The music business is a unique industry unlike any other. With this comes language and terms that are special to this industry. If interested in pursuing a career in music business it is very important to know the jargon. Below are terms and definitions you should be familiar with:
360 Deal-A 360° deal is a record label contract that takes a cut from all the artist’s income (merchandising, touring, publishing, etc.) as well as record sales. Sometimes called a Kitchen Sink deal.
Advance- An advance is a loan, normally from a record label to an artist, to be repaid (recouped) from record sales. An advance is for one or more albums depending on the contract. A publisher’s advance would be recouped from publishing royalties.
Blanket License- A blanket license is an exclusive arrangement which is the same for everyone who uses the license. Rights-owners who sign a blanket license agreement get a basic package that fits most cases. For example, if you don’t want tobacco companies to use your tracks in advertising you need a blanket license with that condition, or to opt out of that license (if you can).
Controlled Composition- It’s a deduction by the record label when songs are written by the artist (on USA releases).
Copyright- Music copyright gives content creators and owners legal backing for certain restrictions on copying.
Deductions- Deductions or discounts reduce the effective royalty rate. The headline rate in a contract can be substantially reduced by clauses about other territories, music formats, etc. Any reductions extend recoupment (which puts back the date when the label owes the artist money).
CD Distribution- Traditional distribution is about moving CDs (or other physical recordings) from record labels to retailers. Distributors do more than carry boxes of CDs, they also promote their catalog to retailers.
Digital Distribution- means moving electronic files. It normally refers to the online equivalent of traditional music or video distribution (downloads or streams instead of CDs).
Publishing Distribution- In royalty collection distribution means regular payments to writers and artists or other society members. Depending on the society and the repertoire these are normally quarterly or twice a year.
Exclusive Contract- Exclusive means that something can only be done by some people. It’s a contractual term that normally ties an artist to one record label or a writer to one publisher.
Fair Use- Fair use is a non-UK music copyright term. In certain countries (USA, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and others) CD buyers are allowed to make a number of copies for personal use.
Gatekeeper- The term gatekeeper describes aggregators or other services who may filter the material available to the public. The classic gatekeepers were the Major labels and national media but the Internet has new gatekeepers. No music service is open to all comers without exception.
Key Man Clause- A key man clause names a person in a contract between organisations or partnerships (e.g. between record labels and groups). A band member or writer might be specified by a record label or an A&R man might be specified by a band. The contract normally depends on the key man or key men remaining in place.
License- A license is a permit. A record label may license another label to sell recordings it owns. A publisher may license a film maker to use works by one of its composers. A license allows limited rights to another party. The terms of the license will specify duration, exclusivity, territory, etc.
Mastering- Mastering is the final engineering stage in audio production, normally for duplication. It is a skilled, genre-specific job.
Mechanical Royalties- A mechanical license is a publishing license to pay writers for copies of music that play mechanically. It was originally for piano rolls (punched sheets that worked automatic player pianos) to compensate for lost sheet music royalties. Today mechanicals include CDs, downloads, ringtones, musical toys and MIDI files.
Public Domain- This happens when copyright expires or the owner explicitly puts the material in the public domain.
Recoup- To recoup means to repay a record label from royalties earned on record sales. Un-recouped artists theoretically owe their record label money and may have to be bought out if they sign with another label. Publishing advances are recouped from publishing royalties.
Repertoire-Repertoire is a catalog of material: all the songs of a band, all the recordings of a label, all the works of a publisher, etc.
Royalties- Royalties are fees paid to rights-owners (normally record labels, publishers, writers and performers) for the use of their work.
Statutory Rate- The statutory rate is not normally paid in full.
Sync License- A sync license is a publishing license to pay writers for music used in film, video or TV soundtracks. There is no fixed fee for sync licenses. Publishers set or negotiate these fees.
Windowing- Windowing is about selective release of music tracks. It can mean release to radio and TV prior to retail, or release to retail prior to premium streaming. There is currently a debate about the effectiveness of managing the music life cycle like this. (Windowing also applies in cinema releases and is usually calculated to pump up the first weekend box office.)
