Attorney Ron: “Why Major Label Deals May Be Bad For Your Music Career”

Written by Attorney Ron Bienstock
Music Attorney Ron Bienstock (Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Joel, etc.)

Q: Hey Ron, thank you for helping out indie bands! Everything I have read points to not signing with a major label. I have read that most bands that signed either get dropped or are broke. How is it possible to make a decent living after signing with a major label? Also, how does one go about getting a booking agent without being signed to a major record label? –Thanks, Kent

A: Dear Kent:

We could talk about this all day – but I require lunch sometime.  Signing with a major may not be the brass ring of yore, but then it never really was. The odds that all of the factors align that make a successful record – great song, great recording / performance, a lot of radio play, good tours, television performances, excellent press, powerful label push and a lot of luck – have always been somewhat unlikely to occur. While you can control your destiny to a greater extent with releasing your own product and/or an indie, you are then bound by your or the label’s finances. However, by starting your career off with an indie and getting to achieve a “buying” fan base and some radio play, you will only enhance the possibility of success upon reaching the major plateau. So, you can make a living playing with or without a major label deal as long as you put together a great band behind great songs and play great shows…..
Q: Hey Ron, our punk band is getting ready to go into the studio to record for the first time. One of our songs is “Wind Beneath My Wings” and we are unsure as to what legal precautions we need to take to record this song and put it on the album.
I was under the impression that filling out the PA form for copyright was enough, but what about *permission* to use the lyrics and music? Since someone else wrote them, I know we have to have permission to use them. What forms need to be filed? –Thanks, Ellie.

A: Ellie:

You are about to record a “cover song.” Since the copyright holders of this song retain all interest and title, you cannot use Form PA since Form PA covers the copyright in the composition. Since it is a recording, your proper step here is to use Form SR to indicate that you are the copyright owners of the sound recordings, but not this song embodied in your recording.
As to other steps, you need to contact the copyright holder of “Wind Beneath My Wings” – whomever “administers” the copyright is the term applied in the business. You will need to pay mechanical royalties via a mechanical license either through a licensing organization such as Harry Fox, or directly through the publisher. I would love to hear this cover! Best Regards,Ronald S. Bienstock, ESQ.