The judges are judging you from the first step you take on stage. Are you setting the mood for your first song? Are you all acting as one, giving off a unified energy? Do you all make eye contact with the audience and each other? Do your faces and body language put the audience at ease because they convey “committed deliberateness”-the sense that everything on stage –even untangling mic chords from the previous group- is precisely what it should be? Pardon the old (and now bastardized) expression, but though you needn’t actually wear pants, you need to wear THE pants. From the instant you enter, you must take the stage. In your body language, you don’t ask to be liked; you tell the audience how great you are, what a good time they’ll have and how you are in charge. And if you do all this before the timer even starts, the judges can’t help but start their scoring with the inclination to love you and everything you do. The alternative is starting from a hole and hoping you can climb out in time for the scoring.

2. You are Not Invisible Before and After the Song.
Your group may divide the show into songs, but we are watching your whole show. The breath you take to begin the ballad. The way you walk towards the mic. The way you gracefully bow after the song has ended and the last reverberation of the final chord fades. Whether you laugh at the joke intro to the next song or whether you are fixing your hair instead and looking concerned that you can’t find your next pitch. We’re always watching. And judges are always scoring.

3. Emote with the Lead, Not With Nonsense Syllables.
Some leads are singing fluff and then the emotion is best described as “Yeah! We’re all having a good time!” That’s fine! You can put that on your face and in your body and all is well. Some leads are singing absolute poetry. What the lead sings, the group must respect. Back-ups that are doing their own thing, particularly when their own thing is distracting or boring are hurting the overall performance. This isn’t to say that the back-ups couldn’t express something different from the lead; they can. But what they express matters and they can’t be in their own world of focusing on “doo doo dah shwah” or the internal monologue of “Hey, do I look fat in these white disco shorts?”

4. “Simple and Perfect” Crushes “Complicated and Almost”.
This is true for all elements of music, but rears its ugly head in Vocal Percussion with great regularity. A deliberate, precise pattern with enough time for your VP to nail each sound and place each sound right in the pocket is infinitely more effective than a sloppy high speed assault. If the sung parts are too hard to sing dead on then they’re not the right choice for competition. We’d rather hear simple perfection. Unlike ice skating’s demands of particular jumps, a cappella competitions usually score you on the goals you set for yourself. Achieve perfection in simpler music and walk away with the trophy. That’s one of the reasons barbershop groups often win or place highly at contemporary competitions: they sing the hell out of the material they’ve chosen, even if the material they’ve chosen is dated or seemingly simple.

5. Never Sing Before You Sing.
Singing the starting chord, or humming before actually starting the song is universally viewed as a weakness in the ability of singers to hear their starting pitches.  Additionally, it’s not a particularly compelling performance choice. And even if you’re lucky enough to have judges that don’t detract points for lack of professionalism or performance, you are still wasting time on something that can never earn you any points.

6. One Talks. One Blows. 
Ron Jeremy jokes aside, laws, sausages and getting the group to sing in the right key and at the right tempo are all mysterious things the people don’t want to see the innards of. We just want them to come out right. Let magicians or politicians teach you the art of distraction then translate that to a cappella. One talks: “Thank you. We are the Flying Noodlebonks. We’d like to show you our spin on some classic 90s alternative music next. Of course I’m referring to the 1890s classic,  ‘I Miss Dear Old Lincoln’! Kick it Noodlebonks!” While One is talking,  Two blows the starting pitch and counts off so that the count off begins before “Kick it Noodlebonks!” and the group starts singing immediately following the talking.  Even if you can’t get it together to time all this right, at the very least don’t have the person intro-ing a song also be the person who blows the pitch and counts off. 

7. Man Cannot Live on Mezzo Forte Alone.
Yes, I know that the original song you’re now covering had no dynamics and they rocked. Too bad. You need dynamics and if you don’t have them, judges will take off points. Songs without dynamics are boring. I’ve never in my life heard a song with too much dynamic range or too much phrasing. 

Many groups think of dynamics as strictly a musical, rather than a performance issue. Consider though, the connection between energy and dynamics. While perfect intonation may take years to achieve, both energy and dynamics can reach exceptional levels of expressiveness after a single focused rehearsal. Even grade school children know how to modulate their voices from incredibly soft to incredibly loud. Dynamics translate to energy and energy translates to excitement in the song and attention in the listener. We hear the change in volume, the phrasing, and the most powerful element of music leaps from the page: motion! So stop deliberately standing still, musically.

8. Tessitura Beats Range.
There may be nothing worse than hearing a tenor pressing grapes for a strained high note, a soprano warding dogs off with her high screech or a bass burping out gravel for the low note. Competitions are not the time for taking long shots. Choose songs that feature your strengths and hide your weaknesses.  Change keys from the original. Make part of the solo into a sectional part. Do whatever you need to do to show us nothing but your good side. Judges never take points off for the high C you didn’t try to hit, only for the one you bungled. Keep each voice in its best tessitura.

9. Talking Doesn’t Win Singing Competitions.
Got a funny bit you like to do in between songs? That’s nice. We do like to see your personality and get to know you, but get to it and get singing. Funny one liners can get the job done just as well as skits and in a fraction of the time, leaving you time to gather points by actually singing.

10. Originality Counts and then Counts Again.
Nearly every competition awards original arrangements and original songs. Why take yourself out of the running for these awards? Also, consider why these awards exist at all: judges and organizers are looking to see the art form move forward and evolve. You can’t do that with well-known arrangements of well-known covers.  And the originality awards aside, as between two groups of approximately equal performance, the judges will break the tie in favor of the more original. 

Think you’ve heard “Insomniac” or “Africa” a few times? Wanna guess how often we judges have heard it? Do you want to take the chance that your arrangement and your performance of this classic are better than any of the thousands we’ve already heard? Gamblin’ man, are ya? It’s a long shot. By contrast, if we’ve never heard the arrangement or the song, then we have fewer preconceived notions of how you are supposed to sing it. You become free to express your creativity instead of your mimicry. 

One of the reasons we are judges is the fact that we’ve heard so much a cappella. So would you rather be a breath of fresh air, turning heads and raising eyebrows or just another in a long line of sleepy Lion Sleepers and worn out Runaround Sues? Go ahead and do those songs in your live shows if you like. They’re tried and true crowd-pleasers and if you are a young singer, then chances are you’re not bored out of your brains from water-torture-like repetition. Just remember that competitions are a different beast, altogether, though so know enough a cappella history to take a pass on the passé.

In Conclusion.
The fundamentals are the necessary building blocks on which your performance stands. If you can’t tune, blend and balance, you won’t win. But that’s not the whole game. Heed this article’s advice and you’ll have easily sidestepped some serious a cappella land mines. When it’s neck and neck, you’ll pull ahead. When you put commitment in your face and body, that can’t help but become a part of your singing. And sometimes, really great stage presence and performance is so powerful, that judges think the musicality is at a higher level than it really is. It’s a multi-pronged attack. It worked in the American Revolutionary War and it works in a cappella! See you at the next competition, you champion, you!  

Jonathan Minkoff © 2007, 2014

Carefully, patiently dissecting the urge to perform yields the unexpected anatomy of our truest motivations. What are these factors that drive us? They may be obvious or obtuse, noble or base. They may appear in one guise, only to be exposed later in truer form. They often take a bit of coaxing before revealing themselves. But if, as Socrates believed, the unexamined life is not worth living, then this part of life, this sliver we share with so many others, is perhaps most worthy of our unfaltering gaze. Why do we perform?

Attention
One person may seek applause, that intoxicating (though fleeting) sense of loving attention –even if by way of relative strangers. Another may seek notoriety, the recognition factor itself. And this fame, whether accompanied by admiration or dislike translates to the feeling that they have become “somebody”. Here, any attention, loving or not, will do.

Artistic Expression
Still another may seek the satisfaction of pure artistic expression, the creation of beauty in the eye of the creator, regardless of any other beholder’s reactions. They answer to the muse alone, and their works are immune to criticism from any other source.

Money
However unlikely it may seem, those with a gambler’s heart, a fantastic self-image, or a poor ability to predict odds may actually perform as a way to seek their fiscal fortunes. After all, television is ripe with images that seem to spell out the formula for success as “Believe in Yourself + Look Attractive + Get Lucky = Success”. The necessity of adding hard work and hard knocks to the formula can be deeply unsettling for those raised on the inherent parables of MTV, American Idol and America’s Got Talent. Even harder can be the realization of how outright piracy, legal loopholes (like the safe harbor and takedown policies that fuel youtube) and the pauper payments of streaming have turned artist income streams into a hobbyist's trickle.

Perhaps counterintuitively, pursuing money doesn’t necessitate greed.  The money from singing can be a powerful tool for the world’s social and economic betterment. Many performers take great satisfaction in raising money and awareness for charitable causes. Dick Van Dyke is well-known for his performances in support of the Midnight Mission. Rockapella’s Scott Leonard, and solo artist Peter Hollens have used their music to help provide relief for Japan in the aftermath of the April 2011 tsunami/earthquake/nuclear disasters. And every performer and lecturer at the annual SingStrong a cappella festival raises money to support the Alzheimer’s Association and local music programs.

Because money is society's de facto measure of worth, for many artists, it’s at least a factor in the equation.

Mommy? Daddy?
Some use the audience as a proxy, a stand-in for someone else. These people seek the approval of someone very particular, a parent or early teacher –even if that person is no longer present, or even alive to provide approval or disapproval.

Fear of Failure
Some perform because they fear that choosing another path is admitting failure as a performer. Though they might prefer another vocation, they doubt they will never achieve in another field what they can accomplish in the arts; they perform for fear of failure in another pursuit.

Chka Bow Bow
And on the lighter side, some perform for enhanced romantic access. Courtship requires attention and singing is a surefire way to get it! Whether that results in attention, affection, a genuine connection, or more physically intimate rewards is an open question. When asked why they perform, many male singers at least, reply happily and succinctly, “Babes!” It might not be the whole story, but lest we forget, that was a prime motivation (performer or not) for every person you were ever descended from. If it hadn’t been, you wouldn’t be here to read these words.

Metamorphosis
Some perform to transform. They want to take on the persona of another, whether a newly defined character or simply an exaggerated, heroic self-reflection. They leave the ordinary, colorless world behind and become something more pure, or more outrageous. The stage is an arena in which society encourages such bold choices. (Lady Gaga, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Kiss) Less so in, say, the supermarket.

Community
Some perform to join a community, to be one of the gang, the clique of cool kids. They wouldn’t much care whether the group ever performed so long as they all hung out together. And to choose this path isn’t folly. The rewards of longer and healthier life by virtue of singing in groups have been well documented. (Effects of Group Singing and Performance on Marginalized and Middle Class Singers; Lifespan Singing; Quality of Life of Older Adult Community Singers in Finland)

The Calling
Some people believe that God wants them to sing. This may come from a belief that singing is a predestined, best-use of His glorious gifts. (This might also be a convenient way to cover ego with religion: “I don’t want to be a star; God wants me to!”) Or it may be that singing is a conduit for spreading one’s chosen Gospel.

Others believe less in deity and more in destiny. Not that the Almighty wants them to sing, but that they were destined, fated, or even genetically built to sing. From a humanist perspective, the calling could be a Utopian efficiency. Possessing a voice which is unusually low, high, distinctive, pure, dexterous etc. may lead a person to believe in singing as predestined. And this destiny of singing is no less reinforced by the reactions and expectations of others. In other words, if everyone around you tells you that you were born to sing, it won’t be long before you believe it too.

Conquering Fear
Perhaps ironically, some perform to overcome their fear of performance. No victory could be more decisive or more satisfying. And for many, performing is a very real fear. As Jerry Seinfeld says, people often list performing as their greatest fear, above even dying. They would, literally, rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.

Pie Chart
On any given day, most of us balance a number of motivations. We could, if pressed, probably make a pie chart showing something like 20% being part of a community; 10% transforming into another persona; 40% meeting hottees; 30% making great art.

And for those of us who perform often, these numbers and categories can change a great deal. They are malleable, influenced by the rehearsal and performance experience itself. On a day when your fellow singers are annoying, artistic satisfaction can take on greater importance than the (temporarily lacking) feeling of community. When the audience is octogenarian, the goal of meeting hottees just might take a back seat, leaving greater energies available for other motivations to take on new prominence. These shifts are simultaneously the reflection of, and causal force of our growth.

