As a Songwriter, what charges do I have to license a song with you? We have worked hard to make sure this site is affordable for songwriter. We charge a minimal fee to sign a Publishing Agreement with us, and to upload your song to the Song Vault for promotion. The fee is $20.00 per song. This fee is used to do the administrative work of the song, which is to put the license in place, and register the song with the Harry Fox Agency, and BMI.
Are there any further charges after a song is registered with Stone Tablet? The only charge we have is a $5.00 re-up fee per song in the Song Vault every 90 days. That's only $20.00 a year per song! This charge is for the songwriter to review the keywords for their song, and keep their song fresh, and in a good rotational position in the Song Vault. It also keeps the songwriter involved with their own promotion of the songs they have with us.
So let's say I just sign one song with you, what will that cost me for say a year? For one song to be licensed, and promoted by us for one year will cost $40.00. We think that's a really good deal!
What about your copyright services, what do you charge for that? Stone Tablet charges $10.00 for helping to fill out your copyright form, which will then be emailed to you for you to mail onward to the U.S. Copyright Office, with the fee. We believe it is best for the songwriter themselves to actually mail in their copryright forms, so that they are solely responsible for knowing it was mailed properly.
What is the Song Vault? It is a place where clients listen to clips of the songs, and then license the songs. Whenever a client puts keywords into the Song Search Engine, it will take them to the Song Vault, and any songs that come close to fitting the keywords will come up. The Song Search, and Song Vault are connected to each other.
What is the Song Search? It is the Search Engine, that songwriters who have songs with us, input the data of their songs into. This Song Search Engine is very helpful, in that clients can input the available keywords, and be led right into the Song Vault, where they can then listen to the song that matches the criteria of what they are looking for.
What is the 'License For Use'? The 'License For Use' is the only license that the Stone Tablet site offers right here. When a client finds a song in the Song Vault they want to use for their musical act, they obtain this license, which allows their artist, band, or solo act to use that song for "live" performances only. We believe this license will eventually lead to the mechanical license, because most groups eventually cut CD's of the music they perform.
Is there a charge for using the Song Vault? No. The Song Vault is available for anyone to go to to listen to 1 min. clips of songs. If they find a song they want to use however, they will then be charged to license the song.
What do you get for the 'License For Use' fee? Once someone has licensed a song, they will get one full download of the song, plus 24 hours to print out a lyric sheet of the song. In order to get a Mechanical License, one must first have a 'License For Use' license.
How long does my song stay in the Song Vault? From the date the song is loaded into the Song Vault, it is given a 90 day rotation. After 90 days, there is a small re-up fee of $5.00 to re-evaluate your keywords, and work on a better rotational position.
Do I make any money on my songs in the Song Vault? If someone licenses one of your songs through the Harry Fox Agency, you will make 50% of the mechanical license, which we will pay you according to when we receive the payment from Harry Fox. If one of your songs hits the airways, you may also make money on radio airplay, which pays you your songwriters royalties, and your publishing performance royalties. These payments would come through both BMI, and Stone Tablet as well.
What is a Mechanical License? The mechanical license, is the license you get when your song is put into a physical format, such as a CD, or DVD. It is also a license you get when a song is used to sell downloads. This license is sold at the Harry Fox Agency for up to 2500 units. If you want more than 2500 units, you may purchase a second, or third license as well. We recommend you begin with a purchase of 2500 units, and once you have sold those, then order more.
When do I get paid for mechanical licenses? The payment dates for Harry Fox are listed on their site. We don't get paid until Harry Fox pays us, so we all follow their payment schedule. When we receive our checks, you will receive yours within 7-10 days.
Do I get paid for the "license for use" license as well? The funds for this license, which are minimal, are used to pay advertising and administration expenses to run the Stone Tablet site, and continue to drive traffic here. This 'License For Use' info. goes into our database, which gives us stategic information to track everyone who licenses one of our songs. We can monitor copyright infringement through this information, which benefits the songwriters.
Why would I want you to be my publisher? As your publisher, we can offer both types of licenses to our clients, and have your song ready to receive legal royalties in all areas available. We also do the administrative work, which frees you up to not have to worry about the business of music. We promote your songs online, and we bring specific music business traffic here regularly. We make your song available for outside sources, which in the long run, can bring in radio airplay for your work.
Who is Harry Fox? The Harry Fox Agency issues mechanical licenses on behalf of all of Stone Tablet's publishing catalog. They work on behalf of the publishing company, and songwriter's they represent. They also offer legal services for song licensing abuse as well.
What percentages do you take as a publisher? To understand this, you must think of the music business as a circle. One half of the circle is for the Songwriter, and one half of the circle is for the Publisher. Stone Tablet takes one half of the Publisher's royalty; leaving you the other half of the Publisher's Royalty, and 100% of the Songwriter's Royalty. So you get 100% of all your Songwriter's Royalties, and 50% of all your Publisher's Royalties. Stone Tablet receives 50% of the Publishing Royalties, if you sell CD's, and downloads, and/or get radio airplay, or television performances, etc.
What do you do for me as a publisher? We market your songs, and do all the administrative work of collecting publishing royalties on your behalf. We also offer the legal services of BMI, and the Harry Fox Agency to research songs that are being abused through copyright infringement. We also collect, and pay you royalties you receive in any and all ways, on the songs we are your Publisher for.
How do I protect my songs? We recommend that you get your songs copy written as soon as possible. Visit our copyright center, and we will get your songs legally protected. We have made it easy, for a small fee, to actually help you get the form filled out online. You then take that form, and mail it yourself.
Why will your site benefit me? While we can't promise you a rose garden, we can promise to bring regular traffic your way of music industry professionals. The fact is, we market to this business, and our target audience consists of real people, looking for real songs. We don't sell cars here, and we don't sell bicycles. Our main product is original songs, and sole intent is marketing original songs, and so our traffic consists of the right people! The more exposure your songs get, the better chance your song has of being played on the radio, and performed across the country. As your publisher, we will have your songs in place for any type of license. Most publishers don't offer their services publicly, or any type of online promotion. We do the work of the administrator, we collect the publishing royalties on your behalf, we collect the mechanical royalties, and we plug your songs online. What more could you ask for?
So how do I get started? Well, the first step is to make a decision that you are going to do something with your material. Once you have made that decision, then decide what tunes you have that you'd like to promote. Then visit our copyright center, and we will help you legally obtain the protection your songs need. If you've already copy written your tunes, then head over to the songwriters section of this site. From there, you will be directed step by step what to do.