Securing Rights
If you have ever needed to get Mechanical or Master Use rights for selling an audio recording, you know just how difficult it is to find some of the companies who administer the copyrights. There are a few major administrators for most Christian music labels, but there are hundreds (if not thousands) of smaller labels that do not use these administrators.
Each year we record the songs from our Living Christmas Tree to sell about 300 CDs at the 11 performances. We generally make just enough money to cover the expenses for license fees and equipment costs. Sometimes we use live accompaniment and sometime tracks. License fees are based on various factors: length of song, number of recordings you plan to sell, type of media you plan to sell, where you plan to sell, etc.
The average Master Use license which allows you to use the accompaniment track for a song is $60. This year we are using all accompaniment tracks on the 12 songs we recorded. The average cost for a Mechanical license which allows you to record the song arrangement (choral or instrumental) is around $7 per minute. The average song is 4-5 minutes long. Our 12 songs total 56 minutes. Our total licensing fees will be around $1200 this year. Then add to that the cost for printable CDs, ink, CD cases and insert sleeves.
We do not have a recording or mixing expense because that is done in-house. We also do not have any production or packaging expenses because that is also done in-house. We could take the completed master to a local business that will burn, print, do cover design and package the CDs (usually with a minimum requirement of 500 copies) for about $2 per disc. Only problem is that the turn around time is too long. We generally have less than a week after completion to get some CDs ready for sale at our first performance.
Well, enough blogging. I have to get back to post production work. In other words, I need to separate CD inserts that I printed and put them in the jewel cases and then add one of the CDs that I am burning and printing.
Each year we record the songs from our Living Christmas Tree to sell about 300 CDs at the 11 performances. We generally make just enough money to cover the expenses for license fees and equipment costs. Sometimes we use live accompaniment and sometime tracks. License fees are based on various factors: length of song, number of recordings you plan to sell, type of media you plan to sell, where you plan to sell, etc.
The average Master Use license which allows you to use the accompaniment track for a song is $60. This year we are using all accompaniment tracks on the 12 songs we recorded. The average cost for a Mechanical license which allows you to record the song arrangement (choral or instrumental) is around $7 per minute. The average song is 4-5 minutes long. Our 12 songs total 56 minutes. Our total licensing fees will be around $1200 this year. Then add to that the cost for printable CDs, ink, CD cases and insert sleeves.
We do not have a recording or mixing expense because that is done in-house. We also do not have any production or packaging expenses because that is also done in-house. We could take the completed master to a local business that will burn, print, do cover design and package the CDs (usually with a minimum requirement of 500 copies) for about $2 per disc. Only problem is that the turn around time is too long. We generally have less than a week after completion to get some CDs ready for sale at our first performance.
Well, enough blogging. I have to get back to post production work. In other words, I need to separate CD inserts that I printed and put them in the jewel cases and then add one of the CDs that I am burning and printing.
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