WHERE TO START

Rapcointelpro is Rap Coalition's Intelligence Program to give insight into starting a label and selling units on your own.  For an artist who puts out his or her own record this can mean a difference between getting $7 to $9 from a distributor AND having control over the project, as opposed to being signed to a label and receiving less than a dollar a CD, AFTER all the money spent to make and promote the record is recouped.

THIS is the perfect place to start.  The information on this site is here to help you, and we take no responsibility for the quality of the information here other than to share otherwise hard-to-obtain stuff, blah, blah, blah... Here it is:

Here's what's in this first of five sections:

"HOW TO" OVERVIEW For four of the seven years of Rap Coalition's existence, we have assisted artists in putting out their own records and negotiated distribution deals. In that time we've seen many artists come, we've seen even more artists go. We've watched artists sell 60,000 units in a few months (at $5 a record--do the math), and we've seen artists piss away $50,000 in a month to no avail. One of our goals is to share insights, successes, and failures for those who are inclined to put out their own record. The street entrepreneurs. This article is for you...stay strong, stay focused, and keep up the good hard work. Success is yours, go get it... (click for more of the article)

MAKE YOUR BIZ LEGAL We get a lot of questions about registering as a legal business. We won't presume to tell you what to do, but we can tell you what we did. When we began Simple Machines we planned to put out 6 compilation 7" releases. We considered the label a hobby, and since we weren't planning on becoming a legitimate business, so we didn't register as one. We did keep track of all our costs, however and we kept copies of all of our receipts... (click for more)

BUSINESS BASICS  I never thought I’d have to devote a column to this topic, but apparently it needs addressing based upon feedback to me from major labels, distributors, artists, and indie labels themselves. Here are some basics:
1. Set up a phone for business calls, KEEP the phone in service, and return phone calls. Changing your phone number every few weeks may be the way you normally operate, but when people can’t reach you for business you lose money, opportunity, and momentum. No one could possibly imagine how many calls I get from retail stores, radio stations, and distributors asking me if I know how to find a certain label because all the numbers they have are disconnected. My tolerance for this is very low... (click for more)

BUSINESS PLANNING WORKSHEET Before you go into a business you should attempt to learn as much about the business (and yourself!) as possible. This worksheet--if you actually fill it out and answer all questions honestly --will help you collect and evaluate essential information about yourself and the business you would like to start. While it won't give you all the facts you need to determine if you should pursue your business idea, it will help you answer some very fundamental questions and help you identify possible pitfalls... (click for more)

YOUR OWN LABEL? Okay, these are the factors making it an opportune time to start growing your own indie label. But opportunity alone does not equal success. As mentioned at the start of this chapter, great music, business smarts, and a load of perseverance are also required. Do you have what it takes? Check it out... (click for more)

START A LABEL Releasing your own music on CD means that, for all intents and purposes, you've become your own record label, even if you didn't go about the administrative tasks of setting up a separate company. A record label is in the business of releasing records; since you've done that or plan to do it very shortly, you are already performing the job of a record label. It makes sense to take a few simple, additional steps to formalize what you are doing under the business title of Record Label... (click for more)

STARTING AN INDIE LABEL FOR ARTISTS What's Required?  Lots of musicians and producers have dreams of forming their own record company and taking on the music biz the indie way. However, much confusion exists as to what is actually required to start a label. This guide gives the basics you'll need to start your own record company. Disclaimer - we aren't lawyers, we're musicians... (click for more)

WRITING A MUSIC BUSINESS PLAN A good music business plan is the map to the fulfillment of your goals. Whether you're a band, soloist, production house or some other business, a plan can turn foggy notions into operational strategies, hunches into actions, dreams into reality.  Dreams. This is where it all begins isn't it? For this reason I like to think of one's business plan as a "vision/mission." It starts with vision. Before your first gig you envisioned yourself playing it. Remember? Vision precedes mission and fuels it with the necessary energy to go the distance. Mission implements vision and provides the vehicle that moves you towards your goal. Together they're unstoppable... (click for more)

