income tax deductions for musicians

it’s february, and tax time is coming up soon. if you’re like me, you probably won’t get around to thinking about taxes until the week they are due. (but i don’t encourage procrastination!)

if you are a self-employed musician (in the tax sense), you may be able to write-off many  of your expenses, thus making paying taxes this year less painful. here are some suggestions on what you could potentially write-off.

travel expense:

• laundry (yes, really)
• lodging
• local transportation (taxi, bus, subway)
• meals
• airfare
• car rentals

auto mileage:

• education
• gigs
• rehersals
• attending performances
• auditions

equipment and supplies:

• computers/printers
• software
• sound systems
• strings, instruments, etc.
• sheet music

cost of cutting a CD:

• artwork
• cost of producing CDs
• studio time
• photography
• hired musicians or engineers

auto expenses:

• transportation costs (gas, oil, or bus fare)
• repairs
• washing
• parking, tolls
• insurance

*these potential write-offs are very generalized. what you can actually write-off depends on how you run your “business” of being a musician. so i’ll end with some typical advice:  “ask a trained professional about your specific situation. the money you pay them may be worth it!”

how your songs are categorized by music industry execs

you may not be writing music for money, fame, or glory, but….

have you ever wondered how a&r execs categorize and define the music you create?

CLASSIC SONG: a “classic song” is memorable, and can last for decades. there’s a good chance a “classic song” is playing on the radio right now in your area. examples include: “i can’t get no satisfaction” by the rolling stones; “my girl” by the temptations; “how sweet it is” by marvin gaye.

HIT SONG: musicians don’t make hit songs; radio stations do. most “hit songs” have catchy hooks, high production value, and mass market appeal making it radio-friendly. songs don’t have to be good or great to be a hit. you’ve probably written some great songs that don’t qualify as a hit.

GREAT SONG: “great songs” are embraced by the masses. these songs have the same qualities that “good songs” have, but are especially strong because they are good where “good songs” are weak.

GOOD SONG: “good songs” have memorable parts, like good production, good melody, strong lyrics, or good structure. but something lacks, and they have weaknesses –which prevents these songs from being “great songs.”

FILLER: these songs are not not strong enough to be released as a single and they lack commercial value. if you write music for fame, cash, or glory, you may want to rethink how you approach your music if your songs are thought of this way.

trademark basics

you use your band name and logo to build your audience and brand yourself. after all that hard work, it could be devastating to find out another band has the same or confusingly similar name.

trademarks can be words, nicknames, letters or abbreviations, number and letter combinations, words in stylized form (like, a logo), pictures, designs, and symbols.

trademarks and service marks are used to distinguish goods and services, so that people (consumers, the public) won’t be confused.  so the standard is not whether someone has the same name as you, it’s whether something is confusingly similar.

for example, if your band name was “blackberry,” people probably wouldn’t confuse your band with the cellular device. but if your name was, “dire straits” and another band’s name is, “dyre strayts,” people might get confused. they sound similar, and both names are being used for bands.

here are two things you can do to protect your name and logo:

1. before you choose a name, do a trademark search. start out with an simple google search to find obvious similarities. see if any of these names are used in a way that’s similar to the way you plan to use the name. next, you can check the USPTO website. but, remember that the USPTO site only shows extra spellings, and not things that sound differently (”dire” vs “dyre”). some people hire professional search companies to look through federal records, state records, and common law searches. they can be expensive, but may be worth it.

