Digital Common Terminology
Texas Music Office
https://gov.texas.gov/music/page/digital_distribution_common_terminology
Intro to the Music Industry: Course Readings
Dr. Stan Renard | Fall 2019
Digital Common Terminology
Texas Music Office
https://gov.texas.gov/music/page/digital_distribution_common_terminology
This article informs the reader of the common terminology of digital distribution companies. In other words, the article provides the definitions of certain words often used by companies that manage the digital distribution of music. This benefits potential music artists who wish to work with these companies because they can easily understand and communicate with representatives of these companies. By doing so, potential music artists will be able to form beneficial relationships with digital distribution companies which in turn will help their careers succeed. You can learn more about digital distribution companies here:
https://blog.landr.com/everything-musicians-need-know-digital-music-distribution/
A term from this reading that I wasn’t familiar with is indemnity. An article I found from The Music Law and Blog advises readers to ask themselves: “am I able and willing to absorb the loss?” This post also shows risks of indemnity from the perspective of the business, like A&R, the band, singer, and co-writers.
This TMO article is 10 years old and was written by a legal intern so I take it’s comments with a bit of a grain of salt. The article even states: “There is no guarantee that the company you select will use the terms in the exact same way.” However, it does give a general since of the concepts behind each of the mentioned terms. Below are more up-to-date links related to digital distribution by blogger and ex staff writer for Digital Music News Ari Herstand:
https://aristake.com/post/cd-baby-tunecore-ditto-mondotunes-zimbalam-or
https://aristake.com/post/(page-2)-digital-distribution-comparison-review
This website is a good way to understand the terminology that digital distribution companies possibly use. Most of these I already knew like Damages, Termination, and ISRC codes. Although, amending terms I have heard before, but didn’t know the full legistics. Amending terms based on the definition that the website gave is basically a long list of things in a contract that you agree to when you download a game, buy an app, or when you update your phone. Most people like me don’t take the time and sit there and read a long list of terms, so we just scroll down to the bottom and hit submit.
There is a lot more things involved when it comes to amending terms here is a link for more information
https://www.kkv.fi/en/facts-and-advice/buying-and-selling/contracts/amending-the-terms-and-conditions-of-contract/
I like how the article presents itself with the different terminology and defines the terms. One term that I wasn’t knowledge of was indemnity. Here is more information about indemnity.
https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en/quick-guides/indemnity
This article is all about giving us the terms and definitions that multiple distribution companies use. They give us definitions for terms like Third-Party Royalties which is you as the content owner having to pay royalties to any individual that contributed to your work so, that means any musicians, producers, songwriters, and even any samples you used. Another important definition was the Non-Exclusive License which is a company holds the license to your work, but they don’t hold the exclusive control over your content. Which this allows you to distribute your content on your own at shows or even through your online website.
Here is a link that reviews some of the best digital distribution companies
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/05/29/digital-distribution-company-review/
And this link talks more about non-exclusive licenses vs exclusive license.
https://www.creativeandproductive.com/exclusive-vs-nonexclusive/
This website as a whole has been extremely informative and helpful throughout the class. In this particular section of the website, you learn about the common terminology of digital distribution companies. It gives you some terms and definitions that you will most likely need to know to be successful in the music industry and more specifically, the digital distribution business. Some of the terms I was already familiar with but it introduced me to some I didn’t know as well.
Here’s an article about the “Glossary of Terms” used in the music industry:
https://musicindustryinsideout.com.au/glossary-terms-original/
I would say that this article is very useful, indeed. There are definitely words I am already familiar with but some I am not familiar with at all. One of which is “Amended Terms.” This term simply means that distribution companies can change services at any time.
