Lesson 5 of 46Music BusinessIntermediate

Collection societies and letter of direction

0:26

Judge Jules explains the letter of direction - how to instruct record labels, publishers and rights societies like PRS to pay your royalties to your manager or accountant instead of you.

Part of the courseLegals & Deals: The Basics of The Music Industry46 lessons (1h 6m)

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What's in the course

46 lessons (1h 6m) · 1 free
    • 01. Accounting

      Free lesson

      1:16

    • 02. Termination

      1:29

    • 03. Collection societies and letter of direction

      You are here

      0:26

    • 04. Commission structure

      2:32

    • 05. Cross platform-multimedia aspects

      0:39

    • 06. Expenses

      1:10

    • 07. Key man provisions

      1:01

    • 08. A manager's obligations

      2:33

    • 09. Post term commission

      1:30

    • 10. Should a manager be involved in all aspects of an artist's income?

      1:40

    • 11. Term

      1:46

    • 12. Should a manager manage more than one artist?

      1:24

Lesson transcript

Understanding Payment Directions in the Music Industry

As an artist, it's important to understand how your income can be managed.

Most entities that are paying you money, such as:

  • Record companies
  • Music publishers
  • Rights societies (like PRS),

Can be directed via a so-called letter of direction.

Key Points to Consider:

  • You can instruct these entities to pay your income, including royalty income, to whoever you choose.
  • For example, you might prefer them to pay:
    • Your manager
    • Your accountant
  • Once you provide this instruction, they will typically comply and pay the designated party instead of you, the artist.

Make sure to use this option wisely to help streamline your financial management in the music business.

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Meet your guru

Judge Jules

Judge Jules

Jules O'Riordan has over 30 years of experience across the entire spectrum of the music industry. This includes nearly a decade as an A&R for the Universal umbrella of labels, 15 years as a presenter on BBC Radio 1, over 150 record releases and remixes in his own capacity as a recording artist, plus a 30-year career as one of Britain's best-known, globally-travelled DJs (Judge Jules), with over 5000 gigs under his belt, plus extensive experience as an event promoter and artist manager at the highest level.

Suffice to say, Jules knows the music industry inside-out, and his clients regard him as a trusted advisor for whom no legal or business affairs challenge or problem is too large or small.

Jules has been a lawyer for 10 years. His practice takes in the entire breadth of the music-focused entertainment industry. His legal and deal expertise includes management, recording, publishing, distribution and label services, music-based apps, games and tech projects, production deals, producers, featured artists, endorsements, merchandising, neighbouring rights, TV/film scores, live performance, events and venue agreements, plus copyright and rights infringement and many other disputes.

Jules's clients include artists, management companies, record labels, songwriters, event promoters, producers, music tech businesses, production companies, live agents, music publishers and DJs. He has spoken on many panels and seminars including ADE, Brighton Music Conference and AIM events, and has been a guest speaker on legal issues across a number of on and off-line media outlets, including BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Introducing, Financial Times, The Sun, The Times and Mixmag.

Jules speaks fluent Spanish.

Who better to demystify the contracts and deals every musician eventually faces? In his course, Jules turns three decades of hard-won industry knowledge into plain-English guidance, so you can understand the business side of music and protect your work long before you sign on the dotted line.

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