Inertia
All of this points to a performance inertia: those performing have a tendency to continue performing. The more of our lives and our energies that we invest in our art, the more our motivations seem to adapt to the very rewards we receive. It’s difficult to know in a given moment, which is the egg and which the chicken. If you love performing, even on the day when no one applauds, does that mean you were truly motivated by something else? Or have you changed your motivations to support the rewards you receive? Perhaps on this day, a combination of the two.

And what if you achieve the goals you strove for? What if you get the standing ovations you thought you were seeking, only to find that this leaves you unexpectedly luke-warm. Perhaps your motivations change not only by what you fail to achieve, but by what you do, in fact achieve. But of course, this is only so when illuminated by our awareness. Without watchfulness, we’re doomed to endlessly repeat our lessons.

Conclusion
Our love of performing is rarely static. Each experience, each setback, each reward tells us that we must examine, not once, but with unwavering diligence. And for the director who would create and preserve the most joyful ensemble, we would do well to remember how profoundly varied our singers' motivations truly are. But rather than an impossible morass, this diversity is actually a path to empower a director with a toolkit of varied rewards. The scarcity model is turned on its head when we discover that we aren't all seeking the same things. 

Our personal evolution is revealed to us in those moments when we face and recognize the goals we most prize. And over time, as we grow, we may slowly awaken to the understanding that old motivations have dissipated, hopefully to be replaced by ones of nobler character and greater virtue. 

© 2013 Jonathan Minkoff

Arrangers, especially in a cappella music, are always looking for songs to arrange. And once they make an arrangement, especially a good one, those arrangers are often asked for copies. What should they do?

Some give away the arrangements, some sell the arrangements. But, unless the arranger has permission from a composer, selling or gifting copies of arrangements is illegal. 

Thankfully, there is an exception: The Public Domain.

Works in the Public Domain are free for anyone to use in any way they choose. You won't need to make any payments, and you won't need anyone's permission. The trick is knowing whether a particular published song is actually in the Public Domain or not. 

The chart below can go a long way towards helping you determine the answer. All you need to know to begin, is when the work was first published. Once you have that, you're off!

Here's a shocker: hire an attorney to handle any of the complicated issues. This chart covers basics, but it doesn't address corporate copyright, all the differences between published and unpublished works, orphaned works, jurisdictions outside the US, or any number of other topics. But, more often than not, the simple chart above will lead you to an answer you can use. 

BONUS POINTS! If the work you're interested in pillaging was written by a US Government official in their work capacity, then it's automatically in the Public Domain, regardless of when it was published. Of course, the US government hasn't authored too many songs, so this may be of limited use to you. On the other hand, you just might mine those Presidential speeches for some good lyrics!

Everyone has heard the warnings not to illegally copy music, but many do. After all, what’s the harm?

Some believe that it’s a victimless crime. Some believe that only businesses get sued, not users. Some believe that computers make them too anonymous to sue. 

That turns out to be wrong on all counts, as a defeated 20-something recently found out to the tune of over half a million dollars in damages and tens of thousands more in legal fees.

Joel Tenenbaum, a 2006 graduate of Goucher College used peer-to-peer file sharing software to illegally download thirty songs.

After hearing the evidence, the jury awarded Sony, owner of the copyrights, statutory damages of $22,500 per song, for a total of $675,000.

The trial judge, perhaps in a gesture to Tenenbaum’s youth and financial situation, reduced the jury’s award of damages to $67,500, one tenth of the jury verdict.

The parties appealed and on September 16, 2011, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the trial judge’s leniency and reinstated the full $675,000 in damages. Several appeals followed and on  June 25, 2013 the US District Court upheld the full award.

Did the jury and judges make the right call? You be the judge.

According to the Copyright Act, the minimum the jury could have awarded was $750 per song for a total of $22,500. The maximum they could have awarded was $150,000 per song for a total of $4,500,000. 

The court found that, as a result of music piracy, between 1999 and 2008, the recording industry as a whole suffered a fifty percent drop in both sales and revenues and Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, each suffered a fifty percent reduction in workforce since 2000.

Sony brought legal actions targeting the peer-to-peer networks, rather than the individuals who actually used those networks.

These lawsuits shut down particular networks, but individual infringers just found new peer-to-peer networks. Record companies then began to identify and pursue legal actions against individual infringers.

Joel Tenenbaum began illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted songs in 1999 using Napster.

When the Napster network was shut down in 2001 for copyright infringement, Tenenbaum switched to AudioGalaxy, iMesh, Morpheus, Kazaa, and Limewire where he continued to download and distribute copyrighted songs. 

Sony only decided to sue Tenenbaum for infringing thirty of its copyrights, though at trial, he eventually admitted to sharing as many as 5,000 songs.

In September 2005, Sony’s attorneys contacted Tenenbaum to resolve the claims before heading to court. But Tenenbaum continued illegally downloading and sharing songs until Sony filed suit in 2007.

Tenenbaum did not sell the tracks, but the court found his actions were nonetheless designed for his personal, private gain and could not be described as noncommercial.

Tenenbaum claimed that any number of other people, from guests to family members, could have used his computer, and that it was impossible to know who actually infringed these copyrights. That position didn't win the day.

And perhaps central to the beliefs of many who sympathize with Tenenbaum is the “no harm, no foul” defense. This argument says that, in the digital realm, copies are made from a free and inexhaustible supply, and that sharing them is just a form of free publicity that helps promote artists and record companies. In other words, Tenenbaum says, Sony needed to show real harm before getting statutory damages.

The court rejected this argument. The Copyright Act gives plaintiffs a choice of whether to ask for profits, actual damages or statutory damages. Statutory damages don’t require actual damages. Statutory damages are available even for "uninjurious and unprofitable invasions of copyright." F.W. Woolworth Co., 344 U.S. at 233.

Tenenbaum appealed the award, arguing that it violated his right to due process under the US Constitution. He claims that the real measure of harm is the cost of the stolen albums, about 30 albums at $15 dollars each. 

The court rejected this argument as well, because Copyright damages aren't limited to measurable injury. They are also designed "to discourage wrongful conduct." F.W. Woolworth Co., 344 U.S. at 233.   

It's the end of the line. Tenenbaum now faces a bill for the full $675,000, plus his extensive legal fees. 

For Sony, though, this case isn’t about the money. It’s about sending a message. 

© 9-12-2013 Jonathan Minkoff (some portions © 2012, 2013 and 2015)

This article discusses the best practices for providing credits on a cappella recordings. 

If you only take away only one lesson, make it this: credit all composers and do not confuse composers with "original" artists. As of the writing of this article, this is the most common and egregious error in a cappella liner notes.

Additionally, this article will include many customs unique to the a cappella community while also debunking legally dubious or nonsensical omissions that have grown more commonplace, particularly in collegiate and high school a cappella.  

The complete article is extensive, so to assist those seeking quick answers, we begin with two lists: 

1. minimal credits; and 
2. best credits. 
   

The two lists obviously overlap since "best" includes "least." These reference lists do leave many issues unaddressed, and so they are followed by a section focused on underlying principles, debated issues and in-depth discussion. Read on for everything you ever wanted to know about credits!

Minimal Credits
Here’s the absolute minimum credit you should ever provide:

• Song title (in title case, not in quotes).
• Your group's complete name, including school (if applicable) somewhere on the album.
  
• Complete names of all composers, separated by commas, listed in alphabetical order and preceded by the word "by". This credit belongs in the individual song credits. Do not confuse composers and original artists.  
  
• Soloists' complete names separated by commas, listed in order of appearance. This credit belongs in the individual song credits.
• Complete names of all arrangers, separated by commas, listed in alphabetical order and preceded by "arranged by" . This credit belongs in the individual song credits.
• The names and studios of all those responsible for tracking, engineering, editing, mixing, producing and mastering. This credit belongs in the individual song credits unless many tracks share the same credits, in which case the information can be credited elsewhere in the liner notes.
• ℗ + name of copyright holder in the sound recording, and date of album completion. This credit is legally important and belongs once, somewhere in the credits. However, in the rare instance when individual tracks have separate owners, then the credit belongs in the individual song credits.
  
• Complete names of any photographers or art designers. This belongs in the general credits or next to or on the appropriate photos. If placed on the photos, care must be given to text size. It should be small enough not to distract, but big enough to read. Large credits look like the copyright was placed to prevent copying and the group used the image without permission. Whether true or not, this creates an amateurish look that should be avoided.
• The complete names of all performers, ideally separated by part and role, such as music director. 

If you do this much, you can sleep easy at night. Of course your listeners will crave more. So aim for the best!

Best Credits
Here are the best credits you can provide. This list consists of every credit noted above with the addition of several additional categories.  Detailed discussion follows this second list. 

Just make sure that, if one of these categories applies to your song, then anyone looking at your liner notes will easily be able to determine the complete names of the following contributors (examples in brackets):

• Song title (in title case, not in quotes) [Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ] or, in the case of medleys, separated by backslashes and presented in order of appearance: [Beat It/Thriller/PYT]. Do not say Michael Jackson Medley. That is not the title of any of the songs. Do not say Beat It/Thriller Mash-up. Mash-up is also not the title of the song.
• Your group's complete name, including school (if applicable) [The Boston University School of Law LegalTones]
  
• Complete names of all composers, separated by commas and preceded by the word "by". This credit belongs in the individual song credits. Do not confuse composers and original artists.   [John Lennon, Paul McCartney]. Do NOT write [OBP The Beatles]
  
• Copyright symbol and date the song was composed. [©1963]
  
• The composers’ publishers [123 Music, etc.]
  
• The composers’ society [ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.]
  
• Complete names of all arrangers, separated by commas and preceded by "arranged by" or "arr." . This credit belongs in the individual song credits. [Arr.: Boba Fett, Jabba T. Hutt]
  
• The arrangers’ publishers [Killer Arrangements Music, LLC]
• Soloists' complete names separated by commas in order of appearance. This credit belongs in the individual song credits. [Solos: Jar Jar Binks, Deke Sharon]
• Vocal percussionists, in order of appearance or alphabetical order [VP: Wes Carroll, Marty Gasper]
• Special sounds like whistle, rap, DJ scratching, weird scream,  etc. [yodel: Ian McDermitt]
  
• The names and studios of all tracking engineers, editors, mixers, producers and masterers. This credit belongs in the individual song credits unless many tracks share the same credits in which case the information can be credited elsewhere in the liner notes. [Tracked by Joe Shmoe for Joe Shmoe Studios. Edited by Happy McDonald for Happytime Studios. Engineered by Jane Smith for Makin It Up Studios. Mixed by Marty McFly for Time Travel Studios. Produced by Jonathan Minkoff for Evil Giant Studios.]
• In the extremely rare case where your recording uses sound samples or segments of another recording (something you need permission to do), your liner notes should state "contains elements of" or "contains samples of" [contains samples of Thriller]
• All composers of the sampled recording
  
• The publishers of the sampled recording
  
• Record company of the sampled recording
  
• Performing group of the sampled recording
• "Used courtesy of " then list the owner of sound recording who granted permission
  
• ℗ + date and name of owner of the copyright in the sound recording. Or "Copyright in the Sound Recording" plus the date and name. [℗ 2009 Jaybird Records Inc.]
  
• Complete names of any photographers or art designers. This belongs in the general credits or next to the appropriate photos.
  
• The complete names of all performers, ideally separated by part and role, such as music director, alto II, etc. and, if you are a scholastic ensemble, consider including the graduation year. 
  
• Do NOT write out or translate lyrics unless you have permission from the composer, or the song is in the public domain. Paying compulsory licenses to the composers does not grant you permission to reprint the lyrics. However, with non-English lyrics, you are encouraged to include a short summary of the song's story.
• Do NOT credit any performing artists who have performed the composers' work prior to you unless they are actually performing on your album.

OK, short attention span people, you can stop now. I'm sure your head hurts. Everyone else, let's start the analysis. 

The Function of Liner Notes
Information provided on liner notes serves multiple functions:

• Historical Accuracy. Clear, accurate and complete liner notes are the primary historical source for information about the album. Any claim about having worked on the album will first be checked against the liner notes for accuracy. That's not the end of the analysis, but it is the universal starting place. And keep in mind that recordings live a long, long time. Even if you think the information isn't important now, you never know when an old recording will become very important (The group, Straight No Chaser was famously signed to a major record deal after a ten year old recording went viral on youtube.) 
• Money. While most recordings fade into the digital ether, you never know when a song will generate real income from plays, sales or licensing. The performers on your recording have a right to be paid for digitally streamed performances of the recording; the composers have a right to be paid for physical and digital copies, as well as all performances. Liner notes help establish those entitlements. 
• Fans. Twitter followers, facebook "likes" and youtube "thumbs-ups" matter to many artists. They are often the precursor to income, and many artists invest in their careers by agreeing to unpaid or poorly paid work just to get those fans. Liner notes are essential to this process. It's nearly impossible  to support a singer, group or vocal percussionist who remains uncredited. 
• Future Business. Producers, mixers, arrangers and even soloists all get their next job when people hear their current work and then seek them out. Liner notes should make that process frictionless.
• Awards. Whether we're talking the Grammys or just the CARAs, you can't win for "best anything" if your name isn't in the liner notes.
• Legal Compliance. The US Copyright Act grants artists the right to cover songs written by others, without their permission, if the compulsory licenses are properly paid. Failure to credit the composers is a red flag that the compulsory payments may not have been handled properly.
• Compliance with International Standards. See this guide for metadata standards.

