With my song registered with ASCAP, SoundExchange and SongTrust, I registered the song with Neilsen SoundScan, both the Title and ISRC registrations. I was able to claim my Apple Music for Artist page as I was verified in a day. I will need to take a look at the different features…I did add a photo of myself. Being verified with Spotify will happen after the release date.”Sleeping Alone Again” also was registered with MediaBase. That was a one day affair as well. This link Radio Airplay 101 will explain the basics of tracking your song over the airwaves. I have not heard back from BDS as I emailed a request to register the song with them as well. I have pulled together my materials for AllMusic and will be submitting my information about myself and the song tomorrow. This way folks can learn more about you as an artist or your songs in one spot. They can also leave reviews. I have looked at Discogs also. They pretty much do the same thing. There submission process seemed more complicated to me. I’ll have to take another look at it. Tomorrow I’ll be sending out texts to follow up on the email campaign I did a few days back. There is never nothing to do! Stay well and safe!

So, let me tell you how this all was wrapped up…I had finished the master…after going back to the mix at least three times to adjust the bass frequencies (tighten them up) and then had to focus my attention on the video. I knew that would be quite a bit faster than the audio portion of this release and I really had my sights on releasing the song before Christmas.

I got so excited about finishing the video (after 3 days work)…right after I copyrighted the sound recording, I posted the video on YouTube. Well, it gives you all these prompts to share it on your social media…so, of course, I did that too. This happened last Friday and I decided to upload the song to DistroKid on Monday. So, that did happen and on the same day I registered the song on SongTrust and SoundExchange. I am waiting on my AARC applications to be approved. It’s hard to say if I needed to do something more on the applications…I haven’t received a reply from my inquiries. So, DistroKid is pretty cool because they create a HyperFollow page for each release you have. You can go to mine HERE. I added lyrics, credits, and liner notes as well to go to the “stores”. Not all “stores” or platforms support the same data, but I figured what the heck, I’ll do as much as I can and see what happens. Also, it will take about a week for my song to be available in all the platforms from the release date. DistroKids communication is excellent and lets me know via email how the process is progressing.

I had to go back to my YouTube video and add the necessary links. YouTube gives you a lot of space in your description area so, you can get pretty detailed and share whatever links make sense and you can add a whole bunch of hashtags. DistroKid also created a UPC right away. I already had created the IRSC and received the ISWC number from ASCAP so, registering the song where needed was easy. I can also now register the song on Neilsen Soundscan. I need to do a Title Registration and also the ISRC Registration. I’ll do that tomorrow. I also need to send an email to my subscribers with the HyperFollow page and embed the video so those interested can check out the song. It’s too soon to claim my Spotify Artist Page or my Apple Music Page. I’ll just keep checking.

Today was like an advertising day…trying to get the news out. I created an event on Facebook, designed a posting for Instagram, and posted links on LinkedIn and Twitter. I had read multiple times that the “build up” for a release should be more like a month. That makes sense. Oh well, I’ll see how this goes in a 2 week window.

Don’t forget to update your WordPress.com site! I added the song with the HyperFollow link under it and added the video to each page…All the best!

Hey there! I’m excited and relieved to say I have completed mastering my first song! “Sleeping Alone Again”. It will be released in 2-3 weeks. I am now working on editing the video. As soon as that is done I’ll send the song to my digital distribution company and pick the release date. In my case, DistroKid. Tonight I will copyright the sound recording.

A while back I wrote in my blog I would explain to you how I managed to get through the mastering process. So, here goes…I will say I wish I had watched all the tutorials on mixing first. I did have to go back to my mix and fix a few things, a few times. Being that it’s my first time doing this…I gave myself lots of latitude. There was no point in getting discouraged or expecting more from myself…this takes time and experience. I had the time just no experience. I had shared with you previously information about Chris Vandeviver, who is the founder of Why Logic Pro Rules, and just to be clear, I receive nothing for recommending his programs. I could have done an enormous amount of research on line and learn what I did, but where to look and who to trust and to spend all the time…as it is, this project has taken me much longer than I thought. I’m sure the next song will not take as long because I’ve crossed so many bridges and laid a good foundation down. I ended up purchasing two courses from WLPR. One is called “Finish the Mix- Pro” and the other “Mastering Breakthroughs.” Check out his Blog page for very useful tools as well and many videos. Anyway, the “Mastering Breakthroughs” was a life saver and super clear guide. I know there is so much more for me to learn. I have a sense it could be never ending and that’s OK. Stay well!