2. you can register your name with the USPTO. while it’s not required to get trademark protection, registering your name gives you several advantages. one big advantage is that it gives notice to everyone of your use of the mark, so people can’t claim “good faith” use in it. another advantage is that if someone is using your name in a confusingly similar way, you can get a court order demanding they stop.

a couple of things to keep in mind when filing out the application:

you will have to tell them the date you first used the mark in commerce in connection with your goods/services. you have to verify to the best of your knowledge, that no one else has the right to use the mark (the identical mark or a reseblance of it), where their use would be likely to cause confusion or mistake.

you will also have to submit “specimens of use,” which are examples of how you used the mark as you claim. specimens can include CD labels, advertisements, posters, packing materials showing the mark, or even screen shots of your website where you sell merchandise.

tips for touring

as stated in my last post, touring and playing shows is important.

here are some tips on creating buzz associated with your shows:

- call the local radio station of the city you’re going to, and ask them to play one of your songs (from your completed CD) while you are in town. don’t blanket all radio stations; target the station that plays the type of music  similar to yours. also, if you successfully accomplish some the other tips in this post, radio stations are much more likely to play your music if they’ve already heard about you from somewhere else (hearing about you from a friend, reading about you in a local publication, etc). if you can’t get a local radio station to play your song, try the college radio stations.

- call a local record store of the city you’re going to, and ask if you can make an in-store appearance to play a handful of your songs. (some stores may have rules as to their capacity, the number of songs you can play, and the type of equipment you’re allowed to use, etc.). it’s also in the store’s interest to promote you, since they’ll be bringing in extra foot traffic. that may mean exposure on their website and having your poster up in their window for a few days. if the store isn’t selling your CD, they may let you bring CDs to sell anyway since you may be bringing in extra visitors to their store. (hence, the importance of having a complete record!)

- target some messages to your myspace/facebook friends in the particular cities you will be visiting, and asking them to come out to see you. it’s free and easy. you can even book shows through myspace.

- call the local alternative press newspaper and ask them to put a blurb about your visit. most of these thrive of getting the inside info about local music, so if you call well in advance, they’re likely to say yes.

- get organized and make sure: your myspace/facebook messages are sent, record stores and radio stations are called, you packed enough merchandise, you know who will be managing/selling your merchandise, you have at least some blurb in some news print (even college newspapers are OK), and you are bringing all other promotional materials.

———

lastly, try not to play at 2 different places in a single visit to a single town. a venue  will be pissed off if you are playing at their venue one night, and another venue the next evening a few miles away. those people who attended the second show could have potentially gone to the show at venue #1, and you may have undercut their profit. they won’t like that. if they’re letting you play at their house, they want to max out your profitability.

your priorities

one common question a lot of musicians have is, “what should i focus on?” here are some suggestions:

1. create a great record.

by this, i mean having a solid, well-produced (doesn’t sound garage produced), presentable piece of music with your identity associated with it. if you’ve started a record, finish it. many musicians stop recording in the middle of a project. reasons include: a change in artistic direction, the need to tour, or a change in band focus. sure, it’s important to stay true to how you feel your music should sound, but many end up making excuses on why they didn’t finish a record.

it is important for a musician to have something tangible and presentable to distribute at shows. it is makes a much bigger statement to a fan, a promoter, or any potential supporter, if you have something complete and tangible to give them, and not just a sticker with your myspace link on the back. in fact, many music industry folks feel that if a band merely has a demo with a few songs and not much else, they’re not ready to move to the next level, and they won’t take any chances on you.

2. touring.

aside from the obvious reasons of getting exposure for your music, touring establishes both momentum and energy for your music.

touring also has the effect of creating your identity. if you compare a group that’s  played 30-40 shows with another that’s played 80-90 shows, you’ll notice big differences in their demeanor, style, and confidence.

because touring also creates “buzz,” it involves a lot more than just mean playing at venues or parties. it includes the promotions associated with those shows. (i’ll talk about this more in my next post on how to create the buzz associated with your touring).

and of course, it’s also a good time to show off that great record you finished.

playing at the venue you want

your band wants to play the local venue and are looking for a way in. the venue holds a couple hundred people, and you’ve played some smaller venues around town, but feel ready to move up. so how do you get in? here are some things you can do:

OPTION 1: according to venue operators, one of the best ways to get on the bill is to open or play with a band that already plays there.

venue operators are much more likely to listen to a demo or consider a band if they hear about it from a band they already know. first, figure out which band (out of the ones that already play there) has a similar sound to your music. one of the many obvious reasons for this is that you’ll have a lot easier time appealing to their fans. approach that band, give them your CD, and ask if you can open for them at that venue. Plus, if you get to know them and get them to like you, it may mean future opportunities. this may involve a bit of networking, but it could pay off.

