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	<title>Musician Wages.com</title>
	<link>http://www.musicianwages.com</link>
	<description>The Website for Working Musicians</description>
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		<title>Registering Copyrights for Musicians</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Copyright is a form of intellectual property law granting exclusive rights to creators of intangible assets. Under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which the US signed in 1989, copyright is granted the moment the intellectual property becomes fixed in a tangible form. In other words, the moment your write down or record a new song, you are automatically granted a copyright. Unfortunately, that copyright does not have much viability under a court of law, and  you should consider officially registering your copyright with your government.

Officially registering your music is a voluntary, but important step if you plan on commercially exploiting your recordings or songs. It will legally protect your intellectual property should somebody else blatantly copy it, or if somebody claims you have copied their work. While copyright infringement doesn't happen often, every year there are always a few stories of a relatively unknown artist making a claim against a major pop act. To make a claim, or defend against one, the most important piece of evidence is the date the composers created and published their works. The best way to prove that in a court of law is with a properly registered copyright.

If you are a resident of the United States, you can easily register your works with the Library of Congress online at the United States Copyright Office. At the writing of this article, the registration service costs $35. To save money, you can register many works at once, as a single collection.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/registering-copyrights-for-musicians/</link>
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		<title>Army Gigs – The Good,  the Bad, and the Ugly</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently I played the Imatra Jazz Festival in Finland.  The Nato Jazz Orchestra (which I am a proud member of) opened for McCoy Tyner and Joe Lovano. McCoy and I even played on the same piano, although it sounded quite different,  and infinitely better when he sat down behind it.

It was a blast,  we played mostly original arrangements and compositions by guys in the band,  and a few well-known standards.  The crowd was enthusiastic,  the beer was flowing and the vibe was amazing… And Then McCoy and Joe came out!!

All in all a pretty sweet gig.

Since my mission here is to share information about this mysterious job of mine, I thought I would write about some of the various gigs I've had over the years.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/army-gigs-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/</link>
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		<title>Creating a Budget for Your New Album</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Creating a budget for a new album means figuring out not only how much money you'll need, but also how much time it will take from your first rehearsal to release day. After releasing a number of my own albums and answering questions from many of my friends doing the same, I've been caught off guard enough times to know where the hidden expenses are, how to save money, and where my money is best spent.

Naturally, the DIY environment is changing increasingly fast as technology makes much of this easier than ever before. But just because it's possible to record an album on Monday and have it available on iTunes on Tuesday doesn't mean it's the best thing for your music. Taking some time to establish your goals and determine what you can realistically afford will help you create the best album possible.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/creating-a-budget-for-your-new-album/</link>
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		<title>Who Are You Working With?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[There was a time that railroad had a monopoly on transcontinental travel and shipping in the U.S. For over a century the rail industry made big, big money for railroad tycoons like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Hopkins and Leland Stanford. But it wouldn’t last forever.

Railroad ridership peaked during World War II, as troops and supplies are moved toward the coasts to fight in the European and Pacific theaters. After the war, though, increased automobile and plane travel led to a decline in rail travel.

By the 1950s and 60s the interstate highway system, modern trucking and the first jetliners took a huge bite out of railroad ridership. As the industry took a dive, they adapted with mergers and consolidations.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/music-collaboration/</link>
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		<title>Introducing Staff Sergeant Josh DiStefano</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After several months of talks with the U.S. Army, we're happy to add Staff Sergeant Joshua DiStefano as a regular guest blogger to MusicianWages.com.

Josh has played piano as a soldier with the U.S. Army for 14 years and is currently stationed in Belgium as a pianist and arranger with the NATO band.  He brings with him a wealth of experience, several tours of duty and the blessings of the U.S. Army to tell us his thoughts on the job.  We're very proud to have him with us.