Here is a link to a website that explains more about an “Amended Term”: https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/amended-terms
This article describes Digital Distribution Terminology thoroughly. The Texas Music Office is always a reliable resource for anything music related, and this article is full of useful information. One term I was unfamiliar with before reading was Governing Law, which was explained extremely well on the website. One other interesting source I found that talks more about Digital Distribution is — https://www.indiewire.com/2011/10/what-the-hell-is-digital-distribution-heres-7-core-ideas-you-must-understand-51760/
This was an interesting read. I like how short and informative it was. Now on to my questions regarding the Amended terms and Royalty-fee. So if the company amends or changes the terms and you want to object to the new terms what happens from there? Does the company try to accommodate to the needs of a consumer or is the consumer at a loss and gets replaced by someone who will follow the new terms? Another thing is about the royalty fee. Since you are licensing your music out to a distributor, why do you have to pay a fee when the distributor can distribute you music and collect revenue from that? Shouldn’t the distributor be paying you because it was your music in the first place?
Heres a little more on the background of the argument of the new terms.
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=16176486-7f65-4724-9e2b-f99ab10b776e
Again, the Texas music office has provided yet another useful bunch of information. The article provides a brief, yet effective explanation of the terms of digital distribution. The information is imperative to understanding distribution in general, and allows the reader a good foundation of common vocabulary. Before perusing the article, I was not aware of terms such as indemnity. Below, I provided a link that goes more in depth with indemnity.
https://www.audiorecording.me/indemnification-clauses-in-contracts-music-licensing-agreement.html
This article is a great shortcut for people to understand the lingo of distribution companies. Sometimes it gets hard to keep up with what’s happening in that business because of all the different terminologies there are in the industry. This can really save some people’s butts especially on certain legal definitions. I love how helpful the Texas Music Office is!! I decided to look more into amended terms in the music industry and I came across a great article from the Future Of Music Coalition that talks about a Major Label Contract Clause. It talks about the different scenarios what happen after you sign a contract with a major label. https://futureofmusic.org/article/article/major-label-contract-clause-critique
I found this link to be very informative and a great resource for me to continue to refer back to. A thing that I found particularly interesting about this link is that it is not recommended to use multiple digital distribution companies, as the customer will have to pay each company for distributing the music, even if iTunes or a similar platform will only accept one version of a song. This info is is crucial to know, as it can save a ton of money.
When looking for more information on the process of digital distribution, I found the following link that details the process pretty well:
https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/understanding-digital-distribution-rights
Licensing agreements can be a little confusing. I am so glad to have a resource like this to at least help to start understanding licensing. As a songwriter, I will need to pick a distribution company to distribute my songs such as CD Baby or TuneCore, and I would feel much more comfortable putting my songs out if I knew where all of the money from the royalties was going. I learned about indemnity from this article alone, and with that knowledge I will proceed with great caution whenever I use samples or take inspiration from other artists so that I do not end up losing a lot of money in legal fees and lawsuits because I didn’t have all of my bases covered. This led me to research how to sample, and I found an article from CD Baby that discusses just that: https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-rights/clear-samples-to-copyrighted-music/
This article was very informational and helpful for really understanding what these terms mean and how to apply them in digital distribution work. Something significant to think about is that there is no guarantee that the company you are working with will have the same definition and procedures as TMO is providing. When entering into a deal, you want to make sure to read the fine print in any contract to protect your copyright and money.
This website dives deeper into the impact of digital distribution: https://broadtubemusicchannel.com/2017/12/30/impact-of-digital-distribution/
The article form the Texas Music Office describes several key terms meant for artists who’s aim are to distribute, license, or obtain tracks of any kind. It provides ways of going through the process of obtaining a license legally, as well as different aspects of royalties and how profit gets disbursed. A term that caught my attention was indemnity; I didn’t think that an artist had to pay for a contract when it came to working with a retailer or distribution company, however it makes total sense, and ensures the safety of both parties at hand. Attached is an article I found that describes indemnity in more depth, especially when it comes to business contracts.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-concept-of-indemnity-in-business-contracts-398295
This article includes and details specific terms common in the world of digital distribution. What really struck me was at the very beginning of the article, in which it warns that not all digital distribution companies use this jargon the same way. This lead me into thinking, if they don’t all use these terms in the same manner, then how will paying customers know the difference between choosing a company that best suits them and their needs and a company that doesn’t quite fit what they are looking for beneath the surface?
