Cedar Boschan is a principal in the LA-based accountant and business advisory firm Green Hasson Janks. As part of her work, Cedar finds unpaid royalties and holds major international companies accountable to clients such as video game developers, inventors, entertainers, composers, publishers, and recording artists.
Cedar earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Industry from the University of Southern California in 1999. She currently serves national treasurer for the Association of Independent Music Publishers, overseeing finances for New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles. And she has been a featured speaker at numerous events, including the California Copyright Conference, the Game Developers Conference, the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the University of Southern California.
Table of Contents
2:20 – What is a royalty audit?
5:21 – If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
6:41 – How did you get started in the music business?
11:46 – Here is a quick royalty run-down
23:17 – Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
28:54 – What are some of the biggest failures artists make when it comes to getting paid?
37:50 – Three things artists should be doing today to protect themselves and get paid moving forward
What is a royalty audit?
A royalty audit is a type of contract compliance examination. We look at whether a major company complied with our clients recording agreement, or publishing agreement. When we find instances of non-compliance with the agreement, we quantify the amount due our clients.
If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
A few of the companies that I audit have called me Tenacious C. I feel like more of a conductor then a band. The truth is, the rhythm of our work can be rollicking or it could be much more mellow.
How did you get started in the music business?
I wanted to start my own record company since I was eleven. Upon graduation from college, I was looking for a path to do that. I thought being a music royalty auditor would prepare me for some of the accounting requirements that I would need to understand when I started my own record company. I saw it as a temporary career move.
Simultaneously, the music industry was going digital. This was in 2000-2001. I thought: Now that everything is becoming computerized, there won’t be mistakes to audit. I did not see being a royalty auditor as a career. I approached royalty audits from the perspective of a company owner, not a CPA, so I was able to identify entirely new types of claims. Basically, I found more money than other auditors. I became known for that innovative approach, and I discovered a passion for royalty audits and I’m happy with my career as a royalty auditor.
Here is a quick royalty run-down:
It starts within the band. If you are writing songs, you should start with a band agreement that talks about the splits. It’s hard to navigate for artists. It introduces conflict. If your band is successful, I think you will be glad you did that.
Once you have recordings, or compositions as a songwriter, focus on registration. First with the US copyright office. That will give you some protection. This is something that even major publishers get wrong. It’s important to get things registered with your performance rights society and within foreign territories. It’s amazing to me, but I’ve seen this many times where there is a major territory with no reported income, and it can be attributed to a failure to properly register the copyrights.
Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
One of the things I like about my career are those moments, sometimes after hundreds of hours of hard work, a client finally gets a check. Or they receive the credit they are do. Those moments are what it’s all about. It’s a righteous feeling.
What are some of the biggest failures artists make when it comes to getting paid?
I see artists that didn’t hire a good team early enough, and they end up stumbling later on because things are askew. If you don’t hire a good attorney, starting with your band agreement. If you don’t have a good publisher, to register your compositions. If you don’t have a good business manager. A lot of the messes I come across stem from the client not hiring a good team early on.
Three things artists should be doing today to protect themselves and get paid moving forward:
- Get on the same page with your co-writers and co-authors on the splits before you do more work together.
- Register your copyrights with the US copyright office, performance rights societies, and major foreign territories.
- Don’t wait ten years before you conduct a royalty audit. There are statues of limitations on these things and it’s often impossible to go back and get what you were due years and years ago.
The best ways to reach Cedar:
At work:
www.greenhassonjanks.com
Via email:
cboschan@greenhassonjanks.com
Personal blog:
http://auditrix.blogspot.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/auditrix
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