Where Do Credits Go?
As mentioned above, credits are usually divided into two areas on CD liner notes: 

1. Per track, underneath the song titles; and also 
2. In the general credits applicable to the entire album. 
   

By contrast, digital metadata (or ID3 Tags) are usually entered into predetermined fields which then stay with the audio information contained in the digital file. This information is automatically displayed by many devices when the music file is played. 

Each music application is different but, on iTunes this information is entered here: 

          single click the track to highlight then 
          ->file 
                 -> get info: info tab

Alternatively, on a mac, one can click to highlight the track, and then press command and i simultaneously to edit track information. Tips for editing ID3 tags in iTunes can be found here.


CD Liner Notes
Some best practices regarding liner notes benefit from further discussion.

Song Titles
Unless you are e.e. cummings, the poet famous for eschewing capitalization, you should probably write your song titles in title case [The Wizard of Oz]. This becomes more difficult when the original composers (or their graphic artists) get very creative with their use of capitalization. Keep the original formatting where it remains consistent, and use a licensed source like iTunes for "correct" spelling and capitalization.  There is no need to put song titles in quotes. Bold, underline or other embellishing designs are often used, but this is left to the discretion of the art designer. 

Below are the liner notes for Prince's masterpiece, "Purple Rain". 

Common practice has been to maintain Prince's choices in spelling [I Would Die 4 U] but to ignore his original capitalization choices [BABY I'M A STAR, take me with u] and replace them with title case [Baby, I'm a Star, Take Me With U].

In the case of a medley or mash up (which many groups record, but which readers should know falls in a legally grey area at best, and is completely illegal at worst), song titles should still be written in title case, and then, in order of appearance, separated by a slash [Yesterday/Take On Me/Beat It]. Again, do not include quotation marks. It is customary not to repeat a song title, even if it repeats its appearance in the mash-up arrangement.

Composers
Composers' names have been disappearing from the liner notes of collegiate albums. This is obviously disrespectful. It's also a red flag that proper royalties may not have been paid.

So for both moral and practical reasons, all composers' full names should be credited, either as they list themselves [Rodgers and Hart; R. Rodgers and L. Hart] or alphabetically, usually preceded by the word “by”. Sometimes this is noted as “words and music by” or  “lyrics and music by” or in certain appropriate cases, “music by A and B; lyrics by Y and Z”. 

In the case of mash-ups, make sure the reader can clearly tell which composers wrote which songs. 

It can't be overstated: do not skip the composers' names. They are the only people involved in your recording process who haven't given permission. Without them, you'd have nothing to sing. Remember not to confuse composers with original artists. The Beatles did not compose any songs; John Lennon and Paul McCartney did.

Publishing Companies and Composers' Societies
Thorough liner notes will list the publishing company [123 Music] along with the composers’ names, and the composers’ society [ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC]. This information is always uncovered when making the correct royalty payments to the composers.

Arrangers
List all arrangers' full names, either as they list themselves on the arrangement, or alphabetically. The names are often preceded by “arranged by” or “arr.” 

If you altered an arrangement made by another arranger, you should say "arranged by (you), based on an arrangement by (the prior arranger)". 

You should consider this credit in the light of academic plagiarism: using the work of another arranger without credit may be legal in certain situations, but it isn't honest and it tends to anger people when they discover it. Failure to provide proper credit places your own work and reputation in jeopardy. In other words: bad juju.

Notwithstanding the comments related to honesty, in the US, it is actually legal to alter arrangements of non-public domain songs, if the arranger whose work you are using did not get at least one composer's permission to make their arrangement. This is because arrangements made without the composer's permission are not protected by copyright. Obtaining composers' permissions can take a great deal of time and effort and as a result, the overwhelming majority of contemporary a cappella arrangers just arrange and hope for the best. Credit them without regard to their legal rights.

Finally, the case of the literal transcription requires discussion. If your group's arrangement is extremely similar to an existing recording, it may be appropriate to credit your arrangement as based upon that prior version. The difficulty comes in the fact that many artists do not credit anyone with arranging. Producers, performers, uncredited ghost arrangers and even session players may all contribute to the final recorded arrangement. Where your arrangement varies significantly, it isn't necessary to credit anyone. But where your arrangement is a near duplication, or a transcription, it might be appropriate to credit the version itself [Arranged by Jane Smith, based upon the arrangement featured on "The White Album" as performed by The Beatles. © 1968]. This is especially true when your arrangement is based very closely upon a different artist's re-imagined version of a song. 

How much similarity requires a credit? The answer lies in the source of the arranging ideas. If the source of your arranging ideas comes from the melody, lyrics or chord progression of the original song, then you don't need to credit anyone but yourself as arranger. If they come from the arranging ideas of another arranger or artist, credit them. 

Soloists
Credit soloists' full names in order of appearance, preceded by “solo”, “duet”, “trio” or whatever is appropriate. Where the parts enter simultaneously, credit the duet in alphabetical order and if possible include an indication that would allow listeners to know which voice is which. This may not be necessary when gender is an obvious distinguishing characteristic. But if two tenors are dueting, best practice is to note a distinguishing characteristic like voice part [tenor 1 solo: Bob Costas; tenor 2 solo: Michael Jordan]. 

Do not identify a soloist by reference to another performer. In other words, do not credit [Rhianna Solo: Jane Smith]. Such a credit implies that the recorded performer is deliberately attempting to imitate the previous performer. Your soloists are almost always interpreting the song, not doing an imitation of another artist. The former is singing; the latter is voice mimicry.  

Occasionally a singer who is not a member of the group will sing on a recording. It is appropriate to credit the full name of any such guest artist, preceded by “featuring” or “feat.” 

When a guest artist is featured in non-a cappella music, it has become commonplace to include parentheses and the featured artist's name in the song title itself. This came as a result of contract negotiations among artists seeking better exposure. Since song titles aren't altered by the participation of performers, this information is more logically reported elsewhere, however the practice has become common.

Vocal Percussion or Beatbox
List all vocal percussionists' full names in order of appearance or, if not applicable, then in alphabetical order. This can be abbreviated as “VP” or "vp". In contemporary a cappella, the terms "VP" or "vocal percussionist" are typically favored over "beatbox" or "beatboxer" in credits. 

Some argue that beatbox differs from vp in that it is used primarily in hip hop music and not pop, rock or jazz, and that this stylistic difference determines the appropriate term. Others argue that while vocal percussion consists almost entirely of drumming noises, beatboxing often incorporates simultaneous singing, humming, vocal special effects, horns, DJ scratching noises and even rap. Beatbox drum sounds are also typically more imitative of a drum machine rather than of acoustic drums. 

Regardless of the term you choose, readers will understand that either label refers to the creator and performer of drum noises on a given track. In heavily produced tracks, this raises an issue.

If a track has vocal percussion that has been so heavily altered in the studio that the final product is not recognizably (or authentically) an individual’s performance, but rather a “studio construction” that owes its identity to the programming of an engineer or producer, then it is more appropriate to separately credit "drum programming" and possibly "percussion sounds". Alternatively, all VPs whose sounds are used, but who cannot be said to have performed the final product on a given track, may be listed in the general section of the liner notes without reference to the specific tracks on which they appear.

The key is to to avoid crediting a person as the VP for a track when that person did not provide the final vocal percussion performance. Of course, in modern recordings, all performances are edited to a degree. EQ is added; timing is corrected; parts are sweetened. There is no bright line test here, but if the vocal percussionist would have no chance at all of sounding even remotely like the recording, that should raise some concerns over simply crediting him as VP on the track.

Reprinting the Lyrics of the Song
Unless the song is in the public domain, or you have the explicit permission of at least one of the composers to reprint or display the lyrics, then don't reprint the lyrics. Even assuming you have properly paid your compulsory licenses, this does not include the right to reprint the lyrics. 

The two most common situations in which you would reprint the lyrics are 

1. When the lyricist is personally known to the group, such as a group member, and gives permission (preferably in writing); and
   
2. When the song is in the public domain [Amazing Grace]
   

(Note: under copyright law, the term composer is used to refer to both lyricists and musical composers.)

Translating the Lyrics of the Song
Printed translations of foreign lyrics into English require permission unless the song is in the public domain. This is particulary frustrating since readers love to see translations, and benefit greatly from reading them. Thankfully, it's perfectly acceptable to include a short summary that captures the mood of the piece and explains the story. 

Imagine that the TV cartoon song, "Scooby Do" had been written in a foreign language. You could not simply write out the translated lyrics in your liner notes, but you could have written this: 

"Scooby Do is the lighthearted tale of a mystery-solving dog. The singer is looking for Scooby, reminding him that he's needed, that he shouldn't pretend to be injured just because he's scared, and that he'll be rewarded with a special snack for his help. Bribery and honor overcome fear as Scooby does indeed arrive to help, ready and willing."

Comments
In the middle of the 20th century, in the era of vinyl recordings, artists would often include commentary about their songs, regardless of the language in which they were performed. Sometimes the commentary would be from respected musicologists or critics, and sometimes the group itself would share their own thoughts. Some comments included technical analysis, historical details, amusing anecdotes or personal reactions. 

This practice has fallen out of favor, in part due to the smaller dimensions of CD inserts, the desire to limit the amount of paper used and money spent on CD inserts, and in part because digital files rarely carry such information. Artists also have access to publish their thoughts in other ways. 

If your group is leaning towards this, best practice is to carefully evaluate how essential, entertaining and relevant such notes truly are before including them. In general, it's best to let songs speak for themselves, at least in English. Allow the listener to draw her own conclusions as to a song's meaning. Groups may opt to include such commentary on their blogs, elsewhere on their websites or even in concert. 

However, if the comments are extremely well written, provide relevant and nonobvious information, and room allows, brave groups should feel free to include such comments in their liner notes.


General Credits
The next group of credits is usually placed in the general credit section, but it is not inappropriate to credit them per track. The decision as to where they belong rests with the layout artist who must weigh space considerations with how often a particular name repeats. In other words, if all tracks were recorded, mixed, produced and mastered at Evil Giant Studios by Marty Gasper, then this is more easily written once in the general credits section rather than repeated under each track. But if a separate studio mixed each track, you may find it more readable to include this information under each tracks' title.

Footnotes
Often an asterisk or footnote system is used where several studios or engineers, etc., work on the album or where each of them worked on more than one track. Perhaps tracks 1, 5 and 6 would be followed by an asterisk [*] with tracks 2, 3 and 4 followed by another symbol [∆]. At the bottom of the page would be [* Tracks 1, 5 and 6 recorded at Woka Woka Studios and engineered by Fozzy Bear]. Underneath that might be [∆ Tracks 2, 3 and 4 recorded at Green Studios and engineered by Kermit T. Frog].

Producers and Studios
Include all producers’ full names in alphabetical order, and the studio under which each produced the tracks. [Produced by Luke Skywalker for Rebel Alliance Studios and Darth Vader for Death Star Studios]. 

The producer is the individual who makes the final artistic decisions regarding elements like how much reverb to use, how and whether to remix a track or arrangement, or how heavily effected or processed certain elements of the track were. The producer may have also determined which songs to include, chosen the song order, altered the arrangements, and coached the performances of the singers. 

Many groups divide these tasks between musical directors, group officers and hired producers. Your written agreement with a studio may control who gets the credit for producing. Often co-producers are named, and in some instances, the credit,  "executive producer" is used to denote the producer with final authority, particularly if that authority extends to financial matters.

Engineers
All engineers’ full names should be listed alphabetically, preceded by “engineered by”. If the engineer is the person who is responsible for recording the raw, unaffected tracks, this is credited as "tracking by" or "tracked by". If the engineer is responsible for implementing the producer’s sonic ideas, this is often credited as "engineered by" or "mixed by". Often, in a cappella, the engineer and producer are the same person. In this case, best practice is to state that a track was “engineered and produced by" or "tracked, mixed and produced by". Although it is not best practice, it is also acceptable to simply say "produced by".

