Minding Your Songwriter Business

Believe it or not, I do get tired of talking about myself. So, let’s talk about you — the songwriter — and what the near future holds…which of course, involves SONA (Songwriters of N. America)…an organization of passionate advocates fighting to protect the value of songs and songwriters! (If you’re not a songwriter kindly forward this to someone who is.) 

First and foremost I hope you’re healthy and have been able to stay creative during this fill-in-the-blank time. Choices: 

Lost 

Crazy

Insane

Strange  

Uncertain

Business-as-unusual

Not-So-New-Normal

OK…So…Things you should know:

With empty venues and lonely stages the music industry is in a virtual shut down. Actually that’s a terrible choice of words –— virtual is the only way we’ve been functioning. And many of us have suffered financial losses. SONA wanted to do something to help our community stay afloat so we created  The Songwriter Fund which has distributed emergency grants of $1000 to qualified songwriters who have had work cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re hurting don’t be shy. Reach out and apply for SOS. 

Moving on…

The MLC or Mechanical Licensing Collective is a database you might have heard about which will be collecting and distributing digital mechanical royalties to writers and publishers starting in January of 2021. That’s soon! If you’re an independent songwriter — one who doesn’t have a publisher registering songs for you, it’s imperative that you get familiar with how the MLC will work especially if you want to be paid on a commercial release. 

I know I know. We all just want to wake up every day and get in our zone. The reality however, is while being a consumer of digitally delivered music is awesome being a creator of digitally delivered music is a bit more complicated. 

But fear not. To help navigate this daunting uncharted territory SONA has organized SMAG or “Sexy Metadata Action Group” (thank you for the name, Kay Hanley), a campaign (and workshop) to demystify “song codes” and “unique identifiers” that help match you to your songs and ultimately to your money. I can feel your eyes glazing over. WTF are song codes and unique identifiers? Don’t worry. We’ll get you through it. You can do this. Stay with me…

This brings us to split sheets which we all need to be filling out at the start of any creative session — before a note is played or lyric uttered. Why? Because if a writer reports a split that’s a decimal off from her cowriter, streaming platforms can hold back their royalties. But if we get the data right The MLC is insurance that bad actors can’t say they don’t know who to pay what. 😳

Why decide splits at the beginning of the session? Because if we wait til the end things can get messy. Writers start counting words! But how can we measure a contribution? Sometimes one line is more indispensable than the entire second verse. (Read more about the way I see things in my book, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter). Personally, I like to split a song evenly between all the writers present. Afterwards, if I feel there needs to be an “adjustment” (because one of us was merely breathing or texting or googling themselves) I may propose one. But if all aren’t in agreement I don’t go back to that room again. There are many other rooms and tons of gifted songwriters in the sea. Swim elsewhere. (LMK if you need a split sheet template.)  

Of course SONA would be thrilled to have you as a member but it’s understandable if your pockets are empty at the moment. In which case make sure to follow SONA on Instagram so you’ll be aware of petitions that need your signature, hashtags with which to shame bad actors and posts about upcoming mind-untangling webinars (like SMAG!)

And finally, when you need a break from meta-data, copywriting, coding, chaos and Covid, tune in for a SONA Open Mic on Facebook (a monthly event you too can be part of, so submit a song!) - and SONA’s IG Live — scintillating conversations between SONA’s Adam Dorn and a guest of massive interest. You can find it all on the SONA calendar but Instagram is at your fingertips so again...follow!

That’s it for now.

Next week, (probably) back to me again.  

Stay safe.

Thanks for reading, my friends. Have a listen to my new album, 2.0 etc... For fun stories about how my songs came to be get a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” If you'd like to receive my blog via email, please click here. Follow me on Twitter and Insta. Visit my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page. Stay Safe! ☮️