Editorial and Updates
12:50 Entertainment is an independent music publishing and production company.
What’s happening my people? G$mooth coming back at ya'. We've been in
hibernation for a minute gathering valuable information and knowledge to
be able to reach out to you and bring our music to you
consistently and better than before. Since nearly everyone has a MySpace
page, we are not going to be left out either. Check out
12:50's MySpace page
and leave us a comment. Also, "1250 A.D. - The E.P." is available at
CD Baby for cd
purchase and soon, digital download. The EP will also be available
at iTunes, Rhapsody and other major download sites shortly. We have officially set up our
publishing entity, 12 50 Entertainment Publishing. Adrian and I
are very excited about getting this accomplished. It is very important
as a writer, composer, author, artist, etc. to get affiliated with one
of the major P.R.O.'s. (Performance Rights Organizations). Whether it be
ASCAP,
BMI or
SESAC, you must be a member of
one of these organizations in the U.S. if you expect to have any chance
at getting royalties
from your works through radio, television, internet or any other medium
that tracks play of musical works. I'm telling you this because I had to learn this myself
and I had to learn it the hard way: by losing precious time and money.
If you want to get paid, you MUST do this! No one's going to come out
and tell you this because either they are trying to capitalize on your
work before you or they just don't know or both. In my case I didn't
know and those that were around me that were suppose to know did not
know either (or did not know the process). Either way, it took me two
years to learn and figure this out. If you are in the music business (or
say that you are in the music business) and you are not affiliated, then
you are not handling the "business" end. You are doing music just for
the fun of it (and that's okay if you don't want to get paid). Don't
expect for anyone to do this for you because YOUR signature is needed on
the application. If anyone says that they have done this for you and you
have not signed the forms, then it has not been done. You are screwing
yourself each time you make a song, track or drop 16-bars for someone
else. And if that someone else is not affiliated, then they are screwing
you and themselves as well. Because if the song is being played and
liked, then you're missing the money that comes from airplay as well as
the other person (producer, writer, artist, etc.). That's the proverbial
"blind leading the blind".
Peep this. Ever wonder why you have a hard time getting your local
radio station to play your song or keep it in continuous rotation longer
than one spin? Not being affiliated with one of the PRO's is a key
reason. You have to remember that you are competing with the Sony's, the
Capitol Records' and so on for airplay. Everyone that these companies
have on their rosters is a member of a PRO. Who do you think the
stations are going to play first (especially if you don't have any
money)? The stations have to keep a log or playlist of what is being
played each day so that what they play can be tracked by the PRO's so
that the record companies can get paid. The record companies then pays
the artists the agreed upon percentage from the spins and airplay.
That's as simple as I can put it without becoming too technical and
legal. Of course there are other areas to be familiar with and learn,
but these are the basics. Nowadays if you bring your song to a radio
station for airplay, the first thing they're going to ask you is "Are
you a member of ASCAP/BMI/SESAC?" If the answer is "no", then the
conversation is over. You have to "crawl before you walk". If you try to
do it the other way, then you're going to fall on you face or on your
ass. Either way, it's a hard fall. There are thousands of people out
there that have spent five figures or better on equipment to do music
but have not done the basic task of getting affiliated with a PRO.
Getting copyrighted and affiliated is the first goal of business in the
music business. This shows that you are serious about getting your work
heard and also shows that you are serious about your craft and dream. If
an actor is serious about his or her craft, then more than likely he or
she is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). ASCAP/BMI/SESAC are
the musicians' equivalent to SAG. Don't expect for business people to
back you when you are not even executing the basics.
If you're just starting your company, the first thing that you would
want to do is get a tax Id or employer identification number (EIN).
Go to http://www.irs.gov/ and download
Form SS-4, complete it and send it to the specified address. If you
don't want to do this, you can call the contact number and complete the
process over the phone. Either way, it won't take but five to ten
minutes to complete the information. This a small amount of time to get
started on the right foot and legitimately.
Get your company registered. Click on the state name for
registration in
Louisiana,
Arkansas or
Texas. Doing business isn't free and state business registration
fees are paid EVERY year. This only one of the ways that states generate
yearly revenues for their respective states.
Get your work (s) copyrighted. There's no sense in doing the
recordings or releasing a product (single, compilation, or mixtape) if
you don't claim rights to the recordings or the publishing of those
recordings. Go to the following page
http://www.copyright.gov/register/ and register your sound
recordings (SR Form) and/or performance (PA Form). Your artwork is
considered to be copyright material as well, so you will want to claim
rights to that as well. It can be done on the same form. The copyright
office does not recognize "executive producer" as a title for completion
of the copyright process. You must claim copyrights as an owner
(publisher), producer, co-producer, writer, co-writer, artwork/graphics
owner, etc.