Here is an article I found that lists the top 10 best digital distribution companies of 2019.
https://financesonline.com/best-music-distribution-services-companies/
This article went into detail about the different terms used with distribution companies. Terms like indemnity, gross and royalties were used and define to give readers a understanding of the things that go on behind the scenes in distributing. I found the most important part of the article to be when it talks about Upc and isrc codes because it is a huge part of distribution. Below I have attached an article that goes more into detail about upc/isrc codes.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.symphonicdistribution.com/2016/10/upc-isrc-codes/amp/
This article represents agreste list of common terminologies that are used in the music industry. It is especially important to understand these terms if you plan to navigate in the music industry. You have to constantly stay informed with these terms because it is crucial to the legality of the industry. This article includes other terms regarding contracts when signing to a record label. https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/recording-contracts-explained
This article provides a lot of important terms about digital distribution. Prior to reading this I did not know what Indemnity is. It seems that there is a lot of legal aspects that go into distribution and one needs to be careful to abide by copyright and licensing laws. This website has good articles about digital music.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com
Common terminology isn’t that common to many people in the music business industry. I think its important to know these things, especially for the sake of your business and brand. Knowing the basics can really save you financially when it comes to contracts. Yes, your lawyer might understand it, but it’s important the client does as well, to make fully educated decisions. Here is another article that has more common terms everyone should know: https://blog.discmakers.com/2015/02/music-business-terminology/
This site is helpful in helping establish some key terms that the music industry and music business commonly use. One key term that sticks out to me is Amended Terms, as it presents the idea that publishing companies can change terms on a whim. This seems to imply that they have inherent control over the industry. Here’s an article on the types of contracts publishing companies can do: https://www.songstuff.com/music-business/article/music_publishing_contracts/
This article was very informative about some legal terms that are common in digital distribution. In the beginning of the article it states that not all companies are going to use the terms the same way. This is important to know when going into these business practices so that the person is more aware of the differences and not go based off the general definition. I’ve learned that companies have the right to change the terms in contracts and depending on the company they do not have to tell you when they make the changes.
Here’s a link that goes more into depth about how music distribution works. https://blog.landr.com/everything-musicians-need-know-digital-music-distribution/
As short as this was it provided me with lot of important information on some of the legal terms in digital distribution. I really liked the fact that in this article we were given at least a goof paragraph about what they wanted to talk about. This page is mostly just a reference on to what you mad need and give definitions for each of them. I found this article that goes more in dept with digital distribution.
https://blog.landr.com/everything-musicians-need-know-digital-music-distribution/
This article is a great resource to refer to for future me. It is so easy to get lost in the lingo, especially in business law. Although most of the concepts were straightforward, like most things – the devil’s in the details. I can see how the distribution company’s need to protect itself is necessary, but if someone isn’t careful with the fine print, they could really be screwed by a technicality. Here’s a link for more info on navigating digital distribution: https://www.tribecafilm.com/stories/513620a11c7d76e72700000e-10-tips-for-navigating-di
This article covers the basis of what you will be talked to about in the music industry. They touch basis about what kind of terms would be said and what they all mean and how much in a sense they effect you. They talked about how they might not cover your damage expenses and they even covered your third party royalties term. I found this very useful because I was still a little confuse on what some of these terms actually meant and to what extent they covered.
