Basics of Self-Publishing By Ivan A. Trevino

ost percussionists I know dabble in typically represents publishing companies, performances of your compositions, and are composing. Only a few, however, pos- not self-published composers.) In a standard able to negotiate your own fee. sess the basic entrepreneurial skills publishing deal, your publishing company will It is also important to know that as the Mneeded to turn their compositions probably keep 50% of your mechanical royalties; copyright owner of a composition, you have into supplemental income. I am referring to the other 50% will go to you, the composer. As the right to license the first sound recording self-publishing, a growing trend among many a self-published composer, you will keep 100% of your composition to whomever you’d like. If amateur and professional composers. of mechanical royalties. the first sound recording of your composition Many composers can benefit artistically and With that said, there is one main goal you is recorded and released to the public without financially from self-publishing. It allows them should have as a self-published composer: get your consent, you are able to seek legal damages to keep the rights to their compositions and people excited about your music, enough so that against the record label or artist that released to retain all income derived from publishing. they want to purchase the sheet music, perform your composition. After you license off the first Self-publishing also enables composers to mar- the work, and record it. Before I delve into this sound recording of your composition, any artist ket, promote, and sell their music on their own topic, let me first outline a strategy for self-pub- can legally record and publicly release sound terms. These independent composers, who have lishing one of your compositions. recordings of your composition without your the freedom to use non-traditional and more consent, as long as they pay you the statutory personalized marketing methods, may have a WHERE TO START mechanical rate for every copy sold. better chance of attracting today’s musicians. Your first step should be to register a copy- In order to establish yourself as a self-pub- right claim for your composition with the U.S. MARKETING TOOLS lished composer, you must first familiarize Copyright Office. This will protect your legal It’s now time to create a marketing plan for yourself with the basics of music publishing. rights to the composition and will allow you your composition. First, write a catchy pitch to seek damages in the event of copyright in- that describes the musical and emotional THE BASICS fringement. While this may sound complicated, elements of your work. Try to avoid general There are three common ways that your it is actually a simple process thanks to a new adjectives like “unique” or “different.” I like to compositions can make you money: online division of the U.S. Copyright Office: describe my pieces using artists that people Print Royalties: This is money generated the Electronic Copyright Office, or ECO. For may know. For example: “The piece sounds like from the reproduction and sales of printed $35.00, the ECO allows you to file a claim and Thom Yorke on marimba if he studied with sheet music of your composition. In a standard upload your files online, thus avoiding the tra- Gordon Stout.” A short paragraph of three to publishing deal, your publishing company will ditional hassle of mailing in forms, scores, and four strong sentences is all you need. probably keep 90% of the print royalties; 10% sound recordings. Visit www.copyright.gov/eco The next thing you should do is create a will go to you, the composer. As a self-pub- to find tutorials and tips for filing a copyright quality recording of your composition for pro- lished composer, you will keep 100% of print registration online. motional use. This is absolutely essential! One royalties. The next thing you should do is affiliate way to do this is to mail or e-mail scores to col- Performance Royalties: If your composition yourself with a performing rights organiza- lege and high school music programs you know, is performed live by another musician, or played tion such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. Your requesting that your piece be performed. Re- on radio, television, or in a public place, you performing rights organization, or PRO, will li- member your pitch? This is a good time to use earn money. This money is usually collected and cense and monitor public performances of your it. Many colleges and high schools record per- paid to you by a performing rights organization compositions, collect your royalties, and pay you formances, so you won’t have to pay recording such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, depending according to a specific payment system. Here costs. There are also many self-recording devices on which one you are affiliated with. In a stan- is a link to ASCAP’s payment system for more that are reasonably priced, such as mini disk dard publishing deal, your publishing company detailed information: www.ascap.com/about/ players and MP3 recorders. While these devices will probably keep 50% of your performance payment/pdf/paymentSystem/ASCAP_Pay- won’t produce a professional recording, they can royalties; the other 50% will go to you, the mentSystem.pdf definitely suit your needs. You absolutely need a composer. As a self-published composer, you Usually, PROs charge a nominal fee (around well-performed, decently recorded performance will keep 100% of performance royalties. $25.00) for membership, and may request a to use as a promotional tool. Without one it Mechanical Royalties: If your composition résumé and additional materials to support your will be difficult for musicians to get excited is recorded by another artist, released, and sold application. PROs retain the right to restrict about your piece. to the public, you earn money for every audio membership, so make sure your materials are Once you have a solid recording, create a copy sold. The standard government rate for put together in a professional manner. Before website that contains audio samples of your a recording less than five minutes in length is you apply to join a PRO, do some research to composition, your descriptive pitch, your biog- 9.1 cents, known as the statutory mechanical decide which one is best for you. For example, raphy, your contact information, and the