About the copyright name

Intrepid

New member
ok lets say my band, lets just call it "Orango" is trying to copyright our CD we our currently finishing recording and start producing on our own. I know how to copyright and etc, but whos name should we copyright it as? is it possible to copyright it under like this? :
COpyright 2000 Orango ?
or do i have to create Orango as a company or group before i put orango? or can i just put "copyright orango" on everything and include a sheet in the copyright application listing the members of my band? please help, thx
 
You can legally put copyright Orango on everything. The law would view the company Orango as a partnership. You probably should go ahead and organize as a corporation or an LLC so that you have liability protection (it's a longer story than I have time to explain).

Ultimately, if you ever did make any money, you'd have to report it and pay taxes out of it, so it probably would be a good idea to officially start a company, go through the legal stuff and paperwork so that things are in order.

Rev E
 
on the copyright form, you can also list all the names of the writers, and then under the "pseudonym" section put the name of the band as the pseudonym...everybody would be included legally and the pseudonym can be used in the copyright notice on yer works, or, if you like, the names you listed as writers...no need to incorporate...just 3 or four or whatever number of people as legal copyright holders using a pseudonym....gibs

[This message has been edited by gibs (edited 07-18-2000).]
 
thanks yall, one more quick question: does it cost any money to incorporate? I personally dont know much about business politics. cough*musician*cough
Also, if we DON'T incorporate, will/ and if so how will we pay taxes? is there a minimum profit margin, like in a personal income tax? ..I guess thats al the questions i have off to fix my guitar neck (had a stress fracture, and/ or buy a new guitar to finish recording woth, hehe. i let you know about my band as soon as we get all the copyrighting bs done with :)
 
Intrepid,

It costs a few dollars to incorporate as a business. You'll have to do this with the Secretary of State (in your state... you can actually incorporate in any state you wish... long story). They should have a lot of information for potential entrepreneurs at the state office or the state website. The fee is usually between $75 - $100. You could have an attorney do it for you if it's too much of a hassle.

If you DON't incorporate the state will view you and your friends as a partnership. You will need to go to your Taxation division of the state (it may be called something different in your state/city). They can set you up with how to pay/collect taxes. You will probably be required to register you "business" as a partnership (usually costs less than incorporation, but you have not liablity protection). That's the simple version. Typical books about starting your own business will provide much more detailed info.

Another simple way to learn some of this is go to your "city hall" and ask about information to start a business.

Rev E
 
Intrepid...
There is no law that says that "you must" incorporate yourself to sell your music.
Think of all the thousands of home-businesses out there that are not incorporated. Incorporating yourselves will open up a can of worms that will be MUCH more costly than you can imagine.... especially if you don't have a tremendous amount of success with your musical venture.
Are you prepared to hire an accountant and staff a lawyer?
What about paying taxes?... you don't *even* want to go there! The tax structure for a business is waaay more complicated than you may think.
However, I do suggest that you register yourself as a publisher and publish the music yourself. This can be done quite easily by joining a union like ASCAP. Publishing your own music is MUCH more important than incorporating yourselves, believe me.

There are 2 major things that are NOT required to release your own CD....

1: A Label
(and)
2: A business license or incorporation

To incorporate yourself would be a waste of time and money at this point. Wait and see if you have a product that is flying off of the shelves before you make that decision.

For further info on joining ASCAP and becoming your own publisher, go to...
www.ascap.com

It's relatively easy to do.

BTW, our CD... The Mac Brothers "Assorted Flavors" was released last week and sales have been going quite well so far. They're available at all Borders Books & Music in the Chicagoland area, and we'll be in Tower Records by next week. We're also in some independent stores, too.
They're also available at amazon.com , cdnow.com , and a bunch of other e-tailers.
We're also starting to get some interest in radio airplay from a couple of small-market stations.

Our website is almost completed, and I'll post the link as soon as it's 100 percent finished. It will include long samples of each of the 10 songs on the cd and some nice graphics.

[This message has been edited by Buck62 (edited 07-20-2000).]
 
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