Here is a link of other music terms that you may need in the future.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/common-terms-in-the-music-business-2460729
Texas Music Office provides useful information in every article/page. This particular page has to do with terminology within music distribution companies. It is important to know that every company has its own rules also and some of the terms on this page may not apply. However, there is much useful legal information, such as copyright laws as well as licensing terms, that young people entering the music industry should know. Each paragraph contains an overall look at a certain term. Here is an article I found that goes more in depth having to do with music copyright.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/03/11/music-copyright-basics/
The article provided is great access for those who don’t understand the Digital Distribution Common Terminology and is even better as not all of it has to be understood to someones best capabilities, because a certain career path in the music industry would only need some of the terminology. some terminology is much needed like knowing that UPC/ISRC Codes are much needed when making and owning music in the new digital era of the music industry.Something else very important to understand in regards to these different terminologies would be knowing what third party royalties are and when other people have contributed to a popular song and need to be paid accordingly or Royalty-Free as the licensor/content creator has the copyright of their work. These are just some of the general important things which the article offers that any person in the music industry can better understand for themselves.
There’s plenty of terms and definitions to be aware of in the music industry. The terms in this article strive to inform readers about digital distribution common technology such as indemnity and non-exclusive license. It’s important to know what you’re getting into before signing any kind of contract in the music industry. Here is an article of tips that artists should know before signing to a record label:
http://blog.sonicbids.com/5-tips-every-artist-must-know-before-signing-their-first-record-deal
I love how short and simplified the terms are explained. Knowing these terms will help you not make as many mistakes as other bands in the past have made. I found another article that will help you learn more about the music industry since it is important to not only know the terminology, but to know what may or may not help.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/music-industry-facts-every-musician-needs-to-know-2460726
This article gives you the definitions to multiple terms used by digital distribution companies. I personally think knowing these terms is a good thing because if you do not know these general terms you will make a lot of errors in distributing your own music. Without knowing theses terms you might find yourself not getting all the money you should be earning from distribution or worse you could even be getting screwed out of your money. You have to know what you are getting into in the music industry because if you do not, things will go left.
I found this article talking about how to protect yourself as an artist. https://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/how-to-protect-yourself-as-an-artist-a-101-on-music-copyright-publishing/
This article by the Texas Music Office is very informative on the various definitions used by many digital distribution companies. Upon looking at these definitions, I could say that I did not have a general knowledge of at least half of the given terms. Specifically, I had no idea what governing law was. In my own words, this is an agreement where the conditions and agreements are interpreted by whichever state’s law are relevant to the agreements. Here is some further information on what governing law is.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/choice-of-law-provisions-contracts-33357.html
This article talks about different terms you might want to know when becoming a part of the music industry. Some of these terms I had no clue existed but seem pretty straight forward. One that struck my attention was “Indemnity”, which is described as protection. For example, paying the distribution company for any losses they may face due to your content not having a license.
Heres more on this topic https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/indemnity_insurance.asp
This really shows you how important it is to have a copyright license for your music! There’s so much you have to pay with out it. This entire website is helpful when learning about the legislative aspect of the music industry.
Here’s another helpful site i found https://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/how-to-protect-yourself-as-an-artist-a-101-on-music-copyright-publishing/
One of the most difficult parts about learning about the music industry is getting familiar with all of the lingo. This article does a great job of explaining some common terms that you are likely to hear when working within the industry. Some of the definitions also have tips for musicians within them, such as under non-exclusive license where they explain that it is not recommended to use more than one digital distribution company.
Here is an article that provides a glossary for more industry terms:
https://musicindustryinsideout.com.au/glossary-terms-original/
This article educates its target audience, us attempting to enter the industry, of the common terminology of digital distribution. Amoungst other things, the article provides the definitions words and examples often used by companies that manage digital distribution of music. The article proto the benefits musicians could enjoy, if they were to work with said companies because they could understand and communicate with representatives of these companies. By doing so, potential music artists will be able to form beneficial relationships with these companies which will help their careers progress.
https://www.mastrng.com/free-music-distribution/
This article does a good job of informing the reader of common terms in the music industry. Honestly, many of these terms I have heard before but did not really know what they mean. Indemnity was one of the terms that I have never even seen before but now I know that it means you need to pay the distribution money any money that they may have lost from you. This article is good for people like me who are trying to get into the music industry but do not know the proper vocabulary to be able to communicate with more professional people in the field.
