How are you!! I had a GREAT vacation! Down in GA and MS - a week each... Let's see what we can do to answer these ?'s

1. How exactly do you contact or talk to someone from ASCAP or BMI for song publishing royalties or to have my songs or compositons "guarded"?

ASCAP and BMI should have a customer service line for their local offices... their websites can direct you to the phone numbers for customer service. They don't deal with Publishing per se - just the performance of your songs - They are Performance Rights societies. So you join as a writer and any time your song is performed publically (radio, TV, etc.) it would be reported (there is a very specific system called BDS that tracks this for radio) and you would get paid. BUT there are a few variables.

1- if someone covers your song in a club, you may get a quarterly piece of a very large pie. Clubs pay blanket fees for jukeboxes and live gigs to ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

2- not every time your song is on TV will you get a royalty. If your publisher places your song in TV or film, the contract will dictate whether you get a one time fee that allows them to use the song limitlessly in the same episode (even reruns) or if you get a royalty.

To protect the song itself - the COPYRIGHT go here http://www.loc.gov and print off a SR form (to protect the actual recording and song content) or a PA for the songs alone (safe too) The SR protects that particular recording and is an optional added protection. You can put more than one song on a cd/tape or in a book (if you wrote the songs out) and it's one fee per form of $30 (I can clarify this process if you need any help)

If you are looking to get your songs placed, you should talk to a publishing company. These deals can be as tough to get as a record deal, but don't give up! And, before you get involved in any kind of contract, talk to an attorney and read Mark Halloran's Musician's Business and Legal Guide for more information on how this works and how contracts look. This is very involved and an attorney is necessary.

2. Since I'm trying to build a home studio, what kind of sound reinforcements would I need?

Wow - that is a question for my friend John. He's the production guru. Let me know more about the equipment you have and I will forward all of that to him. He takes a while to reply, so bear with me as I get that answer In the meantime, you can read Sound Advice by Wayne Wadhams - get the Maroon one for STUDIO - there's a record company advice book too that is good too

3. I'm gonna be taking music classes this fall at Drexel (woo-hoo!), which ones should I start with?
(I asked u this one already, but I enrolled to late for summer classes.)

Here are the courses in the Music Industry field and I asterisked the ones that I would recommend as first courses, but you should talk to your advisor about prereqs and all that. The 100 classes are usually first semester but your advisor can tell you where you can get around things and the course bulletin will tell you about prereqs too. The chair can often waive prereqs depending on your academic success but that is usually in upper semesters and based on academic performance

Music Industry (52 credits)

MUSC 150 Acoustics 3 credits
MUSC 151 Sound Reinforcement 3 credits ** since you have this question anyway

MUSC 156 Computer Applications in Music 3 credits **
MUSC 157 Digital Audio Production 3 credits
MUSC 227 Listening Tech. for Music Production 1 credit
MUSC 259 Recording I 3 credits
MUSC 352 Recording II 3 credits
MUSC 353 Recording Session 3 credits
MUSC 261 Music Business I 3 credits **
MUSC 361 Music Business II 3 credits
MUSC 461 Music Business III 3 credits
MUSC 450 Audio for Video 3 credits
ACCT 111 Financial Accounting 3 credits **
STAT 311 Quantitative Analysis I 3 credits
ECON 211 Microeconomics 3 credits **
MKTG 311 Marketing Management 3 credits
BLAW 211 Legal Options 3 credits **
FIN 311 Financial Management 3 credits


Senior Project and Electives (24 credits)

MUSC 490 Senior Project 3 credits, 3 terms 9 credits
  Free Electives 21 credits, 7 courses 21 credits
  Three Month Internships 2 summer terms

4. I did'nt forget to call you. A lot of things have been happening (good things), so I'll DEFINITELY be In touch very soon!

That sounds good - I was thinking of ya the other day and guessed you were busy with school! No hurry call whenever you'd like or email me at askdarcie@hotmail.com and I will have an anwswer soon about the sound reinforcement. You may also find the required books from the course number at Drexel and grab the books at the bookstore - that could be a useful visual and technical aide.

Best, Darcie

http://go.berkleemusic.com/askdarcie1