It's not hard to become a member of a PRO. There are three ways that
you can become a member of a PRO: 1) Commercial Recording, 2) Public
Performance or 3) Radio Airplay. A commercial recording is a
recording released for sale to the public. This means that the recording
must have a UPC (Universal Product Code) label on it. Just like the
goods and products that we buy at retail stores, grocery stores, etc.,
all of these goods must be scanned or tracked. The UPC symbol is the
tracking device for your product. Whether it's one song or a collection
of songs, there has to be a UPC symbol attached to make your release a
commercial recording. This is how
Soundscan tracks sales as well. This site,
www.buyabarcode.com, is a good
site to start when looking at purchasing your own bar code. This is a
small price to pay to make your product legit to the public or consumer.
If you have a public performance under your belt with your song,
then list the venue and date on the PRO application. If you have not
performed yet but have a performance coming up soon, then bring a simple
form with you the day or night of the performance for a representative
of the venue to sign confirming that you performed your song that day or
night at the venue. Send a copy of this form with your application to
the PRO. For radio airplay, all you would need is a transcript
from the station's program director or DJ stating or showing that your
song was played on one of their shows. Send a copy of this transcript
with your PRO application. Remember, you only need ONE of the three
(commercial recording, public performance or radio airplay) to get
yourself listed and affiliated with a PRO.
The above info is just the start of what you need to do to get your
artistic work out to the buying public and business world properly. Take
heed, my friend.
Our good friend and associate Ced Black of
Feel Music and Music Feel
Publishing told me about a producer/artist/writer/etc., that
approached him and said that he'd been in the game for "x" amount of
years, had some of the hottest shit on the streets and wanted to
collaborate with him. When Ced asked him if he was a member of ASCAP,
this musician's response was "Is that a magazine or something?". Don't
be uninformed my people. Hit your boy up at
gsmooth@1250entertainment.com if you have any questions. If I don't
know the answers, I'll point you in the direction that will lead you to
the information that you seek. I tell you this because I got love for
you and I don't want you spinning your wheels like I did. Peace!
Feel Music
Feel Music is here! Check
out the links to "What
Is Feel?" and all of the artists that are associated with
this fantastic release from our man Cedric Black and Feel Music
Productions. Ced was nominated for two Power Play magazine awards during
2005. Visit the Feel Music site (www.feelmusic1.com) to read the articles, listen
to the interview and view the great photos that we took. Congratulations
Ced!
Hurricane Katrina
I'm sure by now you've all seen the destruction and hardships that
Hurricane Katrina inflicted upon our brothers and sisters in New
Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama. Compounded with the slow response
time, incompetence and lack of organization from our government,
Katrina was the single most devastating disaster on United States soil.
If you have never been involved in a cause or have never voted in your
life, this is the time to get involved and make a difference. These are
our people, fellow Americans (not "refugees" as the media has labeled
the victims). They have virtually lost everything that they own or have
worked for all of their lives. This could have easily been any of us in
a natural disaster. It's our duty to help our people, our fellow
Americans. Volunteer a few hours a week of your time to one of the major
help organizations. Start your own organization or volunteer effort if
you want. Send in $5, 10, or 20 dollars if you have it. Give up those
shirts, shoes, dresses, books, etc., that we've been holding on and
coveting all of these years. Our people need them. Their kids need them.
They need us.
Acknowledgements
12:50 Entertainment would like to recognize the men and women of our
armed forces that have unselfishly put themselves on the front lines of
battle for us, for our country, and for the rights and freedom of those
whose voices are not strong or loud enough yet to be heard. The fight
for peace and democracy will be an ongoing battle until the end of time.
We must support those that help us fight (and win) these battles. We
would also like to urge you to please support the Tsunami Relief effort
in Asia.
In Remembrance
This is a special dedication to my long time childhood friend and
brother Melvin Charles Jackson (aka Li'l Charles or Li'l Boy). Melvin is
the younger brother of 12:50's own Lou Dawg. Li'l Charles has passed
away but he will continue to live on through those that love and
remember him. He's a risen soldier, not a fallen soldier. You'll be
missed, my brother. One love.
Thanks
Much love to Tony “T-Lamp” Lamptey for lending us his great voice and
hyped energy on “Raw and Uncut - Vol. I”. Check out his and brother
Malik Shabazz's website
www.musicsnippet.com for the latest music and interviews (with Ray
Lynch) in the hip-hop and R&B community.
Shouts to Mike and Bink at “Ugly Mike Records in Little Rock, Ark.
Thanks so much for the love and support that you have shown to
Ace-Deuce-Fifty and other independents trying to break into the game.
Special thanks to Rhemona Quimby for taking the time to do the
interview piece with G$mooth and for laying the sweet, syrupy vocals on
"Baby, Come Close". A truly talented lady!
Contact
For more information call Gregory “G$mooth” Hill at
(903)267-8020 or email
gsmooth@1250entertainment.com
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