The music business is constantly changing and adapting to fit in with new needs and perspectives both from record companies and musicians points of view. Since the advent of peer to peer file-sharing programs and mp3's major record companies have stated that they are losing millions of pounds due to users sharing files illegally. Even before the advent of p2p people would borrow and record copies of records from each other illegally costing the record companies.

It now seems that a lot more musicians are starting to take the independent approach to the music business. They may have to do a lot more work and do it all themselves but they reap a lot more of the rewards at the end and they are in complete control. They also get to keep their copyright.

In order to be successful in the music business it is essential to know exactly how it all works and the legal issues involved. It also helps to know where most revenue is generated from. The main streams of revenue in the commercial music industry are performing, recording and publishing. Performing generates the largest amount of income for the artist as the copyright in a sound recording is usually owned by the record label or publisher. On a sound recording mechanical royalties are payable to the artist by the record company for each sale and performance royalties are generated for all artists that performed on the record each time it is broadcast to the general public. Royalties are usually quite small and will not generate enough income to live off. If the artist performed, recorded and published the album by themself then they remain the copyright owner and entitled to all royalties generated.

For anyone looking to work in the music business my advice would be to not go looking for a record deal, not yet anyway. It's a good idea to get some experience and knowledge of how things work behind you first. It's also good to consider all sorts of jobs that are related to music such as teaching or music journalism, which may help you build up contacts. I would recommend starting off by remaining independent. Buy the basic equipment that you need, get a demo cd of three songs recorded and look for gigs around small local venues. Spread the word, advertise and promote yourself flyer's, demo Cd's, promotional packages and a press release. Send it out to all the local newspapers and try to build up a fan base. Once you get some fans they will want to share the experience with their friends

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