Editors
Often a specific type of engineer called an "editor" is used. This person is usually responsible for "cleaning up" raw tracks. Editors use software to correct pitch and rhythm inaccuracies. They may also remove unwanted noises, like an errant car horn or loud inhalation. They should be credited by their full names for the studio they worked for [Edited by Neo for Matrix Studios]. If one person is responsible for editing and also some other type of engineering, such as mixing or producing, then the "edited by" credit is often omitted. However, best practice is to fully credit all work. 

Mixers
Mixing is a type of engineering task that is closely related to producing. It involves setting the levels of all recorded parts and often involves setting all effects on all tracks. Where one person is the engineer and producer, best practice is nonetheless to credit mixing separately [engineered, mixed and produced by Snow White for Bad Apple Productions]. However, many engineer/producers simply omit either the mix or engineering credit. As stated above, best practice is to credit all roles. 

Note that producer credit is never omitted. 


Mastering
Mastering is an aspect of the album process in which the final mixes of all tracks are treated to have EQs, volumes, bass response and even occasionally reverbs that all work well together. The goal of mastering is to make a more cohesive album. Mastering is usually handled by a separate studio from the one that tracked and mixed the recording. Mastering studios have specialized equipment and the spaces in which they work require more precise acoustical treatments. 

Mastering credit should be provided as “Mastered by Bill Clinton for Blue Dress Productions”. 

Originally Performed By or OPB
The credit “Originally Performed By” or “Original Artist” or “in the style of” should be avoided. 

This credit became popularized in collegiate a cappella in the 2000s, ostensibly from the influence of karaoke song lists. Best practice is not to use any version of this credit. There are several reasons why: 

1. The credits are like a recipe. They tell us what ingredients are in the album. The music and lyrics come from the composers. The arrangement comes from the arranger. The performance comes solely from your group. 
2. Crediting the original performers is tantamount to admitting that you value mimicry over originality. 
3. The "originally performed by" credit is often inaccurate. Without research, a cappella groups frequently credit the performing artists responsible for most popular version or most recent version of the song, neither of which is necessarily the original performer of a song.
4. The original performer, unlike the composer, a cappella group, soloist or producer, has no legally recognizable interest in the a cappella group's track.
5. Non-a cappella musical performers almost never include this "credit". 
   
6. Other similar artforms also universally avoid this credit. Actors perform roles, not roles as performed by prior actors. As an example, in the 2009 Star Trek movie, Chris Pine is credited as performing the role of Captain James T. Kirk. He is not credited as performing the role of Captain Kirk, as performed by William Shatner. This is true despite Shatner having starred in the TV series, the cartoon and the prior seven motion pictures. The prior performer's fame is irrelevant. Pine is performing a role, not imitating a prior actor. 

If you feel strongly about including some reference to other performing artists, consider crediting "inspired by" or "thanks to" or even "check out" . In the case of a highly imitative arrangement, you may credit your arrangement as based on the earlier work: [Arranged by Jane Smith, based upon the arrangement featured on "The White Album" as performed by The Beatles. © 1968].

As Performed By
Most of the comments regarding "originally performed by" apply to the credit "as performed by". Unless you are deliberately imitating the performance style of another artist, this credit should be avoided. 

Album Art and Photography
Album art and photography should be credited separately in the general section using complete names and associated businesses. Photographs are generally credited in text that is on or directly under the appropriate photos. If printed on the photo, and accurate, it is appropriate to use a copyright symbol (©) before the photographer's name.

P in a circle + Name + Date
I could make a joke here about what circular activities won’t get any name to give you a date, but I leave that to the reader. The symbol  ℗ means "copyright in the sound recording." It can also be written as "copyright in the sound recording" or  "© in the sound recording." 

Every track has two copyrights: 

1. the copyright in the composition, which consists of the melody and the lyrics; and 
2. the copyright in the sound recording, which consists of the fixation of the actual recorded sounds.
   

Typically the entity that makes the final decisions regarding the actual fixed sounds on the recording owns the copyright in the sound recording. 

This can get a little tricky when one person does this as a service for another, such as when a professional producer does this as a paid service for a group. This is best resolved in advance, and in a writing signed by the music director, the producer and anyone paying for or directing the means and methods of making the recording.

The sound recording copyright owner has the right to control when, if and for how much the actual recorded sounds of the album can be used in any other audio-visual works, any live or digital performance, in any physical copies and in any derivative works (such as samples, remastered versions, etc). 

Thanks
The general credits are the appropriate spot to thank supporters, parents, alumni, and even inspiring influences. This is a good place to thank the original artists, for those who feel personally inspired by them.

Abbreviations
When determining abbreviations, or shortened forms of names, clarity is key. Keep in mind that reviewers and awards committees prefer not to hunt through liner notes for critical information. For this reason, use complete names in all track credits, even where this involves repetition. Crediting only first names isn't as cute as it seems, and is only acceptable on albums in which the entire creative team is very small (such as a quartet), and then, only in combination with an exceptionally clear general credit section. In short, don't do it.


ID3 Tags
ID3 tags are the name for the metadata that accompanies, or more precisely, is embedded within digital music files. These tags are the equivalent of liner notes on physical discs. See this guide for metadata standards.

Name 
Put the exact song title here, making sure to keep capitalization and parentheses as originally notated. Do not add quotes or song numbers to this field.

Artist 
Put your group’s complete name here, as well as any featured or guest artists. For groups associated with schools, attempt to keep your complete name consistent. Are you the Northwestern University Overtones or The Overtones of Northwestern University? Is the "The" capitalized or not? Best practice is to use the complete name of your school rather than the abbreviation [NU]. On an album with multiple artists, put all artists performing on this track here just as you would in the liner notes.

Album Artist 
Put your group’s name here as one would find it in a music store or in a search query. On an album with tracks made by multiple artists, write “Various Artists” in this category. This is not the place to credit the visual artists that created your album art.

Album 
Put your album title here, making sure to keep capitalization and parentheses as originally notated. Best practice for multidisc releases is to write the album title then «space»(Disc «digit»). [The Good Time Singing Collection (Disc 5)]

Grouping 
This is often blank in contemporary a cappella music since it was intended to denote movements in a classical piece of music. However, if your group performs any musical work with movements in any genre, this is where you would enter that information.

Part of a Compilation (iTunes checkbox)
This box is checked in iTunes to indicate that tracks on an album were recorded by different artists. And yes, it is redundant if "various artists" is entered in the Album Artist field, but it's done anyway.

Composer
List all composers' complete names. Practice varies as to format. This was formerly done by last name, comma, first name, semicolon and then the next composer. [Minkoff, Jonathan; Feldman, Freddie]. However, today the more common practice is simply to enter the names. [Jonathan Minkoff and Freddie Feldman or Jonathan Minkoff, Freddie Feldman] What's critical is that the complete names are included and spelled correctly so that they can be searched.

Genre
There is ongoing debate as to whether a cappella should be recognized as its own genre. Some argue  against making a cappella a genre since it is more properly an instrumentation, and because stylistically, such a genre would encompass too broad a variety of music. 

As a practical matter, a cappella is not a genre on most music distribution services. Until that changes, this limitation ends the debate. When groups upload their album they must choose some genre, and so most groups choose the closest: pop, rock, r&b, jazz or easy listening, as they feel appropriate. 

I would argue that "a cappella pop" , "a cappella rock" and similar a cappella+ genres might be the best compromise, if such an option were made available. A search for just "a cappella" would turn up all a cappella genres, while one for "a cappella rock" would only return the subgenre. In the meanwhile, groups are at the mercy of the available options, though they can add genres to their own private iTunes collections, if they wish.

Year 
List the year the recording is completed. If this is a remix or remaster, and the field allows, it is appropriate to list the two completion dates: original and remaster, separated by a comma. If the field does not allow two dates, list the last completion date.

Track #
List the tracks in numerical order as they appear on the album. This will maintain the track order when played on digital devices.

Disc #
This two part field tracks the CD version of the album, but has diminished relevance in an all digital world. If your physical album is released on one disk then put 1 in both fields  If your album is a multidisc release then put the number of this track's disc in the first field followed by the total number of discs in the second field.

BPM
This stands for beats per minute. DJs find this information essential as their craft often requires them to match tempos when playing songs. If you hope DJs will play your tracks, this is good information to include. 

Comments
If your software doesn't permit additional specific fields, this one is the catchall. Use this field to add any information you possess about the track that does not have its own field. This will often include the producers, studios, arrangers and soloists. Character limitations may force abbreviations, but do what you can. 


Conclusion 
Credits don't need to be overly complex, just thorough and accurate. It's a good idea to make sure this part of the process isn't rushed as research requires time. Have at least one detail-oriented person proofread your work for typos. After all, these credits will last a long, long time!

By Jonathan Minkoff

Singing may be free, but studio time, touring, attending the big aca-events like SingStrong -and of course, throwing the ultimate after-parties all require cash in hand. You need the green, so here are 27 ways to make it rain:

1) Alumni Giving. 
Alumni are the lifeblood of colleges and some high schools and they can be your lifeblood too -especially if you are a larger group. The key is to stay in touch with your alum. Keep them up-to-date on happenings with a monthly short e-newsletter. Give them discounts or free passes to your concerts. Invite them to participate in a group number at least once or twice a year. 

My high school performed the Hallelujah Chorus at our holiday concert each and every year. Our director would invite all the alum to come onstage and join us for that number and the audience would swamp the stage. These are the people, now presumably earning much more money than when they were starving students, that can support causes that are close to their hearts. And you want to be close to their hearts! The opportunity you give the alumni to feel connected, see their old buddies and perform on stage again is priceless, and if they each cough up just a little to help you out, you’re well on your way.

2) Car Wash. 
Put on your skimpiest and scrub those cars. Soap and water are pretty cheap and this is a great bonding session for your group members, particularly in large groups. Not only will you make at least some money but you’ll also make some fans as you play your music through the boombox, pass out flyers for your concert, sell CDs  and flirt with drivers! Even those who don't purchase your cleaning services will learn who you are and that means they are more likely to come see you perform next time.

3) Sell CDs. 
Make sure you always have CDs to sell and make sure everyone in the group has some absolute obligation to sell at least a certain amount outside of your normal gigs. Some people are shy and you need to give them a kick in the pants to let their family and friends know that this year’s stocking stuffer should be your music. 

4) Sell Digitally. 
Some people don’t have their act together when your concert rolls around and  they only decide at 2am that they want to buy your stuff. Thankfully the Internet does our bidding. Sell your tracks on your own site or acaTunes or some other site. The cost is incredibly low and that way you can grab even those with the strangest of schedules. You never know which insomniacs are your best fans! Not sure about the legalities and costs of doing cover songs? Check here for licensing info.

5) Singing Valentines in Person. 
People want to show love on Valentines Day and after starting with flowers and candy there’s a giant empty financial void until jewelry starts. You are the perfect middle ground. Charge less than a gold necklace and you’ve found your niche. Plus it’s like you are being paid to practice and promote yourselves. Don’t forget to hand out cards to everyone you sing for. Performances beget more performances.

6) Singing Birthday Wishes by Phone. 
They pay you 20-50 bucks; you call a person to leave a happy birthday in harmony. If they are there, they get it live. If not, you leave a message. If you took orders for this service on your website and the only times you made yourself available to call were times in which you already scheduled a rehearsal, you could make money at every single rehearsal all year! If you only did one or two per rehearsal, it could pay for free food all year!

7) Singing Spoof Songs by Phone. 
Take a song you have already learned the parts for and offer to rewrite the lyrics of one verse and a chorus. They pay you for a short song. You can charge more for this service since you are writing original lyrics. Or make it easier: you tell them the songs they can choose from and the clients have to re-write the lyrics. You may want to set some language or topic limits on this since your reputation may be affected by the lyrics you sing. Suggestive is one thing; explicit is another.

8) Combined or Multiple Garage Sales. 
You all have junk. Sell it and use the money for the group! If you put all that stuff together in one place, it’ll be a big draw. Sing at the sale and you'll get your name out to deal-seekers, again, making them more likely to come support you later. 

9) T-shirts. 
CDs can get ripped to MP3 and passed around freely by those who disrespect you and your group, but anyone who wants a t-shirt has to get their own; sharing cotton “files” is pretty rare. Remember to keep the very big and very small sizes! People sized at the extremes are always looking for any wardrobe that fits.

