Tate Music Group to launch iPhone apps this summer

Okay, I'm a horrible blogger, I know. I have the best of intentions to blog, but somewhere along the way I can't seem to carve out the time to make it happen. I actually get a lot of flack from my colleagues about this (you know who you are!), and I promise I'm making an effort to do better. But I do have good reason for my absence in the blogging world...

Over the past few weeks, I have been leading a team to create iPhone apps for our Tate Music Group artists. Since the initial introduction of this revolutionary device, more and more people are discovering that the iPhone is more than just a phone. The App Store provides downloadable applications that do everything from managing your son's tee-ball scores to telling you what song is playing at the restuarant you're eating at.

So why not create an app that allows fans to connect with their favorite artist? Coming this summer, Tate Music Group will provide their artists with an iPhone app that their fans can download to get the lastest news, events, photos and more about them. Fans can even listen to songs exclusive to the app and read stories about the songs themselves from their latest release.

These apps will be branded under the name "GottaKnow," as in "GottaKnow Jeff Chandler" and "GottaKnow The Cliftones." The artists that are seeing the most success today understand the importance of connecting with their fans. Marketing tools like websites, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter allow artists to constantly be in their fans' lives, and the "GottaKnow" apps will only enhance the power a Tate Music Group artist has to succeed in an sink-or-swim industry.

In my opinion, this is revolutionary, and although a few major-label artists are starting to see the power of the iPhone as a great marketing tool, I'm still amazed how many people still don't seem to "get it." This isn't 1955 anymore (or even 1992), and the music industry needs to realize that the rules have completely changed (for the better in regards to the artist, in my opinion).

And authors are obviously our next target for iPhone apps. Tate Publishing authors need to connect with fans just as much as artists, and plans are already underway to create an app for our published authors.

What's your definition of success?

If there's one thing I've noticed about both the publishing industry and the music industry is that the perception of industry is rarely the reality. A lot of people see a "best selling" author on the Today Show or listen to the latest sensation on pop radio and think those people are making millions of dollars and/or letting the publisher or label do all the work. But in more cases than not, the perception and the truth don't line up.

Our founder Dr. Richard Tate recently shared on his blog about a "best selling" author and her earnings (published by Penguin). This author shared her recent royalty statement.  She had sold close to 65,000 units, which is nothing to laugh at, but she still hasn't seen a dime besides her $50,000 advance. And once you break down the advance (how much goes towards taxes, how much goes to her agent, how much goes to business expenses), she only netted about $26,000.  Not a small amount of money, I know. But if she considers the book her "full-time" job, then the guy picking up her trash is making more money than her per year.

As our authors move through the production process, many times I get to talk with them regarding their goals and aspirations for the project—or in so many terms—what is you definition of success. Some authors have told me that if their book doesn't sell 500,000 copies, they will consider it a failure. Others tell me they want to see their book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble.

There's nothing wrong with lofty goals and shooting for the moon, but my definition of success is simple—did I generate more income than outcome? If I make money in the long-run, I call that a success. And when I see artists and authors succeeding (based on my definition), how they get there rarely looks like what you'd expect.

I want to chew on this idea during the month of May with you guys, but for the moment take away this—the perception of success is not always the reality.

Finding time to write a book

Over 80 percent of people say they have a book inside of them. Whether that book is a novel, a self-help instructional piece or a children's book, I'm amazed how many people talk about writing a book or getting a book published but never do it. The biggest excuse I hear: time.

I'm a parent of three small children, so I understand how precious time is. But just like anything worthwhile, you have to make an effort and maybe make a change to your habits to accomplish the goal in front of you. The same could be said about dieting, about learning a language, even about reading your Bible on a consistent basis. There are so many things vying for our time, but with a little extra effort and forethought you can make it happen.

What if you got up an hour earlier before the kids got up? What if once or twice a week you turned off the TV? What about using your lunch hour at work? What about your commute to work (use a voice recorder if you're the one driving)?

The hardest part is to get started. But I encourage you to try it for a week. See if you can write a introduction. See if you can write a chapter. Once the momentum gets started, it only gets easier.

Is there a book inside YOU?

So if you're a frequent visitor to the website Facebook, you might have noticed the mass-trend to post 25 random about yourself. The concept is pretty simple. Someone posts 25 trivia facts about themselves and tags 25 friends in that note. Those 25 friends are supposed to create their own 25 random facts and tag their friend back, and the cycle repeats and repeats itself. When all is said and done, you'll find yourself learning all kinds of things about your friends, like how your college roommate got driving directions from Alec Baldwin or that the high school quarterback enjoys interior decorating.

But I've noticed one thing that keeps popping up on these 25 random facts list over and over: the desire to write a book someday. The subject matter is all over the map, but the common thread is a desire to share their voice on a topic they're passionate about.

