1. What can JGLsongs offer me that a good recording studio won't or can't?
A good recording studio will give you great sound and countless possibilities to walk out with a great demo or finished CD - as long as you have all of the musicians ready, a producer or an arranger on hand, and at least $100 per hour. In other words, if you have an undeveloped idea, the recording studio will be more stress - and definitely more money - than it will be worth.

2. What should I bring to JGLsongs?
All you need is an idea for a song, and we'll take it from there. JGLsongs can develop, arrange and even package your song(s) to fit the style and genre you're looking for.

3. What's the difference between developing, arranging and collaborating?
Developing a song is usually the first step following the idea; you have a musical and lyrical ideas, but are missing the "blueprint" that makes a musical idea into the song. Arranging a song is simply adding the background and foreground sounds that gives a song its style and groove; arrangements are usually layers of sound built on top of an already created song foundation. Collaborating on a song is just another way of co-composing - creating new melody lines and lyrical phrases.

4. Is it still my song if JGLsongs is the producer?
Yes, it is always your song and the copyright belongs to you. JGLsongs can arrange a sound and the different instrumentals tracks, however the composition rights are fully yours, or whomever composed the song.

5. When does a song become a collaboration and who owns the copyright?
If the artist agrees to JGLsongs composing new musical or lyrical sections of a song, then the copyright is shared and both the artist(s) and JGLsongs are co-composers. If the song is published, then 25% of the mechanical royalties belong to the artist(s) and 25% belong to JGLsongs; the publisher usually owns the remaining 50%. In addition, JGLsongs can provide your organization with a Music License Agreement. Complicated? Sure is. For indie artists, knowing the basics of the music business and the legalities can be just as important as being able to read music.

6. How can I then make sure that all copyrights belong solely to myself?
If the artist does not want to share the copyright and publishing rights, then JGLsongs is limited to developing and arranging a song which has been musically and lyrically completed. For example, say you wrote the song "Happy Birthday To You," but wanted it to be in a specific style and groove - JGLsongs will arrange and sculpt the sound to your liking without changing melody lines or lyrics.

7. Now that I know all the legalities, what do I get at the end of my project?
Let's use two examples: Artist A wants a four-song demo CD for record labels, music attorneys, agents, etc., and Artist B is making an album - a real CD that is pressed, distributed, bought and even smacked around trying to remove the shrink wrap.

Artist A comes to JGLsongs with two completed songs, one developed idea and one undeveloped idea. That means, the artist has two songs that he/she loves as is, the developed idea needs some tweaking and arranging. The artist agrees up front that the undeveloped idea can be a collaboration with JGLsongs, thus sharing the copyright.

Artist A then sits down with JGLsongs for a consultation, in which he/she conveys time frame, styles, sounds and genres - or everything he/she wants on a demo. JGLSongs then will draw up an agreement and the project is ready to roll. At the end, the artist receives the arranged, mixed and mastered tracks in any desired format (usually on a CD and/or .mp3-files sent electronically) as well as a lead sheet/chord charts.

Artist B comes to JGLsongs with completed songs, some even 80% complete but needing an extra tweak or two. Like Artist A, B has a consultation (what he/she wants, time frame, styles, etc.) and then an agreement is drawn up and the project is off and running. When all of the songs are completed and are publish-ready, JGLSongs will, for all intents and purposes, produce a finished CD ready for replication - and of course, lead sheets, chord charts, .mp3-files, etc.

8. What about vocals?
Vocal tracks are entirely up to the artist. JGLsongs can record, mix and process vocal tracks in three different ways: (1) vocals can be recorded at JGLsongs through computer recording; (2) vocals can be recorded elsewhere independent of JGLsongs, and the audio files can be incorporated, mixed and mastered into the finished song; or (3) vocals can be recorded elsewhere with JGLsongs as producer in the studio. In any of the three situations, JGLsongs will make sure your vocals are the best showcase for your songs.

9. How much is this going to cost and what am I paying for?
It's really simple when you look at it as a basic barter of equivalent worth. A song is priceless and forever but production, arranging, designing and recording is not; still, the market has to be fair. Since each project is different, JGLsongs treats each client as a separate entity (as everyone should). Artists might just want a song to be tweaked and arranged, others are looking to take a basic idea and develop that into a song. Then there are those who are working on actual demo or released projects.

10. What is my responsibility to JGLsongs after the project is completed?
If the project did not include any collaboration or co-composing, then there is absolutely no artist responsibility after completion of any project. If JGLsongs shares copyrighted material with the artist(s), then registration of copyright through the U.S. Library of Congress as well as respective performing rights organizations and publisher(s) is the only post-project connection there is - even if the song(s) becomes bigger than sliced bread! (The cost of copyrighting through the U.S. Library of Congress - current fee is US$45.00 and is shared by both artist and JGLsongs for a collaboration/co-writer status.) Performing rights organizations do not charge for registration of new material; JGLSongs belongs to ASCAP, however artist(s) can belong to any P.R.O. (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC for Americans, SOCAN for Canadians, GEMA for Germans, SACEM for French, PRS for British, etc.)