10) House Gigs.
Everyone knows to go after big, paid concerts. But many artists also perform in people's homes. These house gigs are typically low key, living room affairs. But they can be lots of fun, help you earn some cash and get you in front of new fans. 

11) Bake Sale. 
Tried and true. And like the car wash, you can promote your CDs, T shirts, singing valentines and gigs at the same time.

12) Grants. 
There are lots of funds out there for groups that use their music to give back to the community or groups that help kids stay off the street or that focus on the music of a particular culture –even if only for a given concert. The golden rule of getting grants: apply! You don’t have to be the best in the world, just the best of those who apply! And many, many people and groups take themselves out of the running by never applying at all. 

13) Pre-orders and Kickstarters.
Take pre-order money for items that haven’t come in yet, like CDs and T-shirts. Just be sure you deliver the goods when they do arrive. 

Kickstarter and similar sites can also allow you to raise large amounts by putting your plea in front of a much wider audience. Just remember that the site takes a cut and so does Amazon and the monies are usually taxable. So if you raised a gross of 100k, you could have to pay 5k to kickstarter, 5k(ish) to Amazon and 25k(ish) to Uncle Sam, leaving your net at about 2/3 of what you thought you raised. That's still a good deal for many groups. Just be careful that you don't promise "rewards" that cost more than you'll actually net. Getting input from an accountant can save you a bundle here!

14) Help Others.
Raise money for a more attractive cause than your group and split the proceeds. You offer an organization with a performance space a performance where you will split the door with them. They promote to their own organization and contacts. You help them and help yourselves at the same time.

15) Corporate Sponsorship. 
Big corporations have millions to spend on getting their name out there. That’s done through advertising, but also through association. They want to be associated with good things and you can be one of those things! You need to write to them and demonstrate why you’d be a good match and what you need from them in terms of support and how they’ll benefit. It can take a while, but it’s not an impossible task. Corportaions want to get in good with communities and specific demographics. If your audience is 99% high school or college students, that’s a valuable demographic. You may get cash, performance equipment or other valuable support. But stick with it. Go both locally and nationally. 

16) Donations.
Become a federally recognized not-for-profit organization, or a program organized under an already existing not-for-profit organization and accept tax-free donations. This process is time-consuming and you'll have to file tax forms and register in your state and federally, but it opens you up to receiving donations from Foundations and grants that would otherwise not have considered you at all. Plus, fans can support you and take it off on their taxes!

17) Represent!
Represent your school or town, officially. Negotiate a fee to perform at every one of their functions. Better learn a good arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner!

18) Commercial Work. 
It’s not easy to come by, but it is lucrative. Contact every casting agent, recording studio and advertising agency around your area and make sure they have high quality samples of your music. Your low rates, the fact that a cappella groups are almost always non-union and your youthful exuberance, combined with how different your sound is compared to individual singers or bands should land you something! 

19) Concessions.
Music makes audiences thirsty! So sell concessions at your shows. These can be marked up heavily and people are just as happy to buy from you as from the candy or soda machine.

20) Java.
Sell Starbucks Coffee at your shows. People are addicted to that stuff and there’s a large mark-up.

21) Back it up.
Sing back-up harmonies for singer-songwriter’s demo tapes for a fee. There’s not that much of this work, but there is some.

22) Nobody Home.
Sell individualized outgoing messages for people's cell phones (or anyone who still uses a landline or actual answering machine). You could even record a high quality version with a space for someone's name to be added in. 

23) Call Me!
Sell ring tones. There are many programs that allow you to make your own.

24) Teach.
Teach people at a lower level than you how to do what you are good at. That can be singing, arranging, choreography or anything at all!

25) Parents.
Parents are accustomed to paying for their kids. They’ve been doing it since you were born. If your group puts together a written proposal with a budget for how you’ll use the money responsibly, and if all the member’s parents put in equally, you’ll have a good shot at getting a "parental grant" or at least a no-interest loan. 

26) Royalties.
If you write or record music that others want to use, you can earn money. Income streams include: (1) royalties from printed music you've written; (2) mechanical royalties from others recording compositions you've written; (3) performance royalties from the performance of the compositions you've written or recordings of your group used on stage, tv, film or internet; (4) synchronization royalties from using your songs or recordings along with any picture or video; and (5) the digital rights from streaming and downloading via internet radio or on-demand services. You'll need to learn what payments you are entitled to, and register your composers and group with the organizations that track the use of music and collect payments for you. This is complicated, but it can be well worth the effort!

27) Membership Fees.
Just like fancy private clubs, fraternities or sororities, many a cappella groups have membership fees. These fees might come due once a year, once a semester or just once, upon joining. The fees are almost always non-refundable. And while you don't want to charge such a high fee that talent is kept away, you also need to send the message that membership is a privilege worth paying for. Plus it allows the organization to make advance plans and budgets. If you know you'll have a minimum of X in the bank just based on membership fees, then group leaders can afford to do plan ahead and and buy SingStrong weekend passes before the price goes up or they sell out. 

Another plus to membership fees is that people tend to commit more strongly to the organizations that are harder to join. It's a bit like hazing, only it's not cruel or embarrassing. Finally, every group has quitters, people who drop the ball and then drop out. That can be a drag on groups. But at least those people will have already paid in, and therefore helped out before they checked out.

Try these tips and keep your eyes on the prize. You’ll have the coffers full in no time!

 give the right information and the right amount of money at the right time and place to the right person.

Keep in mind that this compulsory license won’t allow you to make or use videos, movies, audiovisual works, live performances, mash-ups, medleys, dramatic works, or even someone else’s sound recordings. Compulsory licenses are just for making your own sound recording of someone else’s composition. 

What’s a Cover Song?
A cover song, for our purposes, is a nondramatic, non-public domain song written and published by someone else.

What Does Nondramatic Mean?
Songs that were created as part of musicals and plays are called “dramatic” and they are not covered by compulsory licensing. Thankfully, almost all pop, jazz, R&B and rock songs are considered nondramatic.

How Do You Know If a Song is In the Public Domain?
Here’s an easy article to help you get to the bottom of the most common public domain questions:

http://www.acappella101.com/home/public-domain

If you find that daunting, then you should just assume that any song published 1923 or later is not in the public domain.  Songs published before 1923 are almost always in the public domain.

However, you should know that due to the many changes in the law over the last century, determining public domain status with certainty is a tricky matter usually handled by attorneys on a case-by-case basis. The current state of the law is that copyright lasts for the life of the last living co-author, plus 70 years. 

How Do You Know If a Song is Published?
Published simply mean that copies of the music have been sold, leased or given away to the public.  Public performance alone won’t constitute publishing. Only published songs are subject to compulsory licensing.

What About Arrangements?
There is no compulsory license for copyrighted arrangements. But many arrangements are not protected by copyright at all. The rule here is that you can freely use all but two kinds of arrangements: 1) copyrighted arrangements of public domain songs; and 2) copyrighted arrangements made with the permission of the copyright holder of the underlying composition.

In the first situation, an arrangement may be copyrighted even if the song being arranged is in the public domain. This only means that you aren’t free to copy that particular arrangement. The original words and melody of the song are still yours to do with as you wish. And all chords and chord progressions are in the public domain. Just make sure your arrangement is based on the original work and not the work of some other arranger and you’ll be fine.

In the second instance, if the arrangement was made with the permission of the copyright holder, then, in addition to paying the composer (who cannot deny permission), you have to also pay the arranger separately whatever they ask for. And the arranger can refuse permission if they wish. But if the arrangement was made without permission, (which is very often the case), then you do not need to ask permission or provide any payment.

What’s the Easiest Way To License a Cover Song?
The easiest way to license a cover song is through Limelight.com or through the Harry Fox Agency at Songfile.com  or through easySongLicensing.com. Sign on. Select the songs. Pay the appropriate amount for the number of copies you will make (not the number you will sell). Get your licenses. All done! 

What Kind of Licenses Should I Get?
That depends on whether you will sell physical or digital copies. You use the mechanical license for: 

Physical Phonorecords (CDs, tapes)

And you use a digital license for:

Permanent Digital Downloads (like itunes and amazon)
Interactive Streaming (specific song plays on demand)
Ringtones (often a song snippet)

The cost for physical phonorecords and digital downloads is the same. The cost for the other categories varies.


What If We Want to Make a Video?
Videos require an entirely different license called a Sync or Synchronization License,  which has not traditionally been sold by Limelight, Songfile or  EasySongLicensing. You must usually contact the publisher directly for this license. (As of the writing of this article, The Harry Fox Agency is in the midst of negotiating and testing out a bulk system for YouTube licenses, so it's worth checking.)

What If The Song Isn’t Available Through Those Sites?
That should not happen.  Limelight and  EasySongLicensing  claim that they can handle any licensing request, so they may be the best place to start. 

They both do charge a fee of around $15-$20 above the cost of the license itself. But so does the Harry Fox Agency.

Fees are a particular frustration in small runs, but once you see how onerous a job doing this on your own can be, you may find that Limelight 's or others' fees are money well spent.

Can't I Do This Without These Middlemen and Their Fees?
Yes! All you need to do is give the right information and the right amount of money at the right time to the right person. The bad news is that this can be a time-consuming hassle. On the other hand, being sued for copyright infringement is much, much more time-consuming and expensive hassle.

What’s the Right Information? 
 If you get your compulsory license by contacting the copyright holder directly, without using  Limelight,  Songfile or  EasySongLicensing, you must follow the instructions as laid out in the copyright act. The “Notice” included below includes everything you need. All you have to do is fill it out and make sure to send it to the right person along with the right amount of money at the right time.

What’s the Right Amount of Money to Pay?
If you ask nicely, or of you plan to make a lot of copies, some copyright owners will offer you the right to use their song for free or at a discount. Whatever you and any one or more of the copyright holders agrees to is all you need to pay. It's tough to get a response from many copyright holders.

If you don’t come to an agreement (either because they are unwilling to compromise or because they never answer you), then the amount you pay follows this simple formula: 9.1 cents per copy, or 1.75 cents per minute or fraction thereof of playing time, whichever is greater. (Remember to round up those fractions of a cent at the very end of your calculations.)

Note that the amount you owe to the copyright holder for using their composition is completely unrelated to the amount of money you charge the public to buy your sound recording. So even if you give your recording away for free, you still pay for each copy you made and/or each copy you allowed someone else to make (such as when they download a song from your website).

What’s the Right Time to Pay?
You must pay the correct person, either before you make the copies, or within 60 days of making the copies in order to have the right to a compulsory license. And if you don’t purchase your right through either  Limelight, Songfile or  EasySongLicensing, then you must provide a monthly statement with full payments to the copyright holder.

What Happens If The Notice or Payment is Late?
Often nothing happens. But that’s because many composers are nice people or don’t know their rights. If you miss the deadline, you do take a risk because your tardiness gives the copyright holders the right to refuse permission, or to charge you any amount that they choose.

Who Is the Right Person to Pay?
Any one of the “copyright owners” (ie composers) or their authorized agent who handles music publishing rights.

How Do You Find the Copyright Holder?
This is the trickiest part of the entire process. If you don’t license the song through either Limelight,  Songfile or  EasySongLicensing then you need to find the accurate name and address of the copyright holder. Though you may get this information from many sources, the only source you can legally rely on is a search of the records at the Copyright Office. 

If the work was registered in 1978 or later, you can search the new online database of the Library of Congress  ( www.copyright.gov/records)
Searching is free, but you’ll find that going through these records is a bit confusing.

You can also search for any work registered at any time, for free, in person at the Copyright Public Records Reading Room (LM-404) on the 4th floor of the James Madison Building of the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The 2011 hours are 8:30 am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

If getting to DC is an issue, you can pay the bibliographer there a fee to do the search for you. The 2011 fee for location and retrieval of Copyright Office materials or records was $165 per hour with a two hour minimum. The fee for location and retrieval of electronic records (per quarter hour) (with a minimum of 1/2 hour) is $41.25. (That $15 dollar fee for using either Limelight, or  EasySongLicensing is probably starting to look better now)You can contact the Library of Congress bibliographer here:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office–IRD
Records Research and Certification Section
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6300
fax: (202) 252-3485
tel: (202) 707-6850

Can’t I Just Look on the Internet?
There’s a lot of accurate information on the net, particularly at ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and AllMusic. It’s free to search these sites, but, consider this warning from the Copyright Office:

“The Notice will not be considered properly served if ... not sent to the copyright owner or the agent of the copyright owner … or if the Notice is sent to an incorrect address.”

In other words, if you mail to the wrong person or to the right person at the wrong address, it’s as if you never mailed the required notice at all.

