engineers , videographers and graphic artists in the midst of this storm we have been given a tremendous gift . Although our churches , concert halls , theatres and outdoor venues have been temporarily shut down , we have the internet . As I was leading worship from my home to 150 church members online , I was thinking that this would not have been possible if the virus hit us six or seven years ago . Back then today ’ s technology was only available to a limited few at a very high cost . I ’ m positive churches would not have been able to survive a shutdown , musicians and artists would not have access to the tools we have today on our smart phones and computers . I believe God is in the details . So , what do we do ? How do we keep growing when it seems the world has stopped ? We pivot !
This down time has allowed the world to open up to us . This down time has given us just that . Time . Time to look at the skills we ’ ve neglected because of our pre-covid schedules . What are the tools in your toolbox that need sharpening ? I ’ ll start with my dull tools . The stay at home has allowed me to attend online college Zoom courses in learning Spanish as a second language . I ’ ve dedicated 30 minutes every morning to watch YouTube instructional videos to better my Pro-tools skills as more is required of me in mixing stems and assembling wave files and mp3 ’ s for my artist .
As a worship leader I view in home worship services via Instagram Live of Israel Houghton from his living room , Miel San Marcos doing a weekly church and worship service from their homes , Bernie Herms and his wife Natalie Grant doing their song a day from their living room piano . The access is endless . For musicians and vocalists , the majority of your influences are all online , in some capacity - giving quick lessons or tips on gear setups .
I don ’ t want to minimize the financial burden this virus has put on the majority of us music ministry types . Some of us have been furloughed , laid off or financially forced to find another line of work during the pandemic just to keep the lights on in our respective homes . Those of us in music ministry whether it ’ s the local church , the mega church or touring musician know that conventional wisdom tells us our vocation will be the last in line for “ opening up and getting back to normal ”. At some point during the last six months I ’ m sure we ’ ve all taken stock of our resources and asked the hard questions . How long can I financially survive staying true to my music ministry calling given these uncertain times ? We ’ re all waiting for the “ green light ” from our scientists and government leaders to tell us the coast is clear . But until then I ’ d like to offer some thoughts that I ’ ve shared with friends and clients over the past six months to help us “ stay in the game ”.
If you are a songwriter , artist , vocalist or instrumentalist posting music on social media . Are the songs you ’ ve written registered with a Performing Rights Organization i . e . ASCAP , BMI or SESAC ? These organizations monitor and collect royalties for songwriters and publishers whose work is broadcast on radio or live performances . If you are a member of one of these PRO ’ s , when was the last time you looked up your catalog to make sure everyone of your songs were registered ? Don ’ t assume your songs magically appear in the database . Its your responsibility to follow through with the necessary registration of every new song you write and release . During this COVID-19 pandemic , music streaming subscriptions are up 35 % in Quarter 1 of 2020 . More people are consuming music than ever before . If you are a music content creator using Spotify , YouTube , Apple Music , Pandora , Instagram or Facebook to share and sell your musical content , you need to make sure you are collecting all the revenue streams that are available to you . Your digital distributors ( CD Baby , Distrokid , TuneCore etc .) do a great job of uploading and collection royalties of your content to the digital platforms but are you following up on all the tools that are available to you help promote your music within each platform ? Again , there are great YouTube tutorials explaining how Spotify and other streaming platforms work for the independent artist and musician . Are you registered with SoundExchange ? This organization collects and distributes digital performance royalties on behalf of recording artists , master owners and independent artists who own their masters . They collect royalties from non-interactive webcasters ( service providers that do not allow users to pick and choose what they listen to ( Pandora ). Spotify or YouTube are interactive ( or on demand ) streaming services and those royalties would fall under your deal with your digital distributor . SoundExchange also collects from Satellite and Digital Cable TV as well as Digital Radio Services . Are your worship songs registered with CCLI ? We take great care in creating master recordings and videos of our songs but are we making sure a worship leader from another city or country who wants to sing your song has all the resources and permission to do so ? Have you looked into MultiTracks ? They are a service that makes available the audio stems of your songs and masters for other churches to use with their worship teams and services . This is a tremendous service to songwriters and master recording owners and a great revenue stream .
My prayer is that this pandemic ends soon and that all of us who have been involved in music ministry whether it ’ s been for the past 30 years or birthed in us during this pandemic , return to the gift of creating music … and art … sharing it face to face with the world .
Phil Sillas Phil is a six-time Dove Nominee and President of TSG Artists .