For this month’s blog post of the month I picked an article called How To Cover a Song – HFA by Rick Goetz of MusicianCoaching.com.

I like this article because it addresses a very basic business& legal issue that independent musicians should know how to address- how to obtain a license to cover a song.

A while back a musician friend of mine told me about he was recording a cover song. I asked whether he obtained a license. Cause you know, I’m dorky like that and I’m interested in licensing.

And this was his answer- No, but there are compulsory statutory licenses, right? They have to give you a license to record the song, so if the owners of the song noticed he’d recorded the song, he’d just start paying the statutory fees. *insert visual of my jaw dropping here*

In case any of you are nodding your head in agreement right now- Stop! My friend is WRONG!

Everyone once in a while a posting resonates simply because it touches upon a basic truth. This recent article from Rick Goetz at MTT drives home the point of constiency and continuing forward with the goal in mind, relentlessly.

VolumeEleven.net and other websites like it have been created to help musicians get the most out of their time and energy spent on the business side of music. DIY has created this need.

Nevertheless, there is still no substitute for a focused goal, and the hard work and determination to wake up every day and help yourself get there.

Most successes in life are achieved because of little incremental advances taken on a daily basis.

Guitar Tree

I recently read a Wired interview with industry veteran Tom Silverman about the state of the music business and the plight of independent artists. He points out the difficultly of developing new music and touring while also holding down a real job.

The article is definitely worth a read.

It also remimded me of a past V11 article (see below) that requires revisiting, and highlights how, despite new ideas, new companies, etc., not much has really changed in the past few years…. basically we really are not there yet, and I don’t think anyone knows for sure what “there” is and when or if we will ever get “there”…