Here is another article that gives terms to people who may be just starting in the industry: https://musicindustryinsideout.com.au/glossary-terms-original/
I appreciated this article by giving users a general sense of what terminology will likely be used by digital distribution companies. Reading through the terms, I happened to dwell on royalty-free and started to look more into why people would use it. Here is a list of pros and cons for royalty-free music.
https://www.soundstripe.com/blogs/royalty-free-music-doesnt-have-to-suck
This article posted by the Texas Music Office gives the reader information of the terminology commonly used by digital distribution companies, mainly providing definitions of common words used by these companies. Essentially this article is useful for artists who want to work with these companies as they become more fluent with the terms used in the industry. This information will make it easier for these artists to build a more professional repertoire and better relationship with these companies making it easier to succeed in the business. Below is an article informing artists more about digital distribution:
https://blog.landr.com/everything-musicians-need-know-digital-music-distribution/
The common legal terms of this industry are essential for navigating your business. Thanks to the TMO website, we have resources to brush up on the common terminology of digital distribution. I believe the most important terms to study are the differences between Gross profits and Net profits. Below i have attached a link that further explains what these terms mean from an accounting standpoint and what it means to employees.
https://www.myaccountingcourse.com/financial-ratios/gross-vs-net-income
This article gives the reader helpful use of terms in the digital distribution company. One part of the article that really jumped at me was the non-exclusive licenses. I interestingly learned that itunes will only post one version of your song and force you to pay them money to post more than two.
I also found this very interesting about A&R in the music industry. https://youtu.be/9beJxuY6XjQ
The Texas Music Office reading helps to explain some of the terminology utilized in the music industry. For someone like me, wanting to get into the music business, this is a tremendous help. It gives a quick go to place to get some of the basic information. Even though we know that each has their own definition, basically, the overall helps. There are many terms out there and many different definitions, one would have to ensure they know what term and definition was utilized for their specific job.
https://musicindustryinsideout.com.au/glossary-terms-original/
This article is a good resource for general explanations and definitions of commonly used terms in the recorded music industry. I was most interested in the indemnity definition because I hadn’t previously taken into consideration losses made by a department store or other retailer and how the artist/label would be responsible. To get more familiar and to better understand it is good to read multiple definitions of lesser-known terms.
Attached is a link to another glossary of terms that have long and well-explained definitions.
https://www.musiccareers.net/industry-terms/
I believe this article is extremely helpful for musicians or managers, especially those who are just starting to understand the music industry. The Texas Music Office gives a guide to basic business practices associated with the music industry forewarning those before reading that the article is simple advice from past experience, that no method is the music industry is ever conventional. For example. it says that gross profit is received in agreements where you pay monthly for a distribution service while a net profit is received in agreements that charge a fee per song. Of course, there is no rule book to these perceived guidelines which leads me to think, is the defined terminology similar in other articles? The link attached below answers.
https://blog.discmakers.com/2015/02/music-business-terminology/
This article was a look at the lingo used in digital distribution of music from a decade ago by a law major. I’ve attached a similar link, but from this decade, and made by someone in the music industry.
https://artists.spotify.com/blog/talk-the-talk-music-terms-a-glossary
The intern, Emily Burrows, that wrote this article did a huge service by providing understandable definitions for important contractual terms that are frequently used in the music industry. terms like Indemnity which means paying the distribution company for any losses they receive by being in contract with them. Another term she shed light on was a Non-Exclusive License meaning a company holds a license for your work but are still free to distribute it on your own.
this is a music lawyer website that answers insightful music business questions –> https://www.askamusiclawyer.com/
I personally do not like all these terms and their meanings. I understand that there has to be rules in place for any and everything. However, I believe that in the music industry there are so many things that can hinder an artist from receiving the full amount of royalties they deserve. Here is article explaining hindrances artists are capable of facing in the music industry if any little thing is not followed to a tee, and hindrances in general.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/common-music-industry-problems-2460792