THINK LIKE A LABEL Instead of asking the question, "Are 3 points per album a fair royalty," approach a deal from the point of view of a record company. Put yourself in their shoes and try to think like them. It's a valuable way to evaluate whether you should release your music on your own artist-owned label, look for an indie or major record deal, or evaluate the fairness of a contract. Start with these questions... (click for more)

JOB OR BUSINESS?  In terms of wealth building, there are two kinds of businesses. One is a real business, and the other is what I call "employing yourself." Knowing the difference between the two can make a big difference in your net worth.
DO YOU HAVE A JOB OR A BUSINESS? THE ANSWER CAN MEAN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO YOU.  "I can't remember the last year I made less than 700 grand," he told me. "But you know what? Besides money set aside for the kids' education, I haven't saved a lot," my friend EP shared with me.  "You've lived a good life," I reminded him.  "But I made a mistake," he said. "I focused my energies on making a high income. I never thought about equity."  EP is right. When he stops doing what he's doing now (building and selling homes), his "business" will probably stop with him. Although he earns a lot of money every year selling luxury homes, he won't have any way of making money from his business when he stops working.  In other words, his business has no equity.

CONNECTIONS  "Stop and think for a moment what your reputation is. How do you think others perceive you? "  When I first started to think about writing this article, I shied away from the whole idea. After all, it didn't seem totally related to marketing music. But then I started thinking, this is actually THE topic to write about, not only because I have personally run into many memorable circumstances, but because developing personal relationships is now more important than ever. One reason perhaps is that, getting signed has become somewhat of an elitist endeavor, and a career path that is not always preferred by artists anyway. Furthermore, without the aid of managers, attorneys and professional people around us, we have to cultivate these relationships alone... (click for more)

THINKING LONG TERM Let's face it, sometimes thinking about what you want to do next month is hard, not to mention what you might do next year or in five years. But the graveyard of the music business is chock full of cadavers (representing bands and musicians) who couldn't think beyond the next six to twelve months of their careers. The odds of doing anything significant in the music business are long from the start, but artists who can't think beyond the short term have it thousands of times harder. Let's look at the differences between thinking only of today versus thinking about tomorrow... (click for more)

START-UP CHECKLIST The list below is meant to remind you of the tasks you may have to perform to start your business.  Not every business will have to complete each step. For instance, you may decide not to register your trademark with state or federal officials. Or, you may not be required to publish a notice of intent to do business... (click for more)

10 EXCUSES WHY NOT Have you thought about having your own independent record label? Home recording studios, access to the Internet, and local distribution networks are making the independent route more successful. In addition, major labels are now using independent labels to break new acts. Once an independent label establishes a good reputation and carries successful local acts, major labels are more willing to negotiate fair deals with the artists because of their proven success... (click for more)

35 CONSIDERATIONS What is a Mechanical Royalty?  Have you ever heard of the Harry Fox Agency? What do they do?  What do you want to achieve by starting your own label?  What do you know about the day to day business of selling music?  Will your new company be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation? (Do you know the pros and cons of each?)  Have you registered the name of your company to make sure you can use that name?  Will you need any recording equipment or office equipment and supplies... (click for more)

A&R ADMINISTRATION What did it cost to record your latest release? Was it under, on, or over budget? Do you have the information readily available? The process of budgeting and controlling recording costs is called A&R Administration. Insufficient care and attention to it can cause costs to balloon completely out of control.... (click for more)

BUSINESS OF BEING AN ARTIST Not enough bands realize that their band is a business. Some band members may be familiar with business practices, but my experience has been that most are not. Therefore, this column will address what to do when you start a business. The very first thing a band should do is get a business license from the county they live in. A business license is also called a "fictitious name certificate" or.. (click for more)

PROTECT YOUR NAME The two key concepts involved in "protecting" the name of a band are "territory" and "priority". Territory means the area where you use the name, e.g., Chicago, Illinois, Mid-West, United States, world-wide, etc. Priority, as the word implies, involves who uses the name first. These two concepts work together to limit the scope of protection for a name... (click for more)

COPYRIGHTS Links to the copyright form you need to fill out to protect your artists' copyrights.  You must have Adobe Acrobat to view and print this form and the instructions.  If you have a Flintstone's stone age computer without Acrobat already loaded, you can download it for free at http://www.adobe.com  To get the Copyright form and instructions click here.