Resource
http://www.bemuso.com/musicbiz/musicbusinessglossary.html
Advance- An advance is a loan, normally from a record label to an artist, to be repaid (recouped) from record sales. An advance is for one or more albums depending on the contract. A publisher’s advance would be recouped from publishing royalties.
Blanket License- A blanket license is an exclusive arrangement which is the same for everyone who uses the license. Rights-owners who sign a blanket license agreement get a basic package that fits most cases. For example, if you don’t want tobacco companies to use your tracks in advertising you need a blanket license with that condition, or to opt out of that license (if you can).
Controlled Composition- It’s a deduction by the record label when songs are written by the artist (on USA releases).
Copyright- Music copyright gives content creators and owners legal backing for certain restrictions on copying.
Deductions- Deductions or discounts reduce the effective royalty rate. The headline rate in a contract can be substantially reduced by clauses about other territories, music formats, etc. Any reductions extend recoupment (which puts back the date when the label owes the artist money).
CD Distribution- Traditional distribution is about moving CDs (or other physical recordings) from record labels to retailers. Distributors do more than carry boxes of CDs, they also promote their catalog to retailers.
Digital Distribution- means moving electronic files. It normally refers to the online equivalent of traditional music or video distribution (downloads or streams instead of CDs).
Publishing Distribution- In royalty collection distribution means regular payments to writers and artists or other society members. Depending on the society and the repertoire these are normally quarterly or twice a year.
Exclusive Contract- Exclusive means that something can only be done by some people. It’s a contractual term that normally ties an artist to one record label or a writer to one publisher.
Fair Use- Fair use is a non-UK music copyright term. In certain countries (USA, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and others) CD buyers are allowed to make a number of copies for personal use.
Gatekeeper- The term gatekeeper describes aggregators or other services who may filter the material available to the public. The classic gatekeepers were the Major labels and national media but the Internet has new gatekeepers. No music service is open to all comers without exception.
Key Man Clause- A key man clause names a person in a contract between organisations or partnerships (e.g. between record labels and groups). A band member or writer might be specified by a record label or an A&R man might be specified by a band. The contract normally depends on the key man or key men remaining in place.
License- A license is a permit. A record label may license another label to sell recordings it owns. A publisher may license a film maker to use works by one of its composers. A license allows limited rights to another party. The terms of the license will specify duration, exclusivity, territory, etc.
Mastering- Mastering is the final engineering stage in audio production, normally for duplication. It is a skilled, genre-specific job.
Mechanical Royalties- A mechanical license is a publishing license to pay writers for copies of music that play mechanically. It was originally for piano rolls (punched sheets that worked automatic player pianos) to compensate for lost sheet music royalties. Today mechanicals include CDs, downloads, ringtones, musical toys and MIDI files.
Public Domain- This happens when copyright expires or the owner explicitly puts the material in the public domain.
Recoup- To recoup means to repay a record label from royalties earned on record sales. Un-recouped artists theoretically owe their record label money and may have to be bought out if they sign with another label. Publishing advances are recouped from publishing royalties.
Repertoire-Repertoire is a catalog of material: all the songs of a band, all the recordings of a label, all the works of a publisher, etc.
Royalties- Royalties are fees paid to rights-owners (normally record labels, publishers, writers and performers) for the use of their work.
Statutory Rate- The statutory rate is not normally paid in full.
Sync License- A sync license is a publishing license to pay writers for music used in film, video or TV soundtracks. There is no fixed fee for sync licenses. Publishers set or negotiate these fees.
Windowing- Windowing is about selective release of music tracks. It can mean release to radio and TV prior to retail, or release to retail prior to premium streaming. There is currently a debate about the effectiveness of managing the music life cycle like this. (Windowing also applies in cinema releases and is usually calculated to pump up the first weekend box office.)
Resource
http://www.bemuso.com/musicbiz/musicbusinessglossary.html