With all the noise about the failure of physical CD units many are really contemplating even purchasing units.

In this video I talk about the obvious trend of do digital releasing and the advantage of digital only releases.

But I still talk about the importance of the CD itself and that it's a very important part of your music marketing.

However the amounts that you order is what is going to change as well as what else is inside the CD as far as marketing collateral.

I believe that the CD will not fade for many years to come because of the "touch" aspect of the purchase during live shows. It will be another form of creating ancillary income for you.

Many say that the CD is dead and in some cases like retail space and places to buy, it's true. But before you though out the notion of the CD as the only way to sell your money, use it in conjunction with your digital release and treat it as merch..........what? More to come!

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There was nothing more depressing when one day I looked into my closet in my studio and saw over 600 units of CD's in boxes getting dusty and cluttering my vibe.

I didn't want to dump them even though I didn't pay for the units. A company hired me to do the arrangements and after they decided that it wasn't the direction they were going, the gave me all the CD's.

Needless to say, after making sure that I could do what I want with them and sell the units I had to get real creative. Of course I made sure that they new that the units were useless - :p

In this video I explain how I activated music business mentality over record company mentality. There are many little tricks like this to move product.

However I'm not talking about 100,000's of thousand units but enough to be happy you didn't just throw them out.

It's your product and you can sell it any way you want. the more creative perhaps the more attention you might get as an artist to boot.

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Geeez, I should only take my own advice. Though many might think I have the gift of gab, I'm a TOTAL failure at the industry schmooze - until I figured it out.

Problem with me was I didn't have the balls to go to an industry meet and great and look for opportunities. Funny, I had a friend of mine that said "dude, it's like going to a party and look for girls". Me thinks not, but he's farther than me in the networking game so must be true.

But now it's a different scene. Before it was about meeting people with power to do things like advance a career, get a demo to an A&R guy or meet radio promoters.

Today it's about power broking deals and connections with all the moving parts that the new music industry plays with including outside investors.

But today the BS is thick and the only way things get done is by putting down the business hat at a networking event and be real. That was the secret to my success. I never told anyone what I did until the asked me first. That's because I talked to them about everything except music first.

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As well, there are many other ways to receive royalties like I mention in the video. From sheet music, TV, radio, to theaters and bars, Performance Rights Organizations (PRO's) collect a license fee which gets distributed to publishers and writers of original music.

Notice that I didn't say artists, band members or record company. the only people that get paid form these PRO's are the publishers and writers.

This video is a real basic slice of information on how it works - for now. Joining one of these PRO's is essential to receiving any kind of royalty if your music is played over a publicly transmitted medium.

They DO NOT pay for royalties from sales of CD's or digitally distributed/sold songs from any digital distribution sites.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! In the USA there is ASCAP and BMI. One is for profit and the other one is not. I one better than the other? Some say yes. I say do the research.

Unfortunately the pay-out system is very difficult to measure so you should also do yourself a favor and ask around as you gather information on which is best for you.

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There is no way that I can even touch on the heaviness of what the publisher of a song carries. But in this video I kind of give you a small look into the world of the publisher.

After watching this video and getting a small taste of what the publisher is about, I want you to look up a few books about music publishing and burn the late night oil doing your home work.

Another form of work that a publisher does that might be just as important as the licensing aspect is placing songs with artists. But it depends on who you ask to which of the two are the most important.

Either way, you as an artist or new label NEED TO UNDERSTAND the whole business behind music publishing and the mechanics of the licensing so you can further absorb the ways you can make money in the music business.

After watching the video, this is the Wikipedia answer to publishing.

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As if it wasn't complicated enough, there is a separate royalty that writers of an original song get. At the current rate as of this date (9/1/08), if you own all the writers that's $.04 per unit and various amounts form media play.

These royalties are paid out only by the Performance Right Organization that you have joined. that being said, in order to get paid your song had to have had been played on a publicly broadcasted facility.

Back in the day this was a heralded piece of the pie that became diluted after the advent of the internet and digital downloading. I remember just getting a song on an album guaranteed you some money.

However, it's still a very important part of the royalty game and if you wrote a track that's on TV or radio, you might be in for a pay-day.....that's if you have registered with a PRO.

In this video I talk about the many different ways the writers percentage gets money in your pocket. If you get a track on TV, that could really be a killer pay out.

more

As if it wasn't complicated enough, there is a separate royalty that writers of an original song get. At the current rate as of this date (9/1/08), if you own all the writers that's $.04 per unit and various amounts form media play.

These royalties are paid out only by the Performance Right Organization that you have joined. that being said, in order to get paid your song had to have had been played on a publicly broadcasted facility.

Back in the day this was a heralded piece of the pie that became diluted after the advent of the internet and digital downloading. I remember just getting a song on an album guaranteed you some money.

However, it's still a very important part of the royalty game and if you wrote a track that's on TV or radio, you might be in for a pay-day.....that's if you have registered with a PRO.

In this video I talk about the many different ways the writers percentage gets money in your pocket. If you get a track on TV, that could really be a killer pay out.

more