I thought I might be done with the business stuff and could focus my attention on the mastering and editing the video. I will, very soon. I’d love to have this finished and released. So, here is what I have accomplished since my last post.

My PayPal account was converted from a personal account to a business account. I signed up and became a member of the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies. The AARC collects and distributes royalties stemming from the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. These royalties come from the sales of personal audio devices, blank CDs, media centers and the like. Since I am the featured artist on my album and my LLC is the recording company, it made sense to sign up. It is free to sign up. I also submitted my application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO to trademark my logo. It will be about 3 months before it even gets reviewed and then probably another 3-6 months before I hear anything from them. This task was the one I put off as it is very detailed and a little tedious to complete. Some folks hire a trademark attorney to get it done. You need to research your name and mark (logo) to make sure no one else is using it. Doing the process I did grants federal protection. By using the common law mark of _^TM or _^SM you may have statewide protection. Some states do allow you to register your mark, but then it is only in that state. In my area it is very easy to work in neighboring states…well it was before COVID-19.

After the release there are a few places you may want to register your song. For starters…ALLMUSIC. Their data provider is TiVo. I’ve linked the submission page. ALLMUSIC is a comprehensive resource to find out more about a song, the artist, the writer or musicians on the track or album. Discogs does kind of the same thing. It shares information about all artists and all labels. It is a public music database. I’ve linked their submission guidelines. Lastly, I’d like to share with you Nielsen Soundscan. I will be getting my UPC from DistroKid, my digital distribution company. You’ll need your UPC to register your song with Soundscan so your sales can be tracked. Go to Nielsen Soundscan Title Registration and Nielsen Soundscan ISRC Registration. You will probably also want to claim your Spotify page and Apple Music page once you have your music released. Don’t forget to copyright your final master of your sound recording if you own the master.

Keep yearning and learning!

Hello friends, I’m working on the master but, in the meantime, I need to make sure the song is registered. First is my Performing Rights Organization or PROS. I’m with ASCAP and so is my publishing company. I registered the song before it’s release so that I would know the ISWC number to include it in the data that I will upload to my publishing admin company and my distribution company. Today I enrolled in SoundExchange, which is a sound recording PRO in order to collect royalties from non interactive streaming services throughout the world. That could include webcasts and subscription services. If you want to know more about what the ISWC is and how you really want one, I recommend watching this video created by MBME on YouTube. In regards to the publishing admin company, I had done a bit of research and totally knew I would not be able to track royalties and/or usage of any of my songs in this global internet based life we live in. So I enrolled at Songtrust because the fees are reasonable, to me, and they handle YouTube as well. There is just so much to track! My digital distribution company is Distrokid because you pay one flat rate per year and your music goes where it needs to. They also collect monies on your behalf when your songs are listened to or downloaded. Once my master is complete, it will be uploaded to Distrokid, I’ll fill in the information needed on Songtrust and register the song with SoundExchange. Other than that…there is nothing to do! Stay well!

Hi there. I know I wrote in my last post about what I am doing in order to master my song…but, there are some very important steps to know before you release your song. Now, I will presume that you will copyright your finished sound recording using the SR form. It is cheaper and faster using the Library of Congress Eco system and uploading your song file. I will be doing this once “Sleeping Alone Again” is mastered, having my LLC as the claimant with all the metadata embedded. I will also register the song with my PRO, in my case ASCAP before the song is released, so that I can get the ISWC code or International Musical Work Code.

