WHAT - INDEPENDENT TOURING, PUBLISHING

What the f**k are the independent label contract actually? Well, independent label contracts typically resemble contracts offered by major labels because they have similar legal liabilities to define before representing an artist. There are slight differences, usually with regards to royalties. Independent Labels typically offer higher royalty percentages because production costs are usually significantly lower than those of a major label. For example, Independent labels tend to focus less on marketing than Major labels.



It is becoming increasingly more common for independent labels to offer a profit-sharing deal in which as mush as 40-75% of the net profits go to the artist. In this type of contract, the net gain after all expenses have been taken out are split between the label and artist by a negotiated percentage. However, deals in this form can take longer for an artist to gain any profit since all expenses - such as manufacturing, publicity, and marketing - are also taken into account. As an independent artist becomes more popular, deals of this type are more advantageous. Independent Labels can rely on "word of mouth" to expose their artists. This of course is to attract a distinct audience. Indie Labels tend to avoid high budget marketing, which is usually critized as "over kill" and attracts an audience commonly found following major label artists. This of course contributed to the lack of production cost, and helps artist to receive royalties sooner.

When a band goes on tour, it may or may not have the financial backing of its label. An artist receive a fixed fee or a percentage of the tickets sold by the venue owner or promoter. Touring is an expensive process. A moderate estimate of touring cost with a bus and small crew can easily reach $20'000 a week. If an artist tours with the support of their label, the expenses are all recoupable, thus potentially increasing a band's dept. Many successful bands tour without the support of their label so that they can keep all of their touring revenue. An independent band would have more difficult than a highly successful one in being self-sufficient on tour.

If a band or artist writes their own material, publishing can be one of the best ways to earn a profit. It is one of the few guaranteed ways to earn revenue for artists. Even touring is not a sure way to make money because it is possible that no one will attend the shows. Basic copyright law protects songwriters by giving them exclusive rights to grant or deny the reproduction, distribution, or performance of their work. The majority of a band's publishing income comes from its mechanical and performance rights. Mechanical rights cover the reproduction of a song on a record. In the standard contract between a band and a label, the label is required by law to pay the composer a fixed rate per song simply for the right to use the composition on commercially sold recordings. The mechanical licensing rate in 2006 for the U.S and Canada is 9.1 cents per song. With the performance rights, a song's copyright covers every time it appears on radio and television.

If an artist prefers to received up-front money for their songs instead of waiting for the money to come in over time, it can choose to assign its copyright to a music publisher. The music publisher pays a cash advance for what they decide is the value of the copyright. It is a common for a band to sign a copublishing deals. This means that the publisher offers the artist an advance is paid back, the music publisher retains 25% of the income. Since an artist has no guarantees whether or not their song will be popular, some may prefer to have a cash advance that guarantees them money regardless of how well the song does. Increasingly the internet is making new methods of publication accessible to independent musicians. Services have been set up to distribute independent music over the internet with many different types of payment models. This often allows artists to reach a much wider audience then would normally be possible as a local band.