My album is going to press!!!

[mike_o]

I am now finished with my album, It's very aggressive breakbeat, drum & bass with a lot of tribal influence. I am going to have my mastering done and my album pressed by discmakers, doing the whole cdbaby thing etc...

I have all my graphics finished and I am doing my final mixdown this weekend.

I still need to create a wedsite and start promoting like crazy, as far as the music part goes I'm good, just getting that nervous feeling that I'm forgetting something or that I have yet to learn something very important...

I HATE THAT FEELING!!!

anyway my long term goals are these.

1.press and release my album
2.get some type of digital distribution, cd baby etc...
3.get domestic vinyl distribution
4.get some type of representation to pursue having my music used in soundtrack work for film and television.
5.not sure right now, too much to think about, but there is always more more more...

throw everything you got at me, what am I spacing out on, what's being forgotten, what advice can be offered regarding my list above, does anyone here have an agent or rep who guides them in getting some paying gig's?

throw everything you've got at me.

[Jim]

If you can do your album live, you could consider gigging, and play your music.

Hire a publicist to get you some press.

Read the book Guerrilla PR. Good ideas for doing your own PR on the cheap.

Knock 'em dead!

[monkey man]

throw everything you've got at me.

OK... Fling!... Plop... Fling!... Plop... Fling!... Plop.

Sorry, that's all I had on me; usually it sees me through a Unicorn session, so I've blown my load.

The feelings you're experiencing are natural in your situation, IMHO Mike. I'd expect the same when I eventually find myself in a similar position. FWIW, I'd concentrate on the product and all its various facets until it was out, because what's done will be done, if you know what I mean. Once it's out there, you'll be able to focus unhindered on the stuff that follows.

Well done! I'm excited for you.

[Bill O'C]

Congratulations, Mike!

Best wishes,

Bill

[monkey man]

I'm curious, Bill: How did you manage to stumble across this old thread?

I also wonder how it all went for Mike.

[mikehalloran]

How are you going to be paid if someone wants to cover your work, use it in a film or play it on radio, TV or the internet? Or is getting paid unimportant (if so, don't read the following)?

If you aren't a member of a PRO (ASCAP, BMI or SESAC in the USA), do a publisher name search and get the process started. You will need a unique name for publishing your songs - any of the PROs will search all three for you and put the name on hold for 30 days. You will need this name for the next step.

Register the Copyrights on the individual songs as Published. Your Copyright certs for published works will cost you $35 per song. Use Form SR, one per song, and it will protect your PA rights, also. Since you are releasing the songs to the public (the root of publish) you cannot be protected by registering more than one published song per form SR or PA (that only works for unpublished works no matter how many people on the web insist otherwise).

Do not 'cheap out' on the Copyright process. Until you register your songs properly, no one owes you a dime if they cover nor are you owed for public performance. Improper Copyright registration has cost songwriters millions in unpaid royalties. Mistakes can be corrected but they cannot be backdated. For published works, no one owes you before the date stamp at the Copyright office whether online or in the mail.

I know of a songwriter who had a song on a classic 1969 album and lost about $18 million because her work was not properly registered. She eventually fixed the mistake around 1989 and has made millions since but her first 20 years of royalties (performance and mechanical) are gone forever.

Register those Copyright certificates with your PRO (finish joining if you aren't a member) so that you can be paid for the public performance of your songs. Register them again with the Harry Fox Agency to make it easier to be paid if someone wants to cover you.

Register the entire CD as a Sound Recording on Copyright Form SR - this does not protect the words and music to the individual songs, BTW, since it is more than one song no matter how many web sites insist differently. This registers the album as a whole. Some find this unnecessary - get the opinion of a Copyright attorney or decide that, for another $35, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you ever need to license the album or the foreign rights, you will be glad you took this step.

Register the Copyright on the artwork. The photographer should have registered any photographs unless he/she is ceding you the rights under the artwork Copyright.