If the address or name is wrong, and you receive either a “no” or no answer, you cannot proceed.  If you are fast approaching at your 60-day deadline, you could lose the ability to get a license at all.

And if you get a “yes” from someone who isn’t actually the correct person, and you pay them, and then the real copyright owner comes looking for payments from you, you could end up having to pay double! To get your money back, you would have to sue the first incorrect person for fraud.

Once I Find the Copyright Holder, What Do I Say?
Once you find the copyright holder, you want to serve a "Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords". This is what one looks like:

_______________________________________________________________________

Legal Name of Person/Entity Partner director etc seeking the Compulsory License

Full Address (do not use a PO box)

Date

Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords

To Whom It May Concern;

  Our records show that you are a copyright holder or duly authorized agent of a copyright holder of the works listed herein. If you are not the copyright holder or a duly authorized agent, you must notify us immediately.   Pursuant to Section 115(b) and Section 201.18 of title 17 of the United States Code, we write to you today to provide notice of our intention to obtain a compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords of the works listed below.   Please note our information: The full legal name of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license; if a business then the name and title of the chief executive officer, managing partner, sole proprietor or other person similarly responsible for the management of such entity.

otherwise known as [all fictitious or assumed names used by such person or entity for making and distributing phonorecords]

telephone number,

full address (note: A post office box or similar designation will not be sufficient for this purpose except where it is the only address that can be used in that geographic location),

e-mail address, if available, of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license,

Our fiscal year begins on [DATE your fiscal accounting begins –this is usually Jan 1]

We hereby notify you of our intent to obtain compulsory licenses for the following nondramatic musical works to be embodied in our phonorecords:

Song Title            Author(s)      Copyright Owner    Type of Phono             Date

We have made the following types of phonorecord configurations under this compulsory license:

single compact disks
long-playing compact disks
cassettes
cartridges
reel-to-reel tapes
digital phonorecords

The expected date of our initial distribution of phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is [date]

The name of the principal recording artist or group actually engaged or expected to be engaged in rendering the performances fixed on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is [Name of Your Recording Artist].

The catalog number or numbers, and label name or names, used or expected to be used on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is [information]

In the case of phonorecords already made (if any) under the compulsory license, the date or dates these were manufactured is [dates].

Pursuant to § 201.18 (b) we hereby request that you provide within two weeks of the receipt of this Notice of Intention, the name and address of the copyright owner or its agent upon whom we shall serve Statements of Account and the monthly royalty in accordance with §201.19(a)(4) If this Notice is signed by a duly authorized agent for the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license, the agent, by signing below affirms that he or she is authorized to execute the Notice of Intention on behalf of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license.

Sincerely,

SIGNATURE

Print name

Title, Company/Organization

_______________________________________________

And here is one that's been filled out with fictional information:
The Happtones, Inc.
Large Music Inc.
Att: Licensing Division
123 Big City Way
NY, NY 11111
1-1-2011

  Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and
                                       Distributing Phonorecords

To Whom It May Concern;

  Our records show that you are a copyright holder or duly authorized agent of a copyright holder of the works listed herein. If you are not the copyright holder or a duly authorized agent, you must notify us immediately.   Pursuant to Section 115(b) and Section 201.18 of title 17 of the United States Code, we write to you today to provide notice of our intention to obtain a compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords of the works listed below. Please note our information:   The Happytones, Inc.

President, Jane Smith
The Happytones are otherwise known as the H-tones and/or H-tone Records.
Ph. 212-555-5555,
123 College Way Collegetown, NY 11111
Our fiscal year begins on January first.

We hereby notify you of our intent to obtain compulsory licenses for the following nondramatic musical works to be embodied in our phonorecords:

Song Title            Author(s)                        Copyright Owner           

Beat It                        Michael Jackson            Mijac Music, Inc           

We have made or intend to make the following number and types of phonorecord configurations under this compulsory license:

                        0            vinyl records

                        500            compact disks

                        0            cassettes

                        0            cartridges

                        0            reel-to-reel tapes

                        300            digital phonorecords

The expected date of our initial distribution of phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is approximately March 15th , 2011.

The name of the principal recording artist or group actually engaged or expected to be engaged in rendering the performances fixed on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is The Happytones.

The catalog number or numbers used or expected to be used is unknown at this time. The label name or names, used or expected to be used on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license is H-tone Records. We will write to you if and when this information becomes available or changes.

In the case of phonorecords already made (if any) under the compulsory license, the date or dates these were manufactured is not applicable, as no copies have yet been made.

Pursuant to § 201.18 (b) we hereby request that you provide within two weeks of the receipt of this Notice of Intention, the name and address of the copyright owner or its agent upon whom we shall serve Statements of Account and the monthly royalty in accordance with §201.19(a)(4) If this Notice is signed by a duly authorized agent for the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license, the agent, by signing below affirms that he or she is authorized to execute the Notice of Intention on behalf of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license.

Sincerely,

SIGNATURE

Print name Title, Company/Organization

_______________________________________________



Tips on Filling out the Notice of Intention
Don’t Reference Anything Outside the Notice. Your notice must be clearly intelligible, legible, and unambiguous. That’s probably obvious to you. But what may not be obvious is that, to be “unambiguous”, nothing in your letter can reference facts or information contained in other documents or records.

The idea is that anyone reading your Notice of Intention has all the information they need, right there in the Notice, to fully and properly account for your use of the copyrighted material.

In other words you can’t say, “If we sell out our show then we will sell 200 copies of your song. But if we don’t, we will only purchase 100 copies.” Why? Because this references a fact –whether or not you sold out your show- that isn’t contained in the letter.

What Happens If You Do Not Know the Answer
Life is a little messy. Do your best to be accurate, but so long as you write information “in good faith” and on the basis of the best knowledge, information, and belief of the person signing the Notice, you’re probably ok.

If later developments make your information inaccurate, the first Notice is still valid. You just need to send an updated follow-up Notice to make the corrections.

The Moral of the Story
 Limelight,  Songfile or  EasySongLicensing make life a lot easier. Use them! But if you run into trouble, they aren't your only options. If you make sure to contact the right person, the right way and make the right payments then no one can deny you the right to record any published song.      

The idea is so enticing however, that some have begun to hallucinate, to see Fair Use mirages shimmering everywhere in the desert of copyright. 

Despite what we may personally believe to be the ethical harmlessness of our actions, sometimes the answer is just "No, you can't use this without permission." This article may not give you the answers you want, but it will help you ask the right questions.

Don't Count Words
Fair Use is always determined on a case-by-case basis. Any source attempting to tell you the number of words, pages, or notes that "is allowable under fair use" is doing you a disservice. 

Highly specific guidelines might represent what a group of well-meaning individuals believes is reasonable, but that's just an opinion and you need to know how the Courts will make the analysis if someone challenges you.

It's a little like having your friends tell you how fast you can drive on a highway or how many reams of paper are OK to permanently borrow from the  office. Your friends may have the best of intentions, and they may even have followed their own recommendations for years, but that doesn't matter. If you speed or steal, you're taking a risk and the thumbs up that your friends gave you won't be a defense.

If you don't believe me, consider this helpful guideline provided by the Copyright Office: "There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission." Seems clear enough.


Plagiarism vs. Copyright
And just in case you educators thought you had the work-around: "Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission." (http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html.) 

Plagiarism and copyright infringement have nothing to do with one another. The first involves crediting the source of an idea or expression, the second, receiving permission when necessary to use the expression.

It's like announcing that you are robbing the bank. It's very honest of you. No one will call you a liar. But that doesn't mean you're not a thief.


Fair Use Definition
If there's no set amount that's approved to use, and proper credit won't do the trick, where do you start? Start with the source, the Copyright Act. This is a link to the full text of § 107, The Fair Use section of the Copyright Act. (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107)

Here is my simplified version:
"[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work, including ... copies  ..., for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching..., scholarship, or research, is not an infringement ...."

If you read this like a human, the text appears to say that using a work for any of the purposes on the list beginning with "criticism" is permissible. Silly human.

If you read the paragraph like a lawyer, you realize that the logic is circular and the sentence really reads like this: "Fair Use is not an infringement."

Tricky Congress. So for this to be of any use to you at all, you still need to know, what exactly is "Fair Use"? 


The Fair Use Factors
Conveniently, Congress has given us a test (which they actually took from the Courts):

"In determining whether the use ... is a fair use[,] the factors ... include --

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a  commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

OK. Now we're talking. What does all this mean? Let's take it one factor at a time.

Purpose and Character of the Use
Remember that list beginning with "criticism"? This factor is where that list gets used. The Courts will look to see that you are doing one of the things on the list or something akin to it, since the list was intended as examples and not strict limitation. 

The one thing that all the uses have in common is that they are "transformative." In all the examples, you add something new, usually a commentary or analysis of the original. You change the purpose and the character of the original by making something different. That's part of what separates this kind of permissible borrowing from just copying.

In "10 Big Myths about Copyright explained" Brad Templeton states "Are you reproducing an article from the New York Times because you needed to in order to criticise[sic] the quality of the New York Times, or because you couldn't find time to write your own story, or didn't want your readers to have to register at the New York Times web site? The first is probably fair use, the others probably aren't." (http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html). Brad is right on the money.

And speaking of money, that's another element of this first factor. Are you doing this for profit or for the March of Dimes? Many people assume that if they aren't making money on the use then it's OK. That's false. And now you know better. Whether you borrowed a work for the purposes of profit is just one part of one factor in a four factor test. And you have to get the balance of all four of the factors to weigh in your favor, so keep reading.

Nature of the Copyrighted Work
All works are not created equal. Some works get stronger copyright protection than others. The closer the work is to a mere collection of facts, the "thinner" the protection it gets. 

Consider the phone book, the weather report or a list of ingredients. There are only a few ways to organize everyone's names, tell you it’s raining and chilly or to make chocolate chip cookies. 

The closer the work gets to pure creativity, the stronger its copyright protection.  Consider a painting, song, or even a photograph. These are expressive, and copyright protects an author's expressiveness, and not her underlying ideas or facts.

For instance, if the children's song teaching us the ABCs were copyrighted, it would still be OK to use most of the lyrics and to write your own melody. This is because the melody is expressive, but the idea of an alphabet song is not protected under copyright, and the order and contents of the alphabet is a fact. That's nearly if not all of the lyrics, so you’d be free to use those lyrics.

As it happens, the melody (which we recognize as beginning with C-C-G-G-A-A-G) is from a French work, " "Ah ! vous dirai-je, Maman" first published in 1761, whose melody was later published in variations by Mozart in 1785. This ancient melody was combined with the Alphabet Song lyrics in 1834. This dates the Alphabet Song’s  creation prior to contemporary copyright law in the US and leaving the whole kit and kaboodle to currently reside in the public domain. But it illustrates the point: the more creative and expressive the thing you borrow, the less factual, the more protected, so be careful!

Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used
This element of the test frequently dominates the analysis. And this is where many a case seems to get in trouble. Read this carefully: You take an enormous risk by using someone else's entire work. But you still take a big risk if you use "the heart of the work" or, as I like to say, "the good stuff". This factor ties into the next factor as well. If you take enough of the original so that buying your work might possibly substitute for buying the original, then you know you've likely taken too much.

Effect of the Use on the Potential Market for and the Value of the Copyrighted Work
This is a tricky factor for many people to grasp. What exactly is the "Potential Market" for a work? Although we don’t have a clear-cut answer, consider the words of these Courts regarding the "Potential Market":

"It would . . . not serve the ends of the Copyright Act - i.e., to advance the arts - if artists were denied their monopoly over derivative versions of their creative works merely because they made the artistic decision not to saturate those markets with variations of their original." Castle Rock, 955 F. Supp. at 272 Campbell, 510 U.S. at 578; see Texaco, 60 F.3d at 926 (applying Campbell approach). 

Under this factor, we "consider not only the extent of market harm caused by the particular actions of the alleged infringer, but also whether unrestricted and widespread conduct of the sort engaged in by the defendant . . . would result in a substantially adverse impact on the potential market for the original." Campbell, 510 U.S. at 590 (quotation marks and citation omitted).

The fourth factor must also "take account . . . of harm to the market for derivative works," id., defined as those markets "that creators of original works would in general develop or license others to develop," id. at 592.

Consider sampling. Though the samples usually get strong copyright protection, they are also usually small and the new songs that use them do generally transform them, though the transformation is from song to song rather than song to say, commentary on songwriting.  But, the fourth factor is  where the most serious transgression occurs: there is a market for authors to sell their samples and by just taking the samples, that market is obviously harmed. Also, an artist is free to deny the use of the sample. They may feel that including their work in your new context is something that might hurt their reputation, possibly because you are offensive, untalented or even because you aren't a big enough star. That's the original author's choice.