OPTION 2: another way to get a gig is to drop off a demo and hope they call you. this is much more difficult because venues sometimes get hundreds of demos per month. if you do choose this, here are some tips.

1. create buzz. venue operators are much more likely to listen to your demo if they’ve heard about you from various sources. for example, if they see your demo on their desk, see one of your flyers across town, and read a blurb about your band in the local alternative newspaper, they’re much more likely to remember your name and give your band a listen.

2. include a short (a paragraph or two) bio with your CD. here are some tips on what to write:

• include information about your sound, and what other bands you sound like. sometimes, venue operators are looking for a certain sound, and if your description is something they are looking for, they may more likely listen to your CD over another without such a description. you’ve not only taken away some of the guesswork for the operator by saving them time, but have increased your chances of getting your CD heard.
• list other bands you have played with. if it’s someone they’ve heard of, that’s +1 point for your band.
• list other venues you’ve played. this is important because it tells the venue operator what to expect in attendance. remember that venue operators have to worry about the bottom line. you could be the most talented band to ever play that stage, but if you can’t fill the room so the operators can sell them drinks, forget it. in some ways, it’s somewhat circular; you can’t play the bigger gig because you can’t show you’ve played any other bigger gig. nonetheless, it tells the operators you’re not just playing at your friend’s house.

3. once you get the gig, bring the masses. see above. if you don’t bring enough people, the venue will not be happy and it will hurt your chances to play there in the future. for example, take the ‘bottom of the hill’ in san francisco, ca. the venue holds about 350 people. it is NOT enough for you to ask 75+ of your family and friends to show up. this means you will have to promote, promote, and promote to make sure you get people to go.

new ownership, a new direction, new hat

Legal Noise is now under new ownership! I just inherited this blog, and hopefully I’ll be providing some good info. However, unlike my this blog’s previous owner, my purpose isn’t to discuss entertainment news. I’d rather do something more helpful: provide independent musicians information on navigating the music industry.

So here it goes…

the gist of the writer’s strike

So the writer’s strike is over. Sweet. I look forward to the return of some of my favorite shows ( The Office, Scrubs, and Family Guy). Studios and writers are in agreement for now, and maybe until 2011, which is when the next negotiation would take place.

During the strike, the Writers Guild of America (“Writers”) made numerous demands. The one that received the most attention concerned the Writers’ share of online revenue. They reached a deal, and here are some of the main points concerning the online revenue:

- The Writers will receive 2% of ad revenue from pre-existing programs online that were streamed on the Internet. This includes shows like The Office, where you can watch full episodes on NBC.com. The catch is that the agreement fixes the ad revenue per episode so no matter how much the studio actually made in ad revenue per episode, it’s fixed. The Agreement fixed ad revenues at $40,000 per episode. So the writer’s 2% will be fixed for every episode, which comes out to $800 per episode.

- The Writers get the right to audit the books of the studios to determine how much they actually make from online ad revenue.

- The Writers increased the revenue share they get from programs downloaded online.

- The Writers have the ability to earn revenues for new material that’s created specifically for the internet. This is important because this is the area for growth.

The Writers gave up millions of dollars in opportunities while picketing. Also, many people believe that the writers should have focused more of their demands on DVDs and syndication. This is because online piracy and TV on the Internet will most likely increase, so it may take a while for the deal to be profitable for the writers. Instead, they focused mostly on downloads and stream revenues.

On the plus side, the deal does open the door for the Writers so that when studios make money online, so do they. This wasn’t the case before. This will be very important for writers as consumers demand more online content.