Sound Advice: Hillbilly in Washington and the Performance Rights Act

Hillbilly in Washington and the Performance Rights Act

My wife Mary and I went to our nation’s capital last week along with hundreds of recording artists, songwriters, musicians and music industry professionals to lobby our legislative leaders on the Performance Rights Act. This singularly important and long overdue piece of legislation is meant to compensate artists, musicians and labels for the hits they create that generate over $16 Billion (yes, that’s 16,000,000,000 dollars) in revenue each year for the corporations that own the AM/FM radio stations in America…Wall Street financed corporations like Clear Channel Communications and Radio One. In our discussions with the legislators (most of whom support your right to get paid) one thing was clear, the tens of millions of dollars the broadcast industry is spending through lobbyists and their bully pulpit has muddied the true facts with deliberate misinformation. Broadcasters are blanketing the airwaves they control ad nauseum, poor mouthing why they should not be required to pay for using someone else’s property.

Some in our music family have been swayed by the broadcast industry’s efforts, worried that this bill will take away from the songwriter’s and publisher’s royalties. Don’t buy that! This has nothing to do with the song copyright and everything to do with the recording copyright (the record). To be crystal clear, the recording of a song is a separate asset from the song itself in the same way an office building is a separate asset from the land it is built on. As a banker, I value the office building and the land separately, as each has its own value. Using the same principle, I value the song and a recording of the song separately as they are individual assets with unique economics.

Let me ask you a question, if songwriters didn’t have singers and musicians to interpret their songs and labels to promote those records, where would the hits come from…and if publishers did not have record labels promoting those hits what would their catalogs be worth? How dare these mega corporations demand their inventory for free because they are doing us a favor when they are generating billions of dollars in revenue using the music we have committed our lives and careers to creating and promoting.

Thanks to the collective efforts of NARAS, SoundExchange, RIAA, Future of Music Coalition, ASCAP and thousands of other supporters the tide is turning against these corporate bullies. Our legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle feel the time is right to finally pass this bill. Republican and Democrat, House and Senate, and even Presidents Bush and Obama agree that this is an issue that is not only fundamentally fair, but necessary to the economic survival of the music industry.

This is our time. Seventy years of waiting for the stars to align is long enough. This will not take care of itself; we must act to support our livelihood - now! If fair compensation for your work is worth two minutes of your time, please register your support for the Performance Rights Act at this link: www.musicfirstcoalition.org.

Hell, have your mom, your dad, sisters, brothers, cousins, friends and even your dog register, because they all care about your future and want to see you get paid for your work!

Keep it in the groove,

Eli Ball

Founder

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LYRIC Success Stories

Ree Buchanan always knew she loved music; as a youngster, she even lent her voice to a variety of commercials. And while you won’t hear her voice on the radio today, Ree’s making more of an impact than ever — as co-founder of Wrensong Music, a boutique publisher that takes unknown singer/songwriters and transforms them into hit songwriters and artists. She loves humble success stories, dives headfirst into hard work, and knows the financial struggles that face even the best and brightest in the industry… which is why she recommends Lyric Financial to her own roster of artists.

Read Ree's entire interview here.

Q & A with Ree Guyer Buchanan

Background:

Name: Ree Guyer Buchanan

Website: www.myspace.com/wrensongpub

Q: What has been your role in the music industry?

A: I am a music Publisher. I own my own boutique independent company. I specialize in developing writers and artists. I work on making them Hit songwriters and artists.

Q: How/when did you get your start?

A: I grew up in St. Paul Minnesota and worked with many talented writers there who wrote mainly commercials for top brands. I used to sing on commercials as a kid. I graduated from College and knew I wanted to be in sales. So my Father and I started Wrensong/Reynsong to help these writers. I began by taking trips to Nashville and setting up meetings with Top Publishers. I thought they would want to co-publish my songs. I quickly realized that I would have to find homes for the songs myself. So I began meeting producers, they were the decision makers at the time regarding what songs artists put on their albums. I was fortunate enough to meet Billy Sherrill, he was producing George Jones, Tammy Wynette and others and he was running CBS Records. This opened many doors for me.

Q: Who have you worked with?

A: Jon Vezner, who wrote our song of the year in 1990 "Where've you Been", was my first writer I signed, Blair Daly, Will Rambeaux, Jaime Kyle, Sherrie Austin, Burton Collins, Aaron Benward, Jon Randall, John Wiggins and Ashley Monroe.

Q: Do you have a mentor? If so, who?

A: Yes, Billy Sherrill, Pat Higdon and Karen Conrad

Q: What types of projects do you enjoy working on?

A: I love developing a writer/artist. I love putting together a team for an artist.

Q: What have been your most meaningful successes?

A: It is most meaningful to me when a writer becomes successful and remains humble and loyal. I have enjoyed working with Jon Randall and seeing him become a worldclass writer.

Q: What are you working on right now?

A: I am excited about Ashley Monroe. I signed her when she was 17 and she is 23 and having her first #1 record. The songs I have owned over the last 5 years, I have always known they were great,now the industry knows they are great and she is having great success.

Your Career:

Q: It’s one thing to get one hit song, but what does it take to make a career out of it?

A: Hard work. persistance persistance persistance. I am always thinking about my songs and who I can get them too. The writer and artists I know that are successful work harder. Everyone we deal with has a measure of talent, but a work ethic is key.

Q: How did you “break in” to the music industry?

A: Making cold calls to producers and publishers.

Q: What has been your most difficult challenge as an indie publisher?

A: There is power in numbers. The big corporations have deep catalogs and they can live off of their base. With a small catalog you always have to get new activity.

Thoughts on music today:

Q: How has the music industry changed from the beginning of your career until now?

A: When I came to town in 1995, there were about 8 producers. It was smaller and easier to get answers. Now most artist projects involve huge committees to decide on the music. This waters it all down.

Q: How has a your role changed over time?

A: The music business is all about who you know and your network of contacts. This is the most valuable thing you own. Today when I have a great song, I go directly to the source to get answers on the song. This is because my network is very deep and wide.

Q: How has technology had an effect on your career (home studios, digital distribution, etc.)?

A: Technology has made my job easier. Making a cd for a meeting takes seconds. I do not miss the days of reel to reels to cassettes in real time. It took forever to get ready for meetings. The one thing that I do not like about technology is the I pitch songs now by MP3. Many producers want to get MP3's instead of taking a meeting with you. It takes the salesmanship and fun out of the process for me.

Q: What are your thoughts on 360 deals?

A: I think they are a good idea, but it is hard to get paid by the labels right now, labels are holding 50% reserves on our royalties, what will happen when they control all the money. Little scary to me.

Advice:

Q: What advice can you give the young songwriters and musicians today?

A: Network, Network, network. Everyone you meet in the business is important, even the assistants. One day they will be A&R people or producers.

Q: Is there a formula to a hit song?

A: We are selling emotion period.

Lyric Financial:

Q: How did you find out about Lyric Financial?

A: thru Kurt Denny

Q: How has Lyric Financial played a role in your life?

A: Lyric Financial has stepped in and supported me in a time when banks cannot give a service anymore. As a small publisher Lyric Financial is essential for our business.

Q: What opportunities or needs has it fulfilled?

A: Eli interviewed me when he was first developing his business plan. He has done very thing he set out to do. It is a great time for Lyric to succeed.

Q: Based on the challenges of the music industry today, what advice would you give other royalty earners if they have financial need? (either for living expenses or professional development)

A: I would highly recommend Lyric Financial because they are filling in a gap that is desperately needed in the creative business today. They help you base only on activity, not pie in the sky deals.