I’m A Bereaver: Monkees Singer Davy Jones Is Dead

The Monkees in 1966: L to R: Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith.

By Lori Spencer

Yahoo! Music News

Davy Jones, the handsome British vocalist who melted the hearts of young girls in the 1960s, has died. Jones passed away at his Florida home Wednesday of a heart attack, according to the medical examiner’s office. He was 66.

Jones, best-known for his role in the famed TV series “The Monkees,” was the heartthrob of the band, making American teen girls swoon with his mop-top hair, big brown eyes, and megawatt smile. His fellow bandmates often teased Jones about his teen idol status and his height (he stood at only 5’3″). Monkees drummer Mickey Dolenz enjoyed jokingly introducing Jones as “Davey, the little short English one.”

His voice can be heard on some of the Monkees biggest hits. Jones took the lead on classics such as Boyce & Hart’s “Valleri,” “I Wanna Be Free,” “Daydream Believer,” (written by the Kingston Trio’s John Stewart) and “Cuddly Toy” (penned by Harry Nilsson).

Davy Jones was born Dec. 30, 1945 in Manchester, England. When he was 15…

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Fans, Friends and Family Say Goodbye to Etta James

 

Cover of the Etta James classic 1963 live album, "Rocks the House" (Chess Records)

By Lori Spencer

Yahoo! News

 

Private funeral services for four-time Grammy Award winner Etta James were held Saturday in Los Angeles. James died January 20 after a two-year battle with leukemia at age 73.

A public viewing Friday at Inglewood Cemetery drew hundreds of her fans. While the sound of her classic records wafted through the parking lot, mourners waited in line for hours to pass by the open casket. James was laid to rest in a simple black suit with gold embroidery, still looking every bit the diva.

Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, and other celebrities came to pay their final respects. Stevie Wonder performed four songs, including…

 

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Musician Marketing 101

By Lori Spencer

 

In the music industry, artists and record companies are marketing a product: themselves. They market physical products as well, a band’s latest CD, a DVD, or other official merchandise, and items simply will not sell by mere virtue of their release. A savvy music marketer knows that promotion, publicity, advertising, and branding are absolutely essential to generating sales. Without a creative and aggressive marketing campaign, a truly amazing album or artist might never find a sizable audience. Musician marketing involves employing all of these methods to get the music heard by as many potential buyers as possible.

The Internet has revolutionized the way music reaches listeners, for better or worse. Prior to the mid-1990s, musician marketing was chiefly…(cont’d)

 

Read the rest of the story at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-involved-in-musician-marketing.htm

Negotiating A Record Contract

By Lori Spencer

 

Recording contracts are legally binding agreements between an artist and the record label defining the rights, obligations and remedies for each party. A recording deal may just be for a single project, or on a “per album” basis, but most are long term commitments of three to seven years with periodic options to renew. As the record company is making a considerable financial investment in the costs of making and producing albums, they naturally expect a substantial return.

This tutorial covers many of the key points to negotiate in a record deal, but is not intended as legal advice. Always have an experienced entertainment law attorney review any record contracts before signing.

Step 1

Negotiate the most important thing first: who retains creative control – artist or record company? Artists will of course try to retain as much control over their own work as possible, but most major record label contracts reserve the right for the company to veto the artist’s choice of studio, producer, songs, musicians, cover art and the like.

Step 2

Discuss the length of the proposed contract. As record contracts generally sign artists for a certain number of records (not years), it could be a one-record deal or a six record deal. There is an option to renew after each album or period of time, usually at the record company’s option. “Options” are explained further in Reference 2.

Step 3

Have your contract clearly define the extent of exclusivity. While every recording contract engages the exclusive services of the performer or group (meaning you can’t make records for any other companies during the contract term), some labels will try to push this exclusivity clause too far and unfairly bind artists from doing other projects.

Step 4

Estimate a recording budget for each album under the recording contract and negotiate an appropriate advance. It’s important not to ask for too much upfront, because these advance monies are fully recoupable from the artist’s future royalties. Think of it like a loan, and never borrow more than you can realistically pay back in a reasonable amount of time (based on sales expectations).

Step 5

Have your manager or attorney negotiate the best possible royalty rate they can get in the contract. Most new artists receive a royalty rate of between 9-14%. Many record contracts increase the artist’s royalty rate by degrees with each subsequent album based on performance and sales figures. Advances and production budgets generally will also increase with each album under the contract.

Step 6

Hammer out the details of a song publishing arrangement if the artist writes their own material. Most record labels will want a piece of the publishing pie, as this generates a significant amount of revenue for the company. Sometimes the split is as much as 50/50 between the songwriter and record label.