The bottom line is that this factor is interpreted so broadly that analysis almost always favors the original copyright holder and not the person attempting to invoke Fair Use.

Now despite how this factor seems to include harm to the value of the copyrighted work you’re borrowing, you are nonetheless free to say negative things in criticizing other people's works. That's free speech. 

Doesn't that negative free speech harm the "value" of the work? Yes, but not in a way that Congress meant to protect. 

So under this factor, bad reviews are OK, parody is OK -even if after reading your clever diatribes, the entire world hates the original author and her work. You are limited only by the rules of libel. So don't lie. But do feel free to share your unbelievably harsh critiques to your blackened heart's content.


Fair Use Examples
Believe it or not, you now have the delightfully short version of the Fair Use Factors. But in case you've broken down into tears, here is a list that The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites as examples of activities that courts had then regarded as  fair use (note that I've bolded words that should not be overlooked):

• “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment;
• quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations;
• use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied;
• summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report;
• reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy;
• reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson;
• reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports;
• incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Seeing a pattern here? Keep it brief and you're usually on the right track. Pigs get fed; hogs get slaughtered.


Give Fair Use a Try
So let's try out our new analysis skills.

I quoted The Copyright Office at the beginning of this article: "There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission." Remember back that far? It's hard to remember anything right now, I'm sure, but scroll up and check it out if you don't believe me.

Welcome back, amnesiac scrollers. We took it for granted that I could use that  sentence, not just the ideas of the sentence, but the exact quote, the expression. We have an instinct that it's OK. But why? And no, "Because you did it, Mr. Minkoff," is not an acceptable answer.

Quick Robin, to the Fair Use Analysis cave! (na na na na na na...) 


Character of My Use
I am writing an educational article for a non-profit entity (this article is linked to from SingStrong Charity A cappella Festival). Can you see my halo? That's a double whammy in my favor: favored purpose and non-profit status.


Nature of the Work I'm Using
I quoted an explanation of the law. It's not a phone book, but it's not Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" either. How many ways can you say what the Copyright Office said? A few, but not that many, so it gets slightly "thinner" protection. This factor probably favors me.


The Amount and Substantiality I Used
Remember how important this factor is. I did not copy the entire website, the entire article or even the entire paragraph. I quoted  one sentence. That's not very much. And the website talks about many topics. So I can argue I probably did not take the heart of the work away, though that's at least debatable. In the end, the tiny portion of what I used means this factor likely goes my way.


The Effect of My Use on the Copyright Holder's Potential Market
The government is giving this sentence away, and they have given every indication that they always will. So I'd say the effect is zero. But keep in mind that this factor could still be interpreted against me easily so try to win all the other factors. After all, perhaps the public gets access only by visiting the government's website and the government gets a benefit from the large number of hits. 


Balance the Factors
Weigh all the factors in light of the purposes of copyright and I think you find that there's nothing that was done that would counter Congress's overriding goal of furthering the creation of new works. Fair Use achieved! I get to pose by the Fighter Jet next to my banner now.

​
Is It Protected?
That analysis was actually a trick question of sorts because the source of the quote was a US Government employee. And thankfully, the US Government cannot hold copyright protection for its own employees' works.

This means the sentence I quoted isn't protected by copyright at all. It's in the  public domain, like the Alphabet Song. Anything in the public domain can be used by anyone for any purpose without permission, so I could have skipped the Fair Use Factors altogether, but then what would you have learned? 

(By the way, it's a million little details like that that make hiring a lawyer important and make this article general legal information rather than specific legal advice for a given situation.)

The prequel to this article could be called "Is It Protected?" Because if the answer is "No" then any use is Fair Use. But since almost everything published since 1923 is protected, and will likely remain protected for a long time, it's a far safer route to assume that you do indeed need to go through the Fair Use Factors or get permission. 

Almost no works published after January 1, 1978, will pass into the public domain until at least 2048 so the Fair Use Factors are gonna stay pretty important for a while.


What the Courts Said
If all this still seems like soup, try reading some case summaries. See how the courts applied the factors. Here is one place you can read such cases: http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/FUsummaries.htm#bas. See if you would have made the same calls.


Conclusion
So what did we learn? Fair Use is absolutely not a bright line test. You can’t just count words or notes. It's a case-by-case, delicate balancing of free speech vs. the monopoly we grant authors in order to entice them into creating new works. 

Reasonable people may disagree as to how fair a use is, and many groups wish that the test were clearer, but that kind of change in the law does not look likely at this time. 

Now that you have read the article, you can begin to see the issues the way a court will, and that makes you better armed to make the right call ahead of time.


Disclaimer
Here's an important legal disclaimer: Nothing in this article is legal advice. It's merely a general discussion of the law. Allow me to specify: if you have a specific question or situation requiring legal counsel, you need to speak to a specific lawyer personally who will ask you specific questions about your specific situation which will allow him to do specific research in order to give you specific advice.

Congress the power and responsibility to encourage the arts. Title 17 of the United States Code is the law created by Congress pursuant to this charge which grants artists protection for their original works, including musical arrangements.

Copyright protection in original musical works, including any accompanying words or sound recordings is provided by section 102 of this law. Section 103 makes clear that the protection afforded these original works also extends to derivative works. Artists' exclusive rights are described in section 106 and they include the exclusive rights to "prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work".

What's a derivative work? Section 101 defines a “derivative work” as a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as [tah dah] ... a musical arrangement. And that is where babies come from.

WHO CAN MAKE A MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT?
As we can see from the above language, the default rule is that ONLY the composer of a song can prepare a musical arrangement of the song. But thankfully, there are exceptions.

WHEN MAY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE COMPOSER PREPARE AN ARRANGEMENT?
Arrangements made by someone other than the composer are LEGAL when:

• the song being arranged is in public domain; OR
• the arranger has the explicit permission of any one of the song's composers/publishers to make the arrangement; OR
• the song arrangement is created specifically to be recorded under a  compulsory license, AND the arrangement IS recorded, AND proper royalties are actually paid in accordance with section 115.

The statutory language of section 115 says "A compulsory license [to make a sound recording] includes the privilege of making a musical arrangement of the work to the extent necessary to conform it to the style or manner of interpretation of the performance involved, but the arrangement shall not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work, and shall not be subject to protection as a derivative work ..., except with the express consent of the copyright owner."

The law creates a very interesting outcome: the arranger may arrange without the permission of the author in this limited situation, but the arranger does not "own" a copyright in this legally made arrangement without the permission of the author!

ARE THERE OTHER TIMES WHEN SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE COMPOSER MAY PREPARE AN ARRANGEMENT?
Arrangements may (possibly) be legal when the arrangements are created by or for a group publicly performing where the group or owner of the performance space has paid for the rights to publicly perform the song. The theory here is that the payment for the right to publicly perform may be viewed as necessarily including the right to make an arrangement for that purpose. Every performance incorporates some arrangement. The "right" to perform a song would be of little value without the ability to express that song in an arrangement.

Parody. If the song you are arranging is being parodied by your arrangement, you probably have the right to do this without the permission of the composer. Note that this protection may rely on the subject of the parody being about the song and not about some other topic. Also, you are limited to using only the material of the original song necessary to "make the point". If this seems a pretty vague guideline, it's because it is.

WHAT ABOUT ACADEMIC ARRANGING?
Arranging for academic purposes is very common, but there is no statutory language that I can find which would allow an entire song to be arranged without permission. The exception, which falls under the Doctrine of Fair Use (read about Fair Use here) would be when the arrangement uses just part of a song for scholastic analysis. 

An example of such legal arranging might be arranging just one verse and the chorus of the Beatles tune, "Hard Days Night" in several contrasting styles in order to demonstrate the variations on the use of dissonance in different genres. Another example of what could also be allowed would be playing the entire original Beatles track if the source was legal (say a store bought CD). 

An example of something not allowed might be playing a stolen MP3 of the Beatles original for the class and having everyone go make their own arrangements, turn them in and then give copies of the highest graded arrangement to the entire class to take home and study.

Yes, that all seems like it should be legal, but it's not. "Who's being hurt? No one!" Yeah, sorry. Can't do it. Read on.

WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE ARRANGERS OFFERING ARRANGING SERVICES?
There are many arranging services and they each have their own agreements between composers, publishers and groups, so no blanket statements can be made about all of them. But, selling arrangements of non-public domain songs without the publisher's or composers' permission where the arranger has no knowledge as to what the arrangements will be used for appears to be in direct violation of the copyright act.

WHO'S LIABLE?
The arranger is liable for violating the composer's exclusive right to "prepare derivative works". The preparation of the arrangement is the infringing act. It does NOT NOT NOT (can't say that enough) need to be done for profit. The group may be viewed as having helped prepare the work, making them co-infringers, or having paid for or encouraged the arrangement, making them guilty of a kind of copyright "aiding and abetting" -contributory infringement.

JUST HOW LIABLE IS LIABLE ANYWAY?
Courts can issue an injunction mandating the arranger stop arranging in infringing ways. All the arrangement copies can be impounded and destroyed. That's just a fun little warm-up.

The arranger is liable to pay the composer, the composer's choice of EITHER:
1) the copyright owner's actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer; or
2) statutory damages.

And the court, in its discretion, may also allow the recovery of full costs and attorney's fees to the prevailing party. If you've ever seen how high attorneys' fees and court costs get, you'll understand that this is not an insignificant deterrent.

HOW MUCH ARE THOSE STATUTORY DAMAGES?
That depends on just how "bad" the infringement was. Badness is not a legal term. But as you may have guessed, it relates to the common sense ideas of how much infringing you did and your state of mind while you did it. The court does note the difference between accidentally pressing "send" on one copy of one arrangement and deliberately charging fees for an entire stolen vault of arrangements. Specifically, here are the damage ranges:

1) You had no idea you were infringing, but you can't prove your good faith ignorance: not less than $750 or more than $30,000 per work, per infringement, as the court considers just.
2) You PROVE that you reasonably had no idea you were infringing: not less than $200 or more than $30,000 per work, per infringement, as the court considers just.
3) They prove you willfully infringed: not less than $750 or more than $150,000 per work, per infringement, as the court considers just.

WHAT ABOUT CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT?
Many people are very surprised to learn that there are criminal penalties to infringement. Surprise!

If you willfully infringe copyright, either...
1) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain -OR-
2) via reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords [CDs, DVDs, etc] of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000,

then §2319 of title 18, United States Code says here's the punishment:

(b) Any person who commits an offense [as described above]...
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies or phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (1); and
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, in any other case.
(c) Any person who commits an offense under section 506 (a)(2) of title 17, United States Code--
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of $2,500 or more;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 6 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (1); and
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000.

HOW LONG DO THEY HAVE TO FILE SUIT AGAINST AN ARRANGER?
Criminal: The state has 5 years from the infringement to prosecute the arranger.
Civil: The composer/publisher has 3 years from the infringement to sue the arranger.

IS THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO ENFORCE THESE LAWS? ARE COMPOSERS? PUBLISHERS?
I don't know the statistics regarding enforcement. But I'd guess that there's a significant increase in either enforcement or media coverage of enforcement. More composers know their rights. More state actors are charged with cyber investigations.

SHOULD I MOVE TO CHINA?
That depends. You'll really have to decide for yourself.

CONCLUSION
Remember when the world was all dial up? It seems impossible to remember those days when every cafe is wi-fi-ed, and every phone has a PDA with Google as a home page. I recognize that the previous sentence will be impossibly outdated, probably by the time this article is submitted, but its premise will not: Today's efficient searching technology becomes a cornerstone for tomorrow's efficient legal enforcement.

Well-financed media conglomerates seem to find it well-worth their time and money to pursue even "small fish" as an example to other "small fish". Being small, being ignorant of the law, and being unprofitable -whether by accident or design- carry little weight in court. Penning illegal musical arrangements in the privacy of one's dorm room may forever fly under the radar. Let's hope so. But for those whose arrangement wares are reachable via the net, the danger is growing. 

The best answer, as I've proposed in the past, isn't a change in the behavior of  all these arrangers. It's a change in the law. It's time for a compulsory license for musical arrangements. Composers get revenue, arrangers and artists get peace of mind and everybody wins.

