the music of a song may be written by a single person or by several people. At the end of the creation of the lyrics and/or music, the writer(s) is automatically the owner of the work (unless the work was made under work-for-hire) but is recommended to be registered with the copyright office.

The work may be transferred in whole or in part to a music publisher who may then own the rights in the work and pay the writer his/her share of earnings. Copyright in a work in Jamaica continues for the lifetime of the author/writer plus a period of 50 years thereafter.

The writer/author may opt to retain ownership (advised) and hire a co-publisher just to do the administrative work. A sub-publisher administers rights in another country/territory.

Music publishing can be very lucrative, as money is generated each time a song is used in any way or form in whole or in part.

Sampling

Licenses

Fair Use