Legal Stuff

Book: Music Law: How To Run Your Band’s Business
Author: Rich Stim

Have you ever thought about making actual money in the music business – even if that is just getting paid to play gigs? What about if your band makes it big, bringing in the big bucks? Do you buy equipment for the band? Do you write original songs? Hope to sign with a big label?

For these situations, and others, especially where money or song ownership is involved,  an understanding of the legal consequences involved are really critical. It is pretty easy to play gigs, write a few songs, and ignore all the legal details, but you should be aware of what you are ignoring, because even the little things can come back to bite you.

There are plenty of books and websites that can give you legal advice – but which information is correct, which is useful? There is one book that seems to rise above the rest, and provides comprehensive and sound advice for many of the legal situations your band may face.

The book’s table of contents shows its coverage:

1. Yes, Your Band Is a Business!
2. Band Partnerships and Beyond
3. Management
4. Attorneys
5. Band Equipment
6. Performance and Touring
7. Copyright and Song Ownership
8. Publishing Your Band’s Music
9. Band Names
10. Album Artwork
11. Recording
12. Duplication
13. Selling Your Music
14. Independent Record Agreements
15. Taking Your Band Online
16. Keeping Track of Your Band’s Money
17. Taxes

That’s a lot of topics! And every one of them is important, especially if any money is involved.

The book tells the story of a famous 1970′s rock band that failed to secure the proper partnership agreements. After the band made it big, all the millions of dollars their recordings made were tied up in court until the late 1990′s. The only real winners were the lawyers.

This book can help prevent sticky situations. It provides a large collection of legal documents you can use to protect yourself. Among others, they include a partnership agreement that well let you legally formalize which band members own which equipment and song rights, and other essential. There are other documents that will help you protect your original music and performances.

And the book has great advice for going to the next step – managers, publishers, record labels. We’ve all heard stories of bands that sign with a major label, and in the process end up losing lots of their rights (Tom Petty, anyone?). If you read this book, you’ll at least not enter into agreements totally blind.

Seriously – get this book and consider its advice. You’ll be better off in the long run. And what is best, you can use its forms and follow its advice for just the cost of the book. (Although, as usual, when it comes to legal issues, your are advised to seek your own legal advice, especially as you move up the music ladder.)