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6TH EDITION
Music
Attorney Rich Stim
How to Run Your
Band’s Business
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Music Law
How to Run Your Band’s Business
By Attorney Richard Stim
6th edition
SIXTH EDITION SEPTEMBER 2009
Cover Design SUSAN PUTNEY
Book Design TERRI HEARSH
CD-ROM Preparation ELLEN BITTER
Proofreading ROBERT WELLS
Index ELLEN SHERRON
Printing DELTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS, INC.

Stim, Richard.
Music law : how to run your band’s business / by Richard Stim. 6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4133-1056-6 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-4133-1056-7 (pbk.)
1. Band musicians Legal status, laws, etc United States Popular works. 2. Performing arts
Law and legislation United States Popular works. I. Title.
KF390.E57S87 2009
344.73'097 dc22
2009011904
Copyright © 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009 by Richard Stim.
All rights reserved.  e NOLO trademark is registered in the U.S. Patent and

forms, which you can ll in or modify and then print.
Table of Contents
Your Legal Companion 1
1
Yes, Your Band Is a Business! 3
Taking On the Music Industry 4
Your Band Is a Business 4
Apathy Is Not the Answer 5
Common Band Issues 5
Written Agreements: Your First Line of Defense 7
What’s New in is Edition? 8
2
Band Partnerships and Beyond 9
Who Needs a Band Partnership Agreement? 12
Using a BPA to Avoid Getting Screwed 14
Abbreviated Band Partnership Agreement 16
Full-Length Band Partnership Agreement 21
What’s the Right Business Entity for Your Band? 38
Converting From a Partnership to an LLC 48
3
Management 53
What Is a Manager? 55
Avoiding Common Management Problems 56
Abbreviated Management Agreement 62
Full-Length Management Agreement 68
Variations on Management Arrangements 81
4
Attorneys 83
Entertainment Attorneys 84
Locating, Hiring, and Firing an Attorney 84

Band Names 187
Trademark Basics for Bands 188
Researching Band Names 193
Dealing With Trademark Disputes 194
Registering Your Band Name With the Government 196
10
Album Artwork 205
Legal Issues With Album Artwork 207
Information to Include in Your Artwork 210
Getting the Artwork Done 213
Abbreviated Artwork Agreement 216
Full-Length Artwork Agreement 220
Model Release Agreement 227
11
Recording 231
Legal Issues in the Recording Studio 234
Musician Release Agreement 244
License for Use of Sampled Music From Record Company 247
License for Use of Sampled Music From Music Publisher 253
Budgeting for Recording 260
Sample Recording Budget 261
Choosing a Recording Studio 263
e Sound Recording Copyright 265
12
Duplication 269
Paying for the Right to Duplicate Songs 270
Notice of Intention to Obtain Compulsory License 273
Mechanical License and Authorization for First-Time
Recording of Song 277
How Many CD Copies Should Your Band Order? 280

Income Taxes: Different Rules for Different Businesses 367
Tax Deductions: Secrets for Saving on Taxes 374
Payroll Taxes: When Your Band Hires Employees 388
How to Get a Federal Tax ID Number (FEIN) for Your Partnership 390
Appendix
A
How to Use the CD-ROM 393
Installing the Files Onto Your Computer 394
Using the Word Processing Files to Create Documents 395
Using Government Forms 396
Listening to the Audio File 397
Watching the Video 398
Files on the CD-ROM 399
Index 401

Your Legal Companion
W
hen we asked musician and
producer Steve Albini for a
forward to this book, he wrote,
“e conventional wisdom in the music
industry is to ‘get a good lawyer.’ My advice
to the contrary would be to have no truck
with lawyers at all.”
Steve has engineered over a thousand
records—many on his own record label—
with international sales in the millions. As
musicians, he and his band mates in Big
Black and Shellac have toured the world
and sold hundreds of thousands of records

this book, keep in mind that the key to a
satisfying and successful music career is not
on the dotted line, but in the company you
keep.
l

Taking On the Music Industry 4
Your Band Is a Business 4
Apathy Is Not the Answer 5
e “I Don’t Know” Excuse 5
e “I Don’t Care” Excuse 5
Common Band Issues 5
Written Agreements: Your First Line of Defense 7
What’s New in is Edition? 8
CHAPTER
1Yes, Your Band Is a Business!
4
|
Music Law
“It’s very easy in this business to find people who are
willing to put their arm around you and tell you how
great you are. Unfortunately, their other hand is in
your pocket.”
—Paul Stanley of KISS
L
ou Reed once told an audience, “Give
me an issue and I’ll give you a tissue.”
Many music business executives have
a similar attitude—they have little sympathy
for the moral, business, or ethical issues faced