Step 7

Make certain your contract clearly defines both parties’ rights and obligations in regard to artist merchandising, publicity, marketing, promotion, public performances, touring, tour support, control/maintenance of artist’s official website, and other fine points involved in a standard recording contract.

Tips

As all things must eventually come to an end, make sure the recording contract sets a clear procedure for termination of the deal. It should also spell out the legal remedies available if one or the other party defaults. Labels sometimes go bankrupt or out of business and sell the artist’s contract to another record label; your contract needs to cover all of these “what if” scenarios that could happen down the road.

You may also want to insert a “key man” clause that states if your A&R rep, producer, or a key person within the record label or band should leave, the contract may be terminated.

Warnings

A “sideman’s clause” is recommended if the artist wants to be free to do studio work with other artists, appear on benefit or compilation albums, movie soundtracks, etc. Even with such a clause the artist will still need permission from the record company before recording elsewhere, but without a sideman’s clause, the artist (or members of the band) would not be allowed to appear as a guest on any other albums.

Key Concepts

• record contract negotiation
• record contract deal
• recording artist contracts
• entertainment law contracts
• record deals contract
• artist record company

References

• Music Biz Academy: What’s A Record Deal All About? [http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/recorddeal.htm]
• YouTube: What to Expect in a Recording Contract [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v7GMpA5sVI&feature=related]
• YouTube: Record Deals and the Future of Music [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eg5JKPwLqI&feature=related]

User Bio

Lori Spencer has written professionally since 1986. She is the author of three nonfiction books, is writing her fourth and provides content for eHow and LIVESTRONG.COM. She also produces and hosts a weekly radio show. Her subjects of expertise include history, media, music, film and the performing arts.

Self-Producing Your Album: A Guide for Musicians

By Lori Spencer

 

Making a record is the first step on every musical artist’s path to success. Here’s how to save time and money in the studio by doing it yourself.

 

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http://www.suite101.com/content/self-producing-your-own-cd-a-guide-for-musicians-a382500

Writing Heavy Metal Songs

By Lori Spencer

 

When it comes to writing heavy metal songs, it’s more about the attitude and riff than following any given format. While the basic rules of songwriting still apply, there are times to burn the rulebook and forget everything you’ve been taught in school. Don’t get too caught up in technique–rock and roll is rebellion, above all else.

Read more: How to Write Good Metal Music | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_7335893_write-good-metal-music.html#ixzz1g8ybRfSw

Mechanical Licenses and Copyright: What Songwriters Should Know

By Lori Spencer

 

If you are a songwriter and another artist wants to record one of your songs, there are legal issues to consider. Before someone else can legally record your song, they must get a license and pay a fee if you own the copyright. In the recording industry, this is called a mechanical license. U.S. copyright law prohibits the manufacture and distribution of songs written by others without a mechanical license. This rule holds in most countries, although statutory requirements may vary. This license ensures that the music publisher and songwriter get paid for their work.

Read more: How to Put Your Music on Someone Else’s CD | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_8508528_put-music-someone-elses-cd.html#ixzz1O79SZHpd

Renewal Options in Recording Contracts

By Lori Spencer

 

A record contract is a written agreement that binds a record company to an artist or band for a specified number of albums. These agreements are typically exclusive, meaning that the artist may not perform recording services for any other label or organization for the duration of the contract. Every recording contract will contain renewal “options,” generally after each album. The option to renew the contract is at the record company’s sole option, not the artist’s.

Read more: How to Write a Non-Renewal Music Agreement | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_8508259_write-nonrenewal-music-agreement.html#ixzz1O77iNiZO

How to Change Your Voice When Your Record Yourself

By Lori Spencer

 

Whether you’re a professional voice-over artist, a video gamer, or just want to spoof your friends with a prank call over VoIP, voice-changing software gets the job done. You can easily change your voice from young to old, male to female, high to low, and create your own game character voices using special effects — the possibilities are endless.

Many voice-changing (or voice-cloaking) software programs are available. Free programs tend to deliver poor sound quality and don’t offer many features. Pro versions $10 to a little more than $100, as of May 2011…

 

Continued at http://www.ehow.com/how_8406270_change-voice-record-yourself.html

Best Tips to Become a Singer

By Lori Spencer

To become a singer requires not only a natural talent but also ongoing vocal training. Singers are constantly striving to improve their range, strengthen their voices, and learn new techniques. Before embarking on any kind of musical career, a singer must first learn to train and protect his or her voice. While other musicians have external instruments to play, requiring only the interaction of the hands, fingers, wrists, or mouth, singers face a more difficult challenge because the vocalist’s instrument is built in. Therefore the entire body must be kept in good shape, not just the throat itself.

The first step to become a singer is…

Read more at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-best-tips-to-become-a-singer.htm