We've asked Josh to write about his Army job in the way that we've previously written about cruise ship jobs on our site.  We want him to tell us the good, the bad, and all of the details in between.  If you have a question about enlisting and working as an Army musician, please post a comment below and we'll have it sent to Josh.  He's told us that he is really looking forward to hearing from our readers and to answering questions as best he can.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/introducing-staff-sergeant-josh-distefano/</link>
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		<title>The DIY Musician&#8217;s Pre-Release Checklist</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So you just finished your new album? Congratulations! Now what?

Before you release it to the world, take a couple days to prepare your music and artwork for all the opportunities that may present themselves. When I talk about an album being finished, I mean the audio has been mastered and the artwork is complete. If you're pressing CDs, you've probably just sent everything to your manufacturer. This is stuff you can do before you have CDs in your hand--in fact, it's a great way to pass the time before all those boxes arrive. And I'll be honest with you, none of this is all that fun, but it really does help and you'll probably never get around to it once the album is released.

Note that this article is not about how to release your own album, it's about everything else you can do before it's released so all the effort you've put in up to this point, and all the marketing and promotion you'll do later, will have maximum effect. If you're looking for information about releasing your album--digital distribution options, production schedules, CD manufacturing, and legal considerations--check out our 4 part series on the Self-Released Album.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/the-diy-musicians-pre-release-checklist/</link>
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		<title>Case Study: One Musician&#8217;s Changing Income During the Recession</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In 2008 I was working nearly full-time as a music director for regional theaters and tours.  When I wasn't working as an MD I was playing 2nd keyboards somewhere else.  I made a little money from blogging, a little from copyist work and very little from selling albums.

I experienced a sharp decline in music directing jobs in the 2nd half of 2008.  Regional theaters had been hard hit by the recession, and many were not hiring or closing their doors.  It was clear that I would need to fill in the income gap with other work.

As you can see from the chart, I tried a lot of different gigs and had the most success with accompanying and church organ gigs.  I started my church gig in spring of 2009.  Around the same time I found a job as an accompanist at college.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/case-study-one-musicians-changing-income-during-the-recession/</link>
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		<title>Different Types of Cruise Ship Musician Jobs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you're interested in working as a musician on a cruise ship, the first thing to know is the different types of entertainment offered.  Each cruise line has their own entertainment on board; however, generally, these positions are very similar industry-wide.

<strong>Show Band Musicians</strong>

Most lines have an orchestra (aka <strong>Show Band</strong>) on board.  This 5-10 piece band plays the production shows, headliner shows and big band or top 40 sets on board.  Bass, drums, guitar, keys, sax, trombone &#38; trumpet are the most common instrumentation.

The most important requirement in landing one of these jobs is strong sight reading ability (both jazz charts &#38; notation).  Working on board a ship as an orchestra musician, you'll find yourself playing new shows daily in front of thousands, and having little to no time at all to prepare.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/cruise-ship-musician/different-types-of-cruise-ship-musician-jobs/</link>
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		<title>Sign Up for the MusicianWages.com Newsletter</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Since 2008, MusicianWages.com has been publishing articles and interviews on topics that are important to working musicians.  Thank you to everyone that has become a part of the vibrant musician&#8230;]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/the-working-musician/sign-up-for-the-musicianwages-com-newsletter/</link>
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		<title>Allison Weiss on Building an Internet Presence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Allison Weiss is one of the hardest working singer/songwriters I know. We met through Lauren Zettler, who I play with regularly, and I've been able to watch Allison do her thing online and in person, from the audience and behind the scenes. I can honestly say that what you see is what you get with Allison. It's her ability to be herself online has attracted a massive but well targeted internet following across several social networking platforms which she weaves together using tools freely available to anybody. In other words, she uses no tricks and doesn't have a team of web gurus hiding behind a curtain. She really does it all herself.

I asked Allison if she'd share her secrets with us, and as I suspected, there are no secrets! She is just a creative and savvy musician that is willing to try out new technology to stay ahead of the curve (something I believe is a key to a successful DIY music career). But don't take my word for it, read Allison's responses and see for yourself. There's a lot to learn for any independent musician trying to get their music in front of the right people.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/building-an-internet-presence-with-allison-weiss/</link>
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