It’s NZ Music month coming up again in May and we’re going to be putting on a series of four seminars this year for all you musicians out there who want to learn more about the music industry and how to really get your band to the next level in New Zealand. I’m working with the Creative People’s Centre to organise these seminars and we’ve put together a great program with some key music industry speakers so make sure you check out all the information and register early as numbers are limited. Here’s the full rundown with all the dates and speakers, David McLaughlin will be chairing all the seminars and we’ll also be recording them to post on the CPC website.

7th May – What Every Musician Should Know – Vital issues every band and musician should make sure they are on top of.

Speakers:
Petrina George – APRA
Mark Roach – PPNZ
David Ridler – NZonAir

14th May – Developing the Business of Your Music – A discussion of the kinds of issues you should start to consider when you are ready to get more organised and professional in what you do with your music and how you run your career in the music industry.

Speakers:
Mark Kneebone – Isaac Promotions – Chairman IMNZ
Teresa Patterson – Chairperson – MMF
Ashley Page – Page One Management (ex head A&R Warner NZ)

21st May – Key Music Industry Contracts – An explanation of the key issues to be aware of in the most common agreements encountered in the music industry including, Recording Agreements, Publishing Agreements, Live Performance Agreements and Management Agreements.

Speakers:
David McLaughlin

28th May – Licensing and Publishing Explained – A discussion of what exactly the publishing and licensing of music involves in today’s music industry as well as the benefits involved and issues to be aware of.

Speakers:
Savina Kim – Native Tongue Music Publishing
Paul McLaney – Mushroom Music Publishing

Head over to the CPC website or Facebook page for more information, we’re also putting on an all day music jam over at the Depot Artspace in Devonport to celebrate music month. We’ve got all the backline sorted, just bring yourself and your instrument of choice and we’ll make some noise, nice.

When I released my EP last year I did so with the help of a few online articles and some friends who have released their own music independently over the last few years. It was a fairly simple process and something i’ll refine for the next Bluevibe studio release. It seems anybody can get their music up on itunes now but many artists still need a little help to negotiate the range of options available and still need some help putting the whole release plan together.

Cameron Mizell recently launched a series of posts over at musicianwages.com outlining all the stages involved in self releasing your music. I’ve been reading Camerons articles and checking out what he’s been up to on twitter and he really seems to have a great working model together as a musicians. When I’m working with an artist to look at income streams and models of working as a musician it’s really important to look at your skills and talents and really find a creative and productive outlet for them, Cameron seems to do this really well and share his knowledge along the way.

I’ve been working on a range of income streams for quite a while now and I’m always looking for new and creative ways to put my skills to use. Here’s my list at the moment and admittedly some of these only bring in a few dollars at the moment but it’s quite a diverse list and I’m learning and developing the list everyday.

• Artist career facilitator – (3 days) consultant job helping musician’s develop sustainable income
• CPC website manager – (1 day) errrr managing a website
• Seminar and workshop production
• Recording artist – music sales, gigs, royalties etc
• Blogger – guest posts and consulting
• Remix artist – paid remixes
• Mix engineer – mixing other artists projects
• DJ

Now, I gotta say that this list is a lot of hard work but this would be a similar model to most independent musicians who are out there trying to hustle a living for their family. Most artists are just not gonna make a living out of music sales (you guys already know that though?!!) so focusing on your skills and developing a diverse approach to your income is essential for most artists today, i’d love to know what works for you?

This morning I was running through my RSS feeds and came across another great post from Andrew Dubbers New Music Strategies blog. The post was an interview with Stuart Price, intellectual property lawyer and Managing Director of Birmingham’s Young & Lee Solicitors who offered his top 5 tips for independent music business’s. Having access to good legal advice is really important for any artist, particularly when your looking at signing any type of deal which relates to music copyright and ownership. I’ve known quite a few artists who have signed away the copyright to their music without really understanding the implications. Legal advice can be expensive so I thought I’d let you know of 2 sources of free legal advice for musicians and artists.

The NZ Music Commission offers free legal advice to musicians and is worth looking in to if your looking for help with a range of legal issues. Check out their website or simply give them a call on 0800 469642.

Another option is the pro bono legal advice offered by The Creative People’s Centre and McLaughlin Law who provide legal advice and guidance to those involved in the creative industries. Now as you probably know I’m currently the website manager for the CPC website and have worked closely with David McLaughlin on the CPC project for the last 6 months. I’ve had quite a few of the artists I work with get together with David to look through contracts or discuss copyright issues and they’ve always found it really helpful.

You should really consider both of these options as a starting point if you ever need help with any legal aspects of your career as an artist. You know it makes sense!!