I read somewhere that over 80 percent of people think they have a book inside of them, but few actually do something about it.  In the coming weeks, we're going to talk about how to put the excuses aside and start writing your first book.

Using someone else's copyrighted work in your published manuscript

When dealing with the issues of published authors and copyright, the street runs both ways. In a previous post, we talked about how copyright law protects an author and his written work. In this post, we shift our focus to how copyright law allows for an author to incorporate another work in their own writings.

The concept of "Fair Use" actually originated in Great Britain in the 1700's. In the process of protecting someone created work, there initially wasn't a way to allow for authorized reproduction of copyrighted content. So the courts over time created a doctrine that helped to create a balance between protecting one's work and protecting the exchange of thoughts and ideas. This initially was called "Fair Abridgment."

That was the intent of the United States government as well when including "Fair Use" in the copyright law—to make sure the free flow of comments and criticisms of another's work was not stifled by the protection provided. For example, you have the right to criticize someone else's ideas and opinions. It's obvious that obtaining permission to include those comments in your own work for the purpose of arguing against them would be difficult at best, so the government provided a way that this exchange of thought could still exist without the original author strong-holding his copyright ownership.

"Fair Use" allows for a portion of the protected work to be included in another work without permission. The question, however, can be "how much is a portion." And it's within that question that the answer lies under several shades of gray. There are no specific percentages or specific word counts given (the "300 word limit" is a myth, not part of the law). But a good rule of thumb is to look at the impact the included work would have on your own work. If what you're wanting to include would only stand be to be a supporting pillar to your own thoughts and ideas, you're probably okay. But if the included work becomes the main stage, then that's not "Fair Use;" that' plagiarism.

Being that I work for a Christian publisher and we publish a substantial amount of religious writings, I should mention here that many Bible translations do have a specified amount of how much you can include of that translation in your own work. For example, the NIV translation allows for up to 500 verses, providing those verses don't make up one complete book of the Bible and that the included verses do not make up 25 percent or more of your work. Check the copyright page of other Bible translations for their specific requirements.

For more information on copyright law, check out www.copyright.gov (to get your info straight from the horse's mouth). Also, believe it or not, a search for "Fair Use" at Wikipedia actually yields some good information and several examples of court cases.

Don't miss the forest for the Christmas trees

I still plan on continuing my discussion on book publishing and copyright laws, but I wanted to switch gears for a moment and share my thoughts on this upcoming holiday season.

It's ironic, I think, that a season that is all about peace and hope seems to get pushed aside by the pressure and stress that always seems to accompany this time of year. Between the countless Christmas parties to the crowded stores to the extra money being spent to even the current state of the economy, I've noticed a surge of stressed out individuals taking out their frustrations on innocent bystanders.

And I can't say that I can fault them. In this day of a commercialized version of Christmas, it's very easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas and miss the forest for the trees. So I wanted to take a moment and encourage you to step back for a moment. Push aside the pressure of spending money and gift-giving. Push aside the stress of visiting family you don't necessarily get along with. Take time to put everything into perspective—that we're about to celebrate the birth of a Saviour who saved us from eternal separation from God. Had the Saviour not come, we'd have much more to worry about than whether or not we can find a Nintendo Wii for the kids this year.

How does copyright work when publishing a book?

Out of the many questions I receive from authors on a daily basis, a majority of them have to do with copyright—both in regards to copyrighting their own work and what you can and cannot do with someone else's work. In the next blog, we'll explore the answers of the latter part of the question, but first now let's discuss what it takes to copyright your work and what part does the Library of Congress play.

According to the copyright law, your work is completed copyrighted and protected the moment it's in a tangible form. The moment you save a manuscript to a disk, write a poem down on paper or sing a song into a tape recorder, it is 100% protected with you as its owner. Take this post you're reading. If I did nothing more than just press the "publish post" button so that it's saved to my blog, it's still completely protected by the definition of the copyright law.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions regarding filing your work with the Library of Congress is that authors think they have to file with the government for protection or that filing entitles you to more protection. But the truth is a work is completely copyrighted and protected the moment you put it in a tangible form.  Period.

However, filing with the Library of Congress does make it easier to prove your ownership if the need arrises. It's difficult to prove the date you wrote something down on paper, but filing with the Library of Congress gives your work a government-issued date, making it much easier to collect royalties or damages.

Many times recently-signed authors to Tate Publishing ask me if they should file their manuscript during the production process of their book, but I just see that as a waste of time and money. The book will need to be submitted in its final, published form anyway, and if someone does steal your work, you have an entire publishing staff that could testify in court to your ownership of the work.

In a later blog, we'll talk more about how much room you have to use someone else's work in your own work, and what the Fair Use clause of the copyright law says. Copyright law is a tricky subject for someone who doesn't deal with it on a daily basis, so always feel free to give me a shout if you have a specific question about how copyright law affects you and your published book.