A Pro Musician Answers Your Questions About Professional Music

[john bainz]

(Please excuse if you find that most of the questions are related to how artists get paid, I just always wondered about that)

1. How important is it for a new artist to be able to write his/her own material?

2. What does it cost to produce an album and how is the cost calculated?

3. I've heard that the artist doesn't get close to what the recording company gets when it comes to sales. Is that true?

4. How much does an artist get paid from sales and how is the artist's share calculated?

5. How much do they get paid if they don't have an album out?

6. If I want to remix or sample a part of the song who gives permission?

7. Is the split of the revenue between an artist and his bosses based upon sales?

8. Does the artist get his/her share paid into their bank acc. or do they get a cheque delivered by hand?

9. If a song does well, who earns more between the producer and songwriter?

10. If permission to remix or sample a song is refused, what are in
most cases the reason/s for refusal?