Then there is metadata. If you are unfamiliar with that term, it is simply the information about the song that ends up embedded in the song file. When sending out MP3s, you can embed what is called ID3 tags. I did some research on free ways to get it done. I will be sending WAV files to my digital distribution company, so I needed that work around as well. Not all information embedded will show up in all platforms. WAV files are not supported so well in iTunes, so you need to add the info. again within iTunes. The information that usually goes in the metadata is the Title, Artist, Album, Date, Genre, Composer, ISRC, maybe Lyrics and Album Art. Again, not all software do the same things. Now, you could have your digital distribution company auto fill your information based on what you input and they can generate ISRC and UPC numbers (if needed) as well.

I chose to have my LLC be able to generate ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) numbers, as it is a publishing company and recording entity. You could go to the ISRC website and do the same. The fee was $80 four years ago. Just to clarify…the ISWC number is to track the composition and stays with the song no matter how many versions are created. The ISRC keeps track of the sound recordings of that composition. Each version would have its own ISRC number.

Now to some links to help you create your metadata… I use Mac OS so, you may need to fish some more if using Windows.

Audacity Does not support Album Art

Kid3 – Audio Tagger

Sonoris ISRC Editor Used for WAV files

All the best with completing your projects!

A couple of weeks ago we were able to get the video shot for “Sleeping Alone Again”. I got to play Director for a day…of course, I was the actor as well and the lighting person! Since then I have trimmed the clips and I also edited some photos of me in the studio doing the recording. I plan on using those shots closer to the end of the video. I will be using Final Cut Pro to create the video and sync it to the soundtrack. I have added some third party effects, generators, titles, and transitions in my Final Cut Pro X. I have paid for a few, but if you are into doing your own videos and need tips, insights, and some teaching moments, I’m going to suggest to you that you check out Ryan Nangle. He is a young man making his mark! He offers free products as well as paid bundles. He also does tutorials. Cool stuff. The other gentleman who has been helpful in my learning curve with Final Cut Pro and Motion is Israel Hyman, or as he is known on the web, Izzy Video. He too offers tutorials, some free stuff and “stuff” you may have to pay for. Both guys have been well worth visiting. I am in the process of learning the mastering end of my song. I’ll go into how I’m tackling that one in my next post. In the meantime, all the best and stay well! Sue

I spent about 4 to 4 1/2 hours completing the album cover. I used Gimp 2.10 which is an open source free photo editing program. Since I had never merged two photos before in this software, I had to use YouTube as a resource a few times. Ok…quite a few times! I do have limited experience with Photoshop, but that software is on a laptop and I prefer a bigger screen and a mouse instead of a trackpad. I had used Gimp to create my LLC’s watermark…tedious detailed work because of my logo. Well, this project was also very detailed in areas but, it’s done. We will start shooting the video this Saturday and see where that takes us…

I hope all is well on your end. I received the feedback needed in regards to my final mix of “Sleeping Alone Again”. I did not hear the same “stuff” from everyone but, there was one improvement needed that half the people heard. So, that’s not bad. I corrected it and the final mix is done! Now I need to learn how to master it and get that done.

I had a photo session over the weekend to get a headshot for the album art. For now, the album art will just be for the single. I plan on releasing 3 – 4 singles before creating an album. But, this album cover and whatever else is needed will be used throughout the first 10 songs I release. At least, that is my plan…until it gets changed! Anyway, I was able to included a couple of these newer photos into my Electronic Press Kit (EPK) on my website…so, that’s cool. I also have my headshot for the artwork on the proposed album cover. I say that, because I haven’t created it yet! Now of course, I have to put this together…have to learn that too… All the Best!!

First shooting for the video is supposed to happen this upcoming Saturday…we’ll see…

Hey, “Sleeping Alone Again” is finally mixed to the point that I can hear or feel it needs to be done. I sent it off to 6 folks. Four of them have extensive knowledge and experience in music. So, that leaves 2 folks that listen to multiple genres of music and are in and around music, but not creators of music themselves. I chose this 6 pack of people because I know they will be honest with me and will not be afraid to say what needs to be said. So, I just need to give them some time. I hope within a week I will get some needed feedback.

In the process I did learn how to automate the master fade and learned how to bounce the tracks to multiple audio files. It all happens at the same time so, no converting files is needed. I also learned the “latch” method to turn plugins on and off as the song plays. I look forward to learning the mastering process next. That’s an assignment that starts tomorrow! Keep moving forward…