By Charlie Dahan

In our last article we discussed how a songwriter should protect their creation. Once you have that protection of ownership, it is time to make some money.

Now you aren’t going to make money by writing a song and just leaving in your bedroom or home studio, you need to get it out to the industry and the public so they can hear your creation.

Once you get your song out to people who are in positions to evaluate whether or not your song is suitable for their needs, here are some of the sources of your future mailbox extravaganzas (don’t rush out to buy a wheel barrow just yet to carry all those checks that will show up, but you might as well start pricing them out.

1. Mechanical Royalties ­ this is a royalty that is paid to the songwriter by a record manufacturer or record label. If you release your own record with your own songs, you really wont be collection mechanicals from yourself, but if someone else records your song on their record, or a record label puts out your record, you will receive royalties for your creation. Currently Congress dictates that a record manufacturer must pay eight cents per song per record that leaves their possession. What that means is that the label must pay, unless otherwise negotiated beforehand, on all records sold to the public, that are sitting in record stores, that were sent to radio or press for promotional purposes, etc.

2. Performance Royalties ­ these are royalties collected by one of the following groups: ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. You as a songwriter should affiliate yourself as soon as possible with one of these organizations, so that if your song is played on the radio, television, in a club or converted into Muzak for a dentist office, you will receive the money that is owed to you. These organizations collect royalties for the broadcast (radio, television, and cable) and non-broadcast (Muzak, in-flight movies, concert venues) uses of your song. Visit these organizations websites to learn more about their services.

3. Synchronization Royalties ­ These are monies that are paid to the songwriter for the placement of their music into a visual work such as motion pictures and home video. You usually receive an advance and royalties based on sales, types of uses (theater, home video, in-flight, television) and how the music will be used. If the music is featured in a scene or is the intro or trailer, you will be paid more than if the music is being used in the background. However, it is important to note that if your music is used on the soundtrack CD, then you will collect mechanical royalties for that usage.

4. Special Permission Royalties ­ Are those monies derived from a situation other than the ones mentioned above, such as video games, commercial advertisements, toys, ring tones on cell phones, greeting cards etc. These are licenses and royalties that will be negotiated between the writer and/or their representative and the user of the song.

5. Other monies ­ Beyond the above four streams of revenue there are others, such as monies received for the printing of your song as sheet music and the use of your song in a play or dramatic work. Again, the user will negotiate a separate advance and royalty with the owner of the work.

As, you can see there are plenty of sources of income for a songwriter. Now that you know that it is out there, start pitching and releasing your music…if you have the goods and a little luck, the sky is the limit.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at dahancb@oneonta.edu.

NEXT: Exploring other elements of a press kit.

Charlie Dahan is a professor of music business and history studies at Oneonta State College as well as a freelance A&R consultant and writer. He has been a part of over 70 commercial releases and has two Grammy nominations from his work with the Skatalites. He also owns Larchmont Recordings, a new label set to debut its first recording in the Fall of 2002.