Here's an important legal disclaimer: Nothing in this article is legal advice. It's merely a general discussion of the law. Allow me to specify: if you have a specific question or situation requiring legal counsel, you need to speak to a specific lawyer personally who will ask you specific questions about your specific situation which will allow him to do specific research in order to give you specific advice. 

Artists have learned that giving away "free" music can be a successful way to advertise. Sometimes a group does this to build a fan base. Sometimes a studio does this to demonstrate their production skills to potential clients. Occasionally a fan does this to help "spread the love" for great music. 

But is it legal? 

It turns out the answer is "Only if ..."

Assuming you haven't actually contacted the copyright holders to negotiate a special license, here's a handy list for what you can and can't do with published, non-public domain songs, and the answer for exactly how to legally give music away for free:

You Co-wrote it. You Recorded It. 
You can do whatever you want! Give yourself credit for being generous if you choose to give it away! Or charge any amount you like for a download or stream. 

Someone Else Wrote it. You Recorded It.
Thankfully, you don't need permission, but...
You must pay the authors of the song for each copy, even if you give those copies away for free. According to the US copyright office,  downloads require a payment of 9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute or fraction thereof of playing time, whichever is greater, even if you give the song away for free. 

Ex: The original song is 3 minutes. Your version is 5 minutes and 1 second because you like things slow. You owe 10.5 cents per copy created, regardless of what you sell it for and regardless of whether you sell a digital download or a physical recording.

You can also usually offer to stream the song free "on demand" if you pay a small fee, and if the composer is a member of a composer's society like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC . 

This is often more affordable if you plan to stream many songs which are all represented by one composers' society. For example 10,000 free streams of any songs where the composers are represented by ASCAP might cost around $350/year for a blanket license. By comparison, 10,000 "free" downloads of a typical length song will cost you at least $910. 

The math gets trickier (because the prices change drastically) if you advertise on your site or charge anything for the streams or if you use works from more than one composer's society. 

Because each society charges its own fee for a blanket license, you may find that downloads are more affordable than streams based on multiple blanket licenses. Also, you will usually pay (or calculate payment) per stream or per download. And this means that the fan who keeps hitting repeat on your streaming link is costing you money. 

Someone Else Wrote It. Someone Else Recorded It.
You cannot give this away for free or for pay without permission. There is no compulsory license for someone else's recordings, only their compositions. You need a "master license" for the sound recording in addition to the separate compulsory license for the composition. A good place to start for licensing masters is at Sony.

YouTube, Regardless of Who Wrote or Recorded It.
YouTube lets artists know when videos which include their works are being uploaded. (They also have negotiated licenses with major recording labels.)  YouTube gives artists the choice of whether to allow or disallow the video. Many artists choose to allow the video to stay up in exchange for the the publicity it helps create. When this permission is granted, this becomes the cheapest method to legally offer "free" music. 

There are some dangers. You take a chance that the author will deny permission. You must do this through YouTube and subject to any ads they choose to place there. And your videos views are publicly available. This is a double-edged sword. If the views are low, this may hurt your reputation as a giant star. If the views are high, major industry players may take notice. While views do not translate to money directly, groups like Straight No Chaser and Voca People may fairly say they owe their careers to YouTube. 

And there is a slim chance that the copyright holder could initiate a lawsuit directly against you for failing to negotiate a synch license (required for synching video to music). As a practical matter, this does not appear to be the way the major industry players are choosing to act. Most of the music industry has entered into some form of licensing with YouTube, and for most who haven't, the take-down power YouTube provides appears to be enough. 

Other Online Sites That Let You Stream
The pro is that these sites usually take responsibility for paying any royalties which may be due. The con is that each site has any number of restrictions that often severely hamper what you're trying to achieve by sharing the music for free. The site may charge a fee, limit users or simply make accessing your stream inconvenient. Be sure to read the sites' terms to determine who is responsible for copyright content.

A Little Note About Arrangers' Legal Rights
As opposed to the composer, the arranger has no legal right to demand payment or deny permission, except in two situations: 
1) The arrangement is of a song in the public domain; or 
2) The arranger had the actual permission of at least one composer of the non-public domain song to make a licensed arrangement. In contemporary a cappella, both of those are relatively limited situations, but if they do occur, treat the arranger as a composer. Just remember that arranging a song in the public domain doesn't give the arranger rights to the song itself, just to their exact arrangement of the song. 

Conclusion and a Plea
Giving away music helps the entire community, and it's often a great way to help yourself to some fantastic publicity.  But more than telling you how to do this legally, I'm pleading with you to brag about being a good person! 

Tell the world both that you are paying the rights and how you are paying the rights. Example: 

"Click here for a Free Download of "SongX" performed by GroupY. All royalties paid by GroupY by arrangement with The Harry Fox Agency." 

Or even better...
"Click here for a Free Download of "SongX" © in the composition by Joe Author and Jane Author. © in the recording by GroupY. Performed by GroupY. All royalties paid by GroupY by arrangement with The Harry Fox Agency." 

This simple act teaches your audience that music is valuable. It helps all artists by dispelling the completely inaccurate, but utterly pervasive myth that "no charge = no rules". And it lets the world know just how much you support the arts and how generous you really are! 

Take the Poll! 

Technology is a pervasive and growing part of live performance for a cappella groups, but how much is too much? At what point do you feel that you're just not watching a live a cappella group anymore? 

Take the poll and let the world know where you draw the line.

For this poll, "cheating" is defined as any act which would make you personally feel as if you weren't really watching a live a cappella act, but instead something else. 

Please check all that apply.

You just heard some fantastic a cappella group perform and now you want to sing! 

You have two choices: join a group or start a group. 

If you have the vision, the skills and the tireless energy to create your own group, then by all means create your masterpiece. (These articles will help.)

But for everyone else, you'll want to find an existing or newly forming group and audition. This article shows you how to find a cappella groups in your area.

Keep in mind that a cappella comes in all styles. You may want to limit your search to contemporary a cappella, barbershop, choral or collegiate a cappella. 

Even if your ideal style isn't available, you should still consider joining a group. The training will prepare you to ace future auditions and the resume boost will show that you're dedicated to a cappella. 

Besides, you may be surprised at how much you enjoy singing a style that you previously didn't even enjoy listening to. 

Often, the group you're really looking for can be formed from within a group of a different style. Many classical choirs feed into smaller, more pop-oriented ensembles. These groups often share resources like fans, equipment and concerts.

If you're in college, there's a good chance that your campus activities office can direct you to your school's existing groups. And there may be many groups to choose from, as some school's have enough interest to support a plethora of a cappella styles. Take Northwestern University. Nearly 20 groups, each composed of 12 or more singers are supported by an undergraduate body of less than 9,000 with styles ranging from pop to Baliwood. 

Most collegiate groups hold their auditions in the fall, but it's always worth making contact as soon as you can, even if auditions are over. At the very least you can see the group in concert and get on their mailing list for the next round of auditions. And at best, a group member's semester abroad may lead to an unexpected opening for a friend of the group who happened to be at the right place at the right time. 

Keep in mind that some college groups aren't officially part of the university. That makes them harder to track. You'll need to search online, check performance calendars and ask around to find them. Don't just accept the answer you get from the student information help desk. 

You may also get some help from sites like collegiate-acappella.com and the acapedia. Both sites compile extensive lists of groups, although both struggle to remain accurate. You'll find a treasure trove of groups, even if you must wade through a pile of defunct ones to get there.

If there aren't any groups on campus, speak to the choral director or the head of the music department about forming one. 

If they aren't responsive, try speaking with the school's recruitment department since a cappella groups are often closely tied with boosting applications. It's much easier and less expensive for an a cappella group to perform at a high school, than for the football team to come down and play an exhibition game.

If you are a high school student, you'll want to start your search with your choral director. 

No matter what your age, you can always try the barbershop route. The music may be old-fashioned. The jokes are definitely corny. But the camaraderie is the stuff of legend, the conventions are some of the most well-attended, and the musical training is top-rate.  

Men should check out the Barbershop Harmony Society (formerly known as SPEBSQSA) and women should check out both Sweet Adelines International (SWI) and Harmony, Inc. 

If you are an adult, you have a world of options beyond barbershop. 

You could start at the top. In the United States, most professional level auditions are posted in actors trade magazines/websites like Backstage. This is where auditions for a cappella musicals like VocaPeople, Transit or Minimum Wage would be announced. It's also often where professional groups like Rockapella or Blue Jupiter advertise when they need a new member. 

Unfortunately, 99% of the information there will be useless, as most postings relate to non-a cappella acting and singing jobs. Additionally, if you're just starting out, these auditions may be beyond your current skills.

Many a cappella audition notices are posted on the forums now hosted jointly at www.RARB.org The Recorded A cappella Review Board, and www.CASA.org, The Contemporary A cappella Society of America.

Currently, however, these forums are international with a heavy bias towards the US. You'll see auditions for groups hundreds, or thousands of miles away from you. The posts are not easily broken out by geography, so finding local groups auditioning, may take some digging. 

To learn about the current, active, small pro and semi-pro groups, check out the National Harmony Sweepstakes Competition and find the regional competition nearest to you. Attend the event and you'll get their best 10 minute set. The program is also likely to have notices of other a cappella activities. 

But even if you can't attend, you can use the website to track and contact the area's best groups. Check out each group's own site. They may be having auditions. Get in touch. Let them know you're looking to audition, and even if they don't have a spot, they might have a lead.

As an example, the New York Harmony Sweepstakes site lists a number of New York City's best groups. However, it will also list a few groups from Europe. Groups do sometimes apply from afar. That's to be expected in a city like New York. So be prepared for a few travelers when you look at your regionals.

Vocal Area Network as another example, is for New York vocal ensembles, with an emphasis on classical choral music. That style might not be your favorite, but posting on that site is still a great way to reach singers involved in multiple styles. See if your area has an online choral community and let them know you're looking. The American Choral Directors Association and MENC, The National Association for Music Education may both prove helpful in this search.

Some areas have websites dedicated to local activities. The Boston A cappella Scene may not always be up-to-date, but by focusing on one geographical area, the postings are more relevant to Bostonians.

A cappella festivals are the most fun place to network and learn the craft of a cappella. Once a rarity, there are now a fair number of well-respected festivals to choose from all over the world:

• SingStrong International A cappella Festival (Virginia./DC)
• Mile High Vocal Jam (Denver, Colorado)
• A cappella Stock (Ogden, Utah)
• AcaFest (Chicago, IL)
• Los Angeles A cappella Festival LAAF (Los Angeles, CA)
• SoJam (Durham, North Carolina)
• London A cappella Festival (London, England)
• Aarhus Vocal Festival (Aarhus, Denmark)
• The Hong Kong International A cappella Festival (Hong Kong, China)
• The Real A cappella Festival (Sweden)
• VoCAL Nation (various locations)
• Social Media A cappella Conference (Rochester, NY)
• ACAPAJEWZA (New York City, NY)
• The Jewish A cappella Festival of Downtown Washington (Washington DC)
• Barbershop Harmony Society Conventions (multiple US locations)
• A cappella Festival fur VokalMusik (Leipzig, Germany)
• The A cappella Society of Singapore (Various locations and events in Singapore)
• Total Vokal (Graz, Austria) 
• Festival 500 (St. John's NL Canada)
• Sing Toronto (Toronto Canada)

Even if you can't make it to one of these festivals, at least try to catch a cappella concerts in your area. Make sure you meet with group members and let them know about your interests. Singers know singers and that means they often know auditions.

Yahoo hosts a page focused on New York a cappella groups. Perhaps there's a yahoo group based around your location. 

When joining open public groups such as these, consider using an email address at which you are prepared to receive a fair amount of spam, since spambots do troll these pages. Free email addresses are available through google and many other providers.

Google hosts groups on the topic of a cappella as well, including the usenet group, rec.music.a-cappella. This was the a cappella communication forum of choice in the 1990s, but fell out of favor at some point in the 2000s as email, forum and website usage changed. Again, you'll see posts that are mostly oriented around the US. Currently, .rec and .alt are, at best, a repository of duplicate postings, and at worst, a complete waste of time.

Europeans should visit The European Voices Association. Formed in 2011, this organization is dedicated to a cappella, vocal and rhythmic choral music. The Real Community is another must-visit for Europeans, especially Swedes. Their forums function much as the RARB/CASA forum does. Germans should make sure to visit acappella-online for the latest in German a cappella.

Finally, social networks like facebook return a wealth of hits for searches like a cappella. Friend and follow the people and organizations who are making the music you find inspiring. Let them know your interests and before long you may find that perfect connection.

The right group is out there, just waiting to be uncovered. Seek and ye shall find!