TRADEMARKS Links to the trademark office site at http://www.uspto.gov

LEGAL CHECKLIST For artists who are releasing their own record for the first time, without the involvement or assistance of a label, the process can be a little intimidating. It can be easy to miss some key legal details in the process. Here, therefore, is a very basic checklist of issues to be considered when releasing a record. Bear in mind, though, that your own particular circumstances may dictate that you take certain steps that are different from, or in addition to, the various steps mentioned below. Also, it has been necessary to greatly oversimplify some of the issues discussed below due to space limitations... (click for more)

CHOOSING A LAWYER Sooner or later you will need legal counsel as a musician, songwriter, label owner or industry careerist and it's important to know how to select the best counsel for you. Here are a few tips to help you with the screening process... (click for more)

LIST OF ATTORNEYS Uh, this is the world famous Rap Coalition list of entertainment attorneys. This list is in no way comprehensive of all entertainment attorneys, nor is it a recommendation of any attorneys. I suggest meeting with 3 or 4 different lawyers and choosing the one who meets your needs, budget, and feelings. You need to vibe with your attorney!! Trust your own judgment before you trust others... (click for list)

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FAILURES As urban music professionals, each of us can probably name at least five albums that either should have been successful or were destined to be “instant frisbees” from the beginning.  While one is quick to claim recognition stakes in hit records, fingers immediately start pointing in regards to the guilty parties involved in records that are commercial failures.  Artists will blame the label for not getting behind the project. Labels will either blame the artist for being too hard to work with or not being creative enough, internally blame specific departments or designate either the overseeing A&R executive or product manager the scapegoat.  When a project fails, who should be held accountable... (click for more blame)

 EXPECTATIONS One of the keys to maintaining your sanity in the independent music business is to have the ability to manage your expectations about how well your records will be accepted and sold to the record-buying public. This can also be true even in the high-stakes, major label environment. A great example would be Michael Jackson's "History" CD, where Sony Music executives (prior to the release) said that sales under 20,000,000 units would be a major disappointment. After only 2,000,000 copies sold, you can be sure that some bonuses were canceled, jobs were cut and Mr. Jackson's plans to expand his petting zoo were put on hold.... (click for more)

DO'S AND DON'TS I've decided in this column to give you a few of my personal opinions about things I feel are important regarding your independently released records. They are intended to help you in some areas that concern most musicians, but are intended as guidelines, or food for thought, and not rules. If you want to follow rules, join the U.S. Army. But for some straightforward tips in the areas of promotion, publicity and your career, please read on... (and click here to do so)

10 WAYS TO KILL YOUR LABEL Due largely in part to the increasing intelligence of the consumer base, record labels that have consistently been successful face a serious challenge in maintaining the value of the brand name they worked so hard to obtain. It is very easy to become complacent, knowing that other labels are making changes to increase their market share. As a reminder that becoming a cellar dweller is by no means impossible, here are ten ways to kill your brand... (click for scary facts)

GREED For the most part, the business and art sectors of our society often resemble fraternal twins, with the common denominators being their operational and marketing mechanics. And, until recently, that's about where the similarities ended. However, it is ironic how suddenly these fraternal twins have become identical twins, almost overnight, through another common denominator...greed... (click for more)

LABEL PROFIT SHEET Gee, I hope this works.  It is cool as hell on the site where I found it.  (Click here)

DON'T TAKE THE PUBLISHING Music publishing is all you need to say to inspire groans of confusion or knowing smiles. Music publishing is tedious, detail oriented, and (some would say) boring; but it also happens to be the single most enduring source of income in an ever-changing industry... (click for more)

IMPORTANCE OF TRUTH Back in 1928, the standard, "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," was set on what now appears to be an eternal path of 'cover' success. Originally written by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics) this 'diehard' has now been recorded by quite a number of recording artists, my favorite being that of Brazilian Jazz recording artist Tania Maria. The muse, basically, is an honest admission from one lover to the other, of the only thing possible to be given to the relationship is love aplenty. No money, bracelets, furs, lavish homes, fancy cars, or any of the finer trappings of the diamond life. But, otherwise, a plain vanilla unending supply of the most important element... (click for more)