Vivastreet blog

My Music Manager

MMM spoke to Jules Parker from PRS for Music about how songwriters/composers and musicians can collect and pay royalties.

How long has PRS been in business?
Since 1914! A group of classical writers decided it was time to support an already existing law that musicians should be paid if their music is used. There’s a famous story about a composer eating in a restaurant in France refusing to pay for his meal because they were playing a song written by him.

And what is your role there?
I work in Membership Development, working with songwriters and composers , their managers, accountants and other reps to ensure they receive royalties owed. But it’s not just established songwriters/composers, we also help new acts develop through promotional work.

So you must have looked after a wide range of artists – any examples?
Yeah there have been loads, most recently I’ve dealt with Suede, Adele, Razorlight, Frank Turner, Wretch 32 and Tinie Tempah.

Any that particularly stand out?
Working with the 80s rockers is great – they are very amusing and pretty spaced out!

How does the digital music world affect a songwriters/composers royalties?
Songwriters and composers receive royalties from the likes of I Tunes and Amazon but they are also entitled them from streaming sites like YouTube and Spotify too. Established artists are often stuck in the mould of CD sales and can be wary of online music but when it’s done legally and helpfully it is a very positive experience.

One of the great plus sides to online music is the accessibility of it. It’s easy to get your stuff out there by using digital distributors and aggregators like Zimberland, Believe Digital, Orchard and AWAL. Once you’re music is being sent around the legal channels you can collect royalties for it!

What would your advice be for musicians out there new to royalty collection?
Join PRS for Music!

If we don’t know who you are we can’t help you. If you are performing or releasing any music then you should become a member. It’s cheap (just £10 is deducted from your first royalty payment) and all you need to do is register your songs, submit your set list and tell us where you’ve played – you are paid every quarter and receive a detailed PDF statement of all your activity.

It sounds like a very thorough process?
Absolutely. 90% of what is played on TV and Radio is accounted for on a pay per play basis. Due to the fact they have to pay for a licence to play music, Radio stations must submit accurate reports of their playlists. This means our members musicians are able to easily collect the royalties they are owed.

What about the other 10%?
These are most likely small radio stations or community stations. They pay a very small licence fee due to the very limited reach they have, so it’s not beneficial to spend resources on checking them. However, they are monitored.

And what happens when a song is played abroad?
Every country has a ‘PRS for Music’ type organisation and we are all connected. So if a song by Adele is played in Germany, their royalties company GEMA will pass the information back to us so she is paid.

What’s the difference between Mechanical rights & Performance rights?
Performance rights are when something is played in public, like with the French composer in the restaurant I mentioned earlier. It could be also when something is broadcast on television, radio, played in a shop or performed live at a pub or club.

Mechanical rights regard any music that duplicated or copied, such as an on a CD, DVD or even a download.

Who should an artist go to if they have any questions?
Visit www.prsformusic.com, there is plenty of information and we detail or the sources you can earn royalties from.

But please remember that you should only join if your music is being played or you are actively performing. If you’re making music behind closed doors and it is not being used then it’s perhaps not the right time to join!

Does PRS for Music take a commission for their work?
PRS for Music is a not for profit organisation. What this means is that we only deduct our costs and then the rest is paid back to you the members.

Any last tips before we let you get back to work?!

1) Join PRS for Music once you’re making music
2) Take note of the first email you receive from us, it’s got everything you need to know!
3) Take a look at these pages:

Facebook:www.facebook.com/prsformusic
Twitter: @prsformusic
MySpace: www.myspace.com/prsformusic
PRS for Music: www.prsformusic.com
M-Mag: www.m-magazine.co.uk

My Music Manager

My Music Manager

ZODIAC N BLACK is a Hard Rock band based in the smokey suburbs of London, which is quite apt given their smouldering look! They have gigged all over the UK and supported the likes of Sweethead and Waxy (two already established rock bands – give them a Google). Their aggressive and edgy style has helped forge an ever growing reputation that they are the UK’s hottest new hard rock property!

