by Jeffrey & Todd Brabec
With this issue's Mumbo Jumbo column we introduce a new educational book filled with plenty of insider information--it's called Music, Money and Success and it was written by the Brabec twins, Jeffrey and Todd.
But before we jump in with both feet, I thought some background on the authors might be in order. So, without further ado, as they say, here is some biographical material excerpted from their book when it was first published in 1994:
"The Brabec twins have been involved in the careers of thousands of successful songwriters, composers, lyricists and performers. Jeffrey Brabec is an entertainment law attorney and vice-president of business affairs for the Chrysalis Music Group. A former recording artist, he has been vice president of business affairs for the PolyGram Music Group and legal/business affairs director for the Welk and Arista-Interworld Music Groups.
Jeffrey specializes in evaluating and negotiating music publishing acquisitions, has licensed music for use in more than 1,000 motion pictures, television series and commercials, and has negotiated hundreds of publishing agreements for Top 10 songwriters.
Todd Brabec, a former recording artist and entertainment law attorney, serves on the boards of the Los Angeles chapter of NARAS, the National Academy of Songwriters, and the California Copyright Conference. He lectures extensively on film and television contracts, commercials, publishing and the worldwide revenue sources of the music industry. He is also the executive vice president and director of membership at ASCAP.
Together, the twins have published essays in the NARAS Journal, Entertainment, Publishing & the Arts Handbook, ASCAP in Action, The Score, Hollywood Reporter, Advertising Age and Entertainment Law Reporter. Jeffrey & Todd were winners of the 1990 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism."
Here are some of the topics we'll be discussing over the next several issues:
- The Inner Workings of a Music Publisher
- The Songwriter-Publisher Relationship
- Publishing Contracts
- Important Points in Every Recording Contract
- Getting Songs into a Series, TV Show or Made-for TV Movie
- How Advertising Agencies Use Music
- ASCAP & BMI Payment Schedules
- Selling Songs
- Agents & Their Roles
- Songwriter Conferences
- Record Producers
- Showcases
We're going to attempt to cover most of the material in over 400 pages of their book. No easy task. The one thing we're certain of is that we'll be passing along free, useful career information that will be of value to every TAXI passenger.