(Cont'd) Is Your Single EVEN Ready For Radio (PT. 2)

Ok so to recap, we told you about getting your ISRC codes in PT.1 so now you should be ready (with your masters in hand) to get out there and promote/sell your music. But before you do, here's the other 5 things you need to take care of:

2. UPC
Yes, another code! It's called a Universal Product Code and it's a lot more popular so you should have heard of it. Everything that is sold (music included) has a Universal Product Code assigned to it to differentiate it from everything else. We typically call it a "barcode". From personal experience I can tell you that it's a BAD IDEA not to have your music on sale before you get radio play. Back when I used to manage artists, I made this mistake and who knows how many lost sales it costed us! Don't be like me... get your upc well before you're even presented with the opportunity to get your song on the radio! The company that creates and distributes these codes is called GS1. Or, again, you can purchase one from us at Patchwerk for $25. One important note is that in terms of music, each individual release needs its own barcode. So if you release a single, then you release your album (including that single), you'll need two separate barcodes for each release.

3. COPYRIGHT
Of course you all know this one! It's pretty straight forward... protect your intellectual property from 'copy' cats by registering it with the US Copyright office. I don't think I need to go into detail on this one... if you don't know what a copyright is by now... well... let's just say you have some serious homewerk to do!

4. REGISTER WITH BDS & SOUNDSCAN
You've probably heard of these but do you really know what they are and why they're important? Well very simply put, in the U.S. and Canada BDS tracks and reports airplay spins, and Soundscan tracks and reports commercial sales (using your UPC codes). Labels, managers, and other organizations use this information to make a plethora of important marketing/distribution decisions. Furthermore, both of these information systems are the primary sources for Billboard's music charts. You can register for both through Nielsen.

5. REGISTER WITH MEDIABASE
Mediabase is also a mass-airplay tracking and reporting company... owned by the media giant Clear Channel Communications, they just do their tracking a little differently and track what music industry professionals like to call "specialty spins". Here nor there, you should register with both BDS and Mediabase to be on the safe side (they cover about 80% of the total U.S. radio market).

6. REGISTER WITH SOUND EXCHANGE
Sound Exchange collects your royalties from Satellite-radio spins. Simple as that.

So, yeah, you should have all of these things in place before you go and try to take over the world with your music... because when opportunity knocks... you better be ready! If not, you'll be spending valuable time playing catch up or worst yet... miss your opportunity all together! At Patchwerk, have a package that includes us doing all this FOR YOU plus Recording, mixing, and mastering your song, ANNND (wait there's more!) we also give you 200 CD duplications with your ISRC encoded for you to sell or give away. It's called the "Single Deal + Paperwerk" Ask about it next time you call or book.

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