price rate. The artist or the artist’s record label pays commercial composers tend to lean towards and availability of your score. There are many these royalties to you. (Publishing companies BMI, while classical composers tend to lean free websites with music players on the Internet are typically represented by mechanical royalty towards ASCAP. that you can utilize, such as Myspace.com. I collection agencies, such as the Harry Fox Note: If you are not affiliated with a per- have a Myspace page devoted specifically to Agency, who collect royalties on behalf of the forming rights organization, you have the right my music, which allows anyone in the world to publishing company. The Harry Fox Agency to issue your own performing license for public hear my compositions and read about what I’m percussive notes 16 FEBRUARY 2009 CONCLUSION As a self-published composer, you will be able to Today’s musicians are always searching for new repertoire to perform. Self-publishing gives keep all income derived from selling scores and independent composers a chance to reach these musicians, while at the same time controlling all performance royalties paid to you by your how their compositions are marketed and pro- duced. As a self-published composer, you will performing rights organization. be able to keep all income derived from selling scores and all performance royalties paid to you by your performing rights organization. If doing. While it isn’t the most professional web- use. For example, make sure that all page turns someone is interested in recording and selling a site, it definitely gets the job done, and it’s free. are manageable, the notes are all correct, and sound recording of your composition, it’s icing If you would prefer to have your own personal the expressive markings are clearly indicated. on the cake. website, many companies offer website tem- Once you proof your composition, research your In the end, you may find the process of self- plates at a reasonable price. For instance, check best printing options. Try visiting a copy shop publishing a fun and rewarding experience, or out Dynamod.com, which offers flash website like FedEx Kinkos where you can copy and you may realize why publishing companies exist templates designed specifically for musicians. bind your scores. in the first place. With online marketing and You may be interested in adding an online Duplicating and binding scores will provide promotional tools at your fingertips, I believe payment system to your website, which would a good reference for pricing your piece. For ex- self-publishing is worth trying, more so than enable your customers to enter their credit card ample, if it costs you $5.00 to create a hard copy ever before. information and purchase your piece directly and $2.00 to ship it, you can probably sell the from your site. PayPal offers some of the most piece for $14.00. Creating hard copies of your Ivan Trevino is a percussionist, composer, and commonly used online payment systems. Visit score will cost you money, so make sure you music entrepreneur. He manages and performs www.paypal.com for details on their various only print as many as you need. You should also with Break of Reality, a cello rock quartet dedi- programs and associated fees. research the prices of published compositions cated to keeping instrumental music alive and Next, you need to identify your target mar- that are similar to your composition. Make sure relevant. He holds degrees in Percussion Perfor- ket. Ask yourself, “Who is likely to be inter- your piece is in the same price range as what is mance and Music Education from the Eastman ested in my composition?” For example, if your out there. School of Music and has also earned a Profes- piece is written for percussion ensemble, your As an alternative to the traditional method of sional Certificate in Music Business from the target market can be high school, college, or printing, many self-publishers sell PDF files of Berklee College of Music’s Extension School. professional percussion ensembles. Create a da- their books and music scores exclusively online. Ivan currently studies percussion with Michael tabase of these contacts with names, numbers, Many companies facilitate this method of self- Burritt, Bill Cahn, and Charles “Chip” Ross and e-mail addresses. This database will come in publishing, such as createspace.com or lulu.com. at the Eastman School of Music. Visit www. handy for marketing future compositions. Don’t This may be something to look into if you don’t myspace.com/ivantrevino for more information. PN be shy; the more people you include in your have the time or funds to make print copies of database, th your music. However, these companies usually e better chance you have of reaching someone take a percentage of your earnings (sometimes who is interested in your music. up to 25%), so do the math and figure out if Note: If you have the funds, you may be able this is right for you. to purchase contact databases from companies Make sure to keep track of all of your ex- and organizations. This can save you a good penses, such as printing costs, website fees, amount of time and energy. copyright and registration fees, and all other After you have compiled your contact list, business-related expenses. Keep all receipts and create and send a concise and friendly e-mail documentation for all business expenses and in- to your target market that includes the fol- come generated. You can deduct most business lowing information: a bit about yourself, your expenses from your taxes; contact a tax special- composition pitch, an Internet link to an audio ist for detailed information. recording of your piece, instructions on how to purchase the piece, and your contact informa- tion. If your composition is solid, your record- ing is good, and your marketing is strong, you may get some positive responses from people who are interested in purchasing your score. If you want to try a different approach, con- sider purchasing a classified ad in newsletters, journals, or magazines (such as this one) to get the word out to an even broader audience. You should also try non-traditional methods of marketing, such as blogging and YouTube. The Internet is potentially your most valuable mar- keting asset. Take advantage of it. PRINTING, DISTRIBUTING AND SELLING Before printing copies of your score, make sure it is presentable, easy to read, and easy to

percussive notes 17 FEBRUARY 2009