Learning about trade names and trademarks. More specifically 'service marks' which is what an artist would be providing given the circumstances of how music works. You provide a service of entertainment, to the public hence the 'service' within the terminology. It's going to cost a lot of money to make sure that the stage name I have decided for myself is not going to be used, it's also going to take time to get some attention towards it.
However, I am adamant about going with 'The Phantom Songwriter', it just has a good flow to me. So, I'm going to have to find a way to get the appropriate funding and plan this all out the correct way. The first couple of methods will require me using upwards of two thousand dollars, which I can do...but I need to wait and plan this out so that this is all secure.
After achieving the trademark, from there I just have to copyright my music using a couple recording and we should be in business. I'll then feel safe about putting stuff on the internet of me singing some of my original music that I have come up with.
Everything takes time, but that doesn't mean it's not frustrating.
I'm hoping no one else beats me to the punch and does all of this before I get a chance to patent what I've come up for myself.
Did work on trademark stuff tonight, I'll look into copyrighting my lyrics tomorrow.
--The Phantom--
Monday, January 28, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Slow Progress
Work, work, work. It's the same story for most of us. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of this though. I'm going to put time towards my music. There is something in my head that keeps coming up with melodies and lyrics. I have to nurture that.
Having setbacks though. Had three wisdom teeth removed this week, so it's going to take time before I can sing anything. In the time being I'm going to work on getting copyrights for my lyrics, getting the notes laid out on my keyboard, and possibly getting those copyrighted as well. I also need to trademark a few things. I've noticed over the years that a lot of people have come up with some of the same awesome things that I have, maybe not exactly the same but really close, and I did not take the steps to protect my ideas and take ownership of them. I am not sure what all I need to do, but I do know before I put anything on YouTube I want to legally make sure that no one else can steal any of the things that I create.
I haven't even tried to share this blog with anyone yet.
Things I've done:
-Set up a Gmail account
-Set up a blog
-Set up a YouTube page
Things to do:
-Patent my stage name
-if taken, I need to find a new one that will suit my goals and image I want to portray
-Finish more songs; I've got 50+ songs written and only 6 that I can play and sing
-Copyrights, Copyrights, Copyrights
-Upload videos onto YouTube
From there I'm just interacting with people and figuring out where this will go, and hopefully find out why this phenomena is happening to me. I can come up with songs from almost nothing. It is kind of weird I guess but, it's soothing and it helps me deal with things.
Let's see where this goes!
--The Phantom--
Having setbacks though. Had three wisdom teeth removed this week, so it's going to take time before I can sing anything. In the time being I'm going to work on getting copyrights for my lyrics, getting the notes laid out on my keyboard, and possibly getting those copyrighted as well. I also need to trademark a few things. I've noticed over the years that a lot of people have come up with some of the same awesome things that I have, maybe not exactly the same but really close, and I did not take the steps to protect my ideas and take ownership of them. I am not sure what all I need to do, but I do know before I put anything on YouTube I want to legally make sure that no one else can steal any of the things that I create.
I haven't even tried to share this blog with anyone yet.
Things I've done:
-Set up a Gmail account
-Set up a blog
-Set up a YouTube page
Things to do:
-Patent my stage name
-if taken, I need to find a new one that will suit my goals and image I want to portray
-Finish more songs; I've got 50+ songs written and only 6 that I can play and sing
-Copyrights, Copyrights, Copyrights
-Upload videos onto YouTube
From there I'm just interacting with people and figuring out where this will go, and hopefully find out why this phenomena is happening to me. I can come up with songs from almost nothing. It is kind of weird I guess but, it's soothing and it helps me deal with things.
Let's see where this goes!
--The Phantom--
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Everything Has a Beginning
Everything has a beginning and as far as songwriting goes this is one of my first big steps. I've been into music and poetry for some time, I've written songs for something like eight years along with poetry as well. I have a published poetry book under a pen name and I like poetry I do...but, being able to sing and play a poem so that it can touch a person in a different way feels more appealing to me. I like the emotions that the right note, the right set of words, or the combination of the two can bring about in a person's soul.
That being said I know for myself poetry and lyrics have lifted me up from some dark places like a lot of other people, but it hasn't been until recently that I got somewhat of the courage to show anyone what I've worked on. Every song I've written has a back story to something in my life or the life of someone I know. So, with each song I think I'll post on this blog the background on what the song is about. I plan on having fun with this and who knows maybe something will come out of it. It would be cool to meet people with the same feelings and emotions that I put in my music. I play keyboard and haven't had any lessons but did have some free time because of an accident I had recently so I'm self taught.
There are two ways I write songs. The first way that I come up with a song is I write a poem about something that is bothering me or just on my mind. I break that up into sections, find a rhythm in my head, and after a bunch of beating down on what I originally have I polish it out and there it is--good or bad. The second way is I get some kind of rhythm, beat or sound inspired in my head from anything and I associate that with a situation usually from something I've experienced; after a while I get a song. In both situations I play a matching game by finding the tones in the keys that are suitable enough to portray the emotion and sound that is in my head.
So, sometime soon I will be putting up stuff on YouTube and finish the whole editing process of this here blog. I think until then I'll just write some blogs of what's going through my mind while I continue to practice and get something suitable to put on the web.
As for the whole Phantom thing--I don't want you guys to care who I really am, I just want you to check out my music.
--The Phantom--
That being said I know for myself poetry and lyrics have lifted me up from some dark places like a lot of other people, but it hasn't been until recently that I got somewhat of the courage to show anyone what I've worked on. Every song I've written has a back story to something in my life or the life of someone I know. So, with each song I think I'll post on this blog the background on what the song is about. I plan on having fun with this and who knows maybe something will come out of it. It would be cool to meet people with the same feelings and emotions that I put in my music. I play keyboard and haven't had any lessons but did have some free time because of an accident I had recently so I'm self taught.
There are two ways I write songs. The first way that I come up with a song is I write a poem about something that is bothering me or just on my mind. I break that up into sections, find a rhythm in my head, and after a bunch of beating down on what I originally have I polish it out and there it is--good or bad. The second way is I get some kind of rhythm, beat or sound inspired in my head from anything and I associate that with a situation usually from something I've experienced; after a while I get a song. In both situations I play a matching game by finding the tones in the keys that are suitable enough to portray the emotion and sound that is in my head.
So, sometime soon I will be putting up stuff on YouTube and finish the whole editing process of this here blog. I think until then I'll just write some blogs of what's going through my mind while I continue to practice and get something suitable to put on the web.
As for the whole Phantom thing--I don't want you guys to care who I really am, I just want you to check out my music.
--The Phantom--
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