MMM caught up with drummer Luca Vavassori…

Hi Luca, thanks for speaking to us! Let’s start at the beginning, how did Zodiac N Black come about?

Jim (guitar) and Jad (lead vocals) met in 2005 and began writing together but could never settle on the right line-up until myself and Hank joined in early 2010 and it then all seemed to come together very quickly.

The music industry is a tough old nut to crack, what’s been your biggest challenge so far?

Getting our music heard by the right people. Venues around London famously cram as many bands as possible on a bill and they are often all completely different genres of music so it’s a real challenge to make sure that the people who show up to your shows are actually fans of hard rock music.

Zodiac N Black, great name, where did it come from?

Back when Jim and Jad put the first lineup together we had our first gig booked and still hadn’t settled on a name so it was actually quite a rushed decision. The name itself intentionally doesn’t mean anything, it was more about how the name sounded and Zodiac N Black seemed to sound right.

Things are really taking off for you guys – your EP “ZNB” came out on the 10th March and you recently had a radio interview with Total Rock – how did it feel being on radio?

It was great, the guys at Total Rock are all great guys and very funny so the whole thing felt really comfortable!

It sounds like you’re naturals! Have you dared set yourself an ultimate ambition?

It’s a difficult one to answer without coming out with some cliché but what it all boils down to is making music that we would listen to. Which is to say, we want to be in a band that first and foremost has killer songs, that are performed and arranged in a way that keeps the listener coming back. And to be the calibre of live band that if they came to your town and you were totally broke, you would beg, steal and borrow to get down to the show because they’re that good. But any band worth its salt should want that!

In trying to achieve that ambition have you been influenced by any musicians?

I think as a band we’re more influenced by a band’s way of making music rather than any individual musicians in particular. It’s about what the collective can achieve together rather than having one virtuoso in the band. From this point of view Led Zeppelin would be a key influence as they made music with the mentality that the song comes first and that songs can come from anywhere and in any style. I think rock music has become far too compartmentalised where bands have to pick a sub-genre and stick with it. We are trying to move away from that, and just go wherever the ideas take us.

Outside of Zodiac N Black, what do you all do?

We all have various day jobs that keep the rent paid and food on the table but the idea is to make Zodiac N Black what we do. I mean, is there a better job than playing music for a living?

It’s clear drumming is your passion but it looks really tiring, you must exercise a lot to keep up?

As a drummer, you need to practice a lot to keep up your best chop, but most of the times it’s not that easy. Drums are loud as hell and there’s no way you can have one in your flat, especially in London, unless you want your neighbours to kick in your door after a couple of rolls! At the moment I only practice with the other guys a couple of times a week, and whenever I can I play some rudiments on my pad at home.

So if you and the other guys had a race, who would win?
Me of course!!

Moving back to your music, when I Googled the name of your song Bastinado, Wikipedia told me it meant ‘foot whipping’. That sounds painful, what’s the thinking behind the song?

The lyrics are all done by our singer Jad, and he likes to keep the lyrics as open to interpretation as possible. That being said, broadly speaking, it’s the comparison of the experiences in a relationship, to a form of torture, in this case being whipped on your feet.

I can certainly empathise with that! Speaking of torture, it very much reminds me of my own musical attempts – if I decided to start my own merry band of musicians what advice would you give me?

Learn to play the drums! The drummer makes or breaks a band. A good drummer can elevate a mediocre bad to greatness but on the flipside a bad drummer can ruin a great band. You may not get in all the photos but you’ll never be out of work…

It’s time for some shameless PR: when’s your next gig and how can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

Our next gig is at a night called “Rock Mass” at Camden Rock on Thursday 19th May. There’s a great line-up of hard rock bands so it has all the makings of a great night out.
People can check out our music at all the usual site but the best starting place is www.zodiacnblack.com.

Thanks Luca, we wish you and Zodiac N Black the best of luck!
Thank you Matt and MMM for having us on your pages!

Interview by Matt Renton (My Music Manager)
17th May 2011
My Music Manager