Photo by Front Row Insurance

Sound Advice: Tips and tricks to guard your gear

Story by David Hamilton | Wednesday January 30th, 2019

We’ve all heard the horror story, time and time again: the band van, parked in a sketchy neighbourhood where the club’s located, gets broken into and looted of every last guitar, bass, amp, keyboard, mic, stand, and drum. Unfortunately, there seems to have been an increase in gear theft recently, but there are actions you can take to protect yourself and your band. To that end, David Hamilton, President and CEO of Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc., has provided some tips and tricks below about guarding your instruments, and some information on how to insure them, so that you’re protected in any worst-case scenarios.

  1. Anonymity

One of the best ways to prevent your instruments from being stolen is to remain as anonymous as possible – in terms of your band and your instruments.

  • Avoid having band stickers on your vehicle and instruments, so that you aren’t a clear target.
  • Tint or paint your windows or buy blinds, so people can’t see into your vehicle, your rehearsal space, or any place you store your instruments.
  1. Security

This one might sound obvious, but there are a few critical steps you can take to make sure that you’re keeping your items as secure as possible. These include the following:

  • Install an alarm.
  • Develop a protocol to make sure that your vehicle is locked at all times. Even when you’re loading in, and might be making several back-and-forth trips to a club, concert hall, or rehearsal space. This happens a lot with bands and musicians, and presents an easy target for thieves.
  • Chain all of your gear together in your van or trunk, so that if a thief does a smash-and-grab, they won’t be able to get away quickly, or even at all.
  1. Parking

Many instrument thefts happen overnight, so it’s important to be careful about how and where you park.

  • Park your vehicle back against a wall whenever possible, so that it’s harder to get in the back doors.
  • Park in the underground garage of your hotel, rather than the surface lot.
  • Leave your vehicle at a tow truck yard: they are manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The cost is usually reasonable for the protection provided.
  1. Keep Records

In the unfortunate case that something does get stolen, it’s important that you have the proper records. It helps with the investigation, and increases the chances of your property being found.

  • Take pictures of your instruments – this way you’ll have an image to present should something be taken.
  • Keep a record of serial numbers. This way investigators will absolutely know if an instrument is yours or not.
  • Store a copy of the appraisal if the instruments are more than five years old. Vintage gear will be likelier to have the best claims settlement if there is an appraisal to which insurers can refer.

In the unfortunate event that your gear is stolen, you’ll really only be protected from losses if you’ve chosen an insurance provider that specializes in instrument insurance for professionals (like Front Row Insurance Brokers, which offers special discount rates to SOCAN members). Most homeowners’ policies don’t insure instruments and gear used professionally, or damage caused by airlines, so be sure to source a policy for professionals. This ensures that all of your bases are covered, and the tools of your trade will be protected.

Front Row Insurance Brokers offers one-stop online shopping with low rates, flexible options, and excellent service. You can buy protection online with no need to speak to a broker. For more information on how to insure your instruments, click here.

The Breakdown: Mechanical Royalties

Story by SOCAN | Tuesday June 4th, 2019

In a series of articles, called The Breakdown, Words & Music offers short, basic answers to the most common and essential questions from SOCAN members. This time, it’s mechanical royalties.

What are mechanical royalties?
Mechanical royalties are royalties paid to a songwriter, composer, or music publisher whenever a physical or digital copy of one of their songs or compositions is made. They’re the royalties earned from the right to mechanically re-produce your recorded song in almost any format. For example, when a record label presses a CD or vinyl album of your song, or songs on an album, you’re owed mechanical royalties. The same holds true if your music is reproduced for a digital download, or an interactive stream.

Who pays mechanical royalties?
Mechanical royalties are paid by whoever obtains a license to reproduce and distribute your song or composition. Mechanical rights are broadly based on the act of mechanically reproducing your music, and as such, are one type of what are called “reproduction rights.”

Who collects mechanical royalties?
Until 2018, a music publisher, or a self-published songwriter or composer, accessed their reproduction royalties either via the CMRRA (the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency), or SODRAC (the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers & Publishers in Canada). In 2018, SOCAN acquired SODRAC, and added mechanical rights administration into our collection and distribution services. Now SOCAN can help you collect mechanical royalties, both in Canada and foreign territories. One registration now means two rights collected (both performance rights and mechanical rights), should you choose to assign both those rights to SOCAN.

How are mechanical royalties collected?
The collection organization (the CMRRA or SOCAN) grants mechanical licenses to people or organizations who want to reproduce music for public sale or broadcast, in exchange for the payment of license fees, which it then distributes as royalties to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers who created and administer that music.

The Breakdown: Getting Paid via SOCAN for Live Performances

Story by SOCAN | Monday December 17th, 2018

In a series of articles, The Breakdown, Words & Music offers short, basic answers to the most common and essential questions from SOCAN members. This time, it’s Royalties for Live Performances.

If I’m a SOCAN member, how do I get paid for a live performance?
There are two ways to submit your set list from a live performance, so that SOCAN can collect your royalties for it:

You can

  1. Sign in to the secure section of our website, at www.socan.com
  2. Go to “SOCAN Forms”
  3. Select “Notification of Live Music Performance” (NLMP)
  4. Complete the form and submit

Or you can

  1. Go to a PDF of the NLMP form
  2. Complete the form
  3. Print and scan it
  4. E-mail  it to members@socan.ca

Do any conditions apply for me to recieve concert performance royalties?
Performance royalties for concerts are determined by SOCAN’s distribution rules for all eligible live performances, but two conditions do apply: First, the presenter or venue needs to have paid their SOCAN licence fee; second, for shows in clubs and bars, a minimum cover or ticket price of $6 must be in place.

What are “Unidentified Concert” performances?
SOCAN maintains a list of Unidentified Concert Performances in the members’ secure section of www.socan.com. Simply sign in, then go to SOCAN Performances & Repertoire, select “Unidentified Performances,” then select “Concerts With No Set Lists.” We encourage you to search that list for any concerts where you believe your music was performed, and for that matter, any other unpaid concerts of which you may be aware. Your help will ensure that you get paid.

How do I get paid for an “Unidentified Concert” performance?
Sign in to your account and check the unidentified concerts list. If you find a concert you’ve played that’s been filed with SOCAN but doesn’t have a set list, follow the steps to provide your set list in order to get paid. If you have no shows on the list, but have played a show within the past year, just complete and submit an NLMP form, as above.

How long do I have to submit a concert performed in Canada?
The sooner we can identify what was performed, the sooner we can get the royalties to the right people. But we won’t distribute or release any funds until we know where they should rightfully go. You have one year to report a new show you performed in Canada, if it’s not on the unidentified concerts list. Once we know the titles of the music that was performed at the concert, the rights holders will receive their deserved shares of royalties for any performance of their music at any licensed event. The Unidentified Concerts List covers performances up to three years old.

How long after the live performance of a concert performed in Canada will I get paid?
If the documentation you’ve sent us is complete, and if the promoter pays the license fee promptly, you can expect to be paid about nine months after your live performance, for a concert in Canada.