That’s what this book is about: protecting
yourself and minimizing your damages.
This isn’t to say that you can always avoid
getting screwed. Be prepared for some
setbacks. In this chapter we’ll ease you into
the different aspects of your band’s business,
and we’ll try to help you decide on the
business form that is best for your band.
Your Band Is a Business
The first and most important step in running
your band’s business is to accept the fact
that it is a business. Producing music is your
band’s creative work, and selling that music
is a business venture. As long as your band
is interested in selling its music, business
knowledge is as essential to your success as
musical creativity!
You may be surprised to learn that
taking care of business actually involves
creativity and is not quite as boring as you
may believe (ask Mick Jagger—a business
school graduate). In fact, your band may
well enjoy the power that comes with
understanding how to run a business—and
to do it successfully. This doesn’t mean your
band must micro manage every detail of its
business. As your band develops, you will
CHAPTER 1 | Yes, Your Band is a Business! | 5
delegate power and responsibilities. But,
especially at the beginning, it’s important

Sometimes, failing to understand business
principles is really nothing more than not
knowing the language. As in many other
industries, the music industry often uses
a smokescreen of strange terms (such as
“compulsory license,” “mechanical royalties,”
and so on) and legalese (such as “the band
hereby indemnifies” and so on) that can make
otherwise simple concepts incomprehensible.
In this book, we’ll discuss business and legal
issues without relying on jargon, plus we’ll
introduce you to the terms you need to know.
Common Band Issues
Performing in a band can be so much fun
that sometimes you can’t believe you get
paid to do it. Then, unfortunately, sometimes
you don’t get paid … and it’s not so much
fun. Suddenly, you’re anxious about your
relationship with a club owner, a manager, or
maybe even your own band mates.
Having been in a few bands myself, I can
feel your pain. Hopefully this book can steer
you through some of the common crises
experienced by most musicians. And even
if you must hire a lawyer (sorry!), this book
should save you time and money by educating
you as to your options. Below are some of the
problems addressed in Music Law.
Disputes between band members.• Some-
times the only harmony within a band

to avoid being overbilled.
Song ownership and music publishing.•
Ownership and publishing of songs
results in a lot of music business
revenue. For that reason, it is potentially
explosive territory for bands and often
members can’t seem to agree on who
wrote a song or how to split the revenue.
You’ll find plenty of information on these
issues and some practical alternatives
on how bands can divide songwriting
income.
e making and selling of your band’s •
record ings. Some bands make a comfort-
able living without ever signing with a
label. They perform for years, surviving
on the sale of their own recordings. It’s
not that hard to master the business of
making and selling band recordings. You
will find recording tips, suggestions for
duplication, and methods of distributing
and selling your music online and off.
Record companies and distribution.• Many
bands are surprised to find that their
troubles really begin once they get
signed to a record company. As Kurt
Neuman of the BoDeans put it, “We
had it made and then we got a record
deal.” This book addresses most of the
important issues for an independent

agreements such as partnership deals,
compulsory licenses, and independent record
deals. Whenever a sample agreement is
provided, we explain how to fill it out and
modify it to fit your needs.
Below are some of the agreements you’ll
find in this book:
Partnership agreement:• for all band
members, covering how to divide
expenses and profits, rights to songs,
rights to the band name, and related
issues.
Management agreement:• for your
band and your manager, covering
commissions, length of representation,
and posttermination issues.
Label-shopping agreement:• for your
band and your attorney (or whoever
is shopping your band to record
companies), covering issues such as the
extent and length of payment for the
representation.
Performance agreement:• for your band
and the venue that is booking your
band, covering the payment and other
performance details.
Model release agreement:• for your band
and any person whose image is used on
band artwork or merchandise, covering
the extent of the use and the payment.

record keeping
an explanation of how to register songs •
using the Copyright Office’s new Form
CO and how to register online using the
new eCO system
discussion on how to convert agree-•
ments for bands into collaborative
arrangements—for example, a DJ and a
rapper, and
expanded discussion about business •
insurance.
Also, I’ve started a blog “Dear Rich” (type
www.dearrichblog.com), so if you have a
question that’s not addressed in the book,
you may want to consult my blog, where I
answer questions from musicians and artists.
You can email me questions for the blog at

l
Who Needs a Band Partnership Agreement? 12
Using a BPA to Avoid Getting Screwed 14
Abbreviated Band Partnership Agreement 16
Names of Partners 16
Partnership Name 16
Band Name and Ownership 17
Profits and Losses 17
Partnership Voting 17
Tie-Breaker 17
Addition of Band Partner 17
Leaving Members 17

Property Insurance 42
Liability Insurance 43
Car Insurance 43
Business Interruption Coverage 43
Web Insurance 44
Package Deals 44
Expense and Difficulty of Forming Your Band Business 44
What’s Right for Your Band? 46
Converting From a Partnership to an LLC 48
Factors to Consider Before Converting 48
What’s Involved in Converting From a Partnership to an LLC? 48
Resources for Forming an LLC 51