More helpful contract and agreement considerations
An attorney can help you locate or draw up the forms/contract necessary

How To Copyright your Music

Contract Between Band Members
Click for Music Publishers-->

good advice excerpted from lawdudes.com and other resources
a lot of information was found on the web, sent to us by email,  or found in music newsgroups

may contain exerpts included  from articles by Rich Unger, Nightclub Promotions--->
Rich Unger is America's leading food and beverage and nightclub promotions expert

other contributors are unknown at this time

• management agreement: for your band and your manager, covering commissions, length of representation and post-termination issues.
  
• partnership agreement: for all band members, covering how to divide expenses and profits, rights to songs, rights to the band name and related issues.
  
• label-shopping agreement: for your band and your attorney (or whoever is shopping your band to record companies), covering issues such as the extent and length of payment for the representation.
  
• performance agreement: for your band and the venue that is booking your band, covering the payment and other performance details.
  
• musician clearance agreement: for your band and any non-band musician providing a performance for recordings, covering the extent of the musical use and payment.
  
• compulsory license agreement: for your band and any non-band songwriter or copyright holder, dealing with the right to "cover" their song on your band's recording.
  
• distribution agreement: for your band and distributors of your band's recordings to stores, covering the length, payment and territory where your record will be sold.
  
• independent label record agreement: for your band and an independent record label, covering all the details of ownership and making of recordings.
  

Click for Simplified, Casual Contract between 
Band and Small Venues/Private Parties

More ways to promote yourself:

MusicCity.com - Independent artists can promote and distribute their music to millions of listeners through the Morpheus User Network.

A Band's photos, bio, a link to their web site, and promo text to use for your description is included, along with music. There is a rule-based security feature that allows you as the artist to decide how many times a listener can preview your music before they are required to purchase it. MusicCity recommends artists charge .99 per single and/or an album for $8 U.S. Dollars. Artists will keep 70% of the gross from sales, and checks will be sent out monthly.

The cost for artists to include their music on the Morpheus network, will be $125 per song, or $495 for an entire 'album' of songs (up to 12 songs). When you join the MusicCity.com roster, 8,000 – 10,000 copies of your song (or album) will be placed on the MusicCity servers and from there it will be propagated into the Morpheus P2P network where millions of users can download, listen and have the opportunity to buy your music.

Radio Promotion - click links below

Radio Stations
Radio Tower

Radio-Locator

TopRadio.com
Microradio Stations

RadioLinks.net

How To Copyright Your Music

Get a copy of Form PA From:

The Library of Congress Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C.,20559-6000 - or click here for the Library of Congress website and you'll find a  printable form and instructions. You'll need the Acrobat Reader to use this form. Click the button for a free download if you don't have the software.

Hints on How To Fill Out This Confusing-Looking Form

The fee for filing a copyright for your music is $30.00 (check for rate changes)
and it costs the same whether you're copyrighting one song or a big bunch.

Remember to copyright your songs before recording them. This way, you 
can avoid someone stealing your work before it's out there. Sometimes even 
a disgruntled ex-member of your own band or a competitor band, will record 
it  and copyright it and you're out of luck, nothing you can do about it.

If you have specific questions about the form once you've 
started filling it out, give your attorney a buzz to help you out

Space 1:
Title: Fill in the Title of the song. If there's an alternative name, enter that, too, where it says: Previous or Alternative

Nature of Work: enter Music, or Lyrics, or Words and Music, whatever

If you're going to take advantage of the opportunity to copyright as many as you like for the same $30.00, write in: 

Title: Collection/Compilation and the name of it

Previous or Alternative Titles: enter each song you wish to copyright in here. and alternative names if there are any.

Nature of Work: do it the same as in the first example

Space 2: 
Under area 2a, 
there are areas for up to three authors. When there is more than one author, the appropriate contribution must be given. Boogie Baby Blues may have contributed lyrics. Enter this under Nature of Authorship. Someone else, or two somebody elses might have been the co-authors of the music for that song

Enter your name and be sure to enter a pseudonym if you use a different one for recording or being known or booked as

Space 3: 
If you copyright before recording, you only need to fill out the first part

Space 4: 
The claimant is the person who owns the copyright. If the claimant is not named in space 2, explain how the ownership has been transferred. 

Space 5: 
If you are submitting the songs for the second time. Either the previously unpublished song is now being published , the claimant name is now different, or the song has been changed in some way.

Space 6: 
Fill this out also if the version of the song has changed (see space 5). If songs from previous copyrights are being put into a compilation or there are new words to an old song (derivative) Space 6a requires a listing of what the previous material is and 6b requires a statement of what has been added to the previous material.

Leave out Space 7a
 unless you have a deposit account. Make a copy of the form, and send it along with your $30 fee. For space 7b, Correspondence, it is usually the same name as the claimant. This person will receive questions should they arise

Spaces 8 and 9:
Sign the form. Print the return address

1. The completed form.

2. The fee. Check or money order must be made payable to Register of Copyrights in the amount of $30, or whatever is specified on the form you receive

3. Deposit Material is a recording of the songs as a cassette tape or fully recorded in a studio. Your choice.Whatever you'll be copyrighting, and send lyrics, etc. 

Make copies of this stuff. This package (one form, your check,  tapes and 2 copies of the  lyrics) goes to The Library of Congress, Copyright office, at the address stated on the form or above. Send it registered or certified mail asking for a return receipt, so that you know when it's received and who signed for it. It might take two months for your copyright to be registered. Keep a copy of the materials for your own records, to refer to if necessary.

Music Publishers

USA Songwriting Competition
MPL Communications
John Lennon Songwriting Contest
Artist Envoy Agency
Atlanta Music Group
Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers
Bug Music Publishing
EMI Music Publishing
McClure & Trowbridge Publishing Inc.
Nashville Publishers Network
Warner-Chappell Music Inc (song publishers, songwriters agency

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