Licensing is a complex topic that many DIY/indie musicians in particular avoid at all costs. Here’s the good news – you don’t have to anymore. Limelight, a service of RightsFlow, is here to make the whole process smooth, straighforward – and budget friendly. Here, Michael Kauffman of RightsFlow explains what Limelight can do for musicians and how you can use the service to help you clear all those songs you’ve been dying to cover.

Question: Licensing can be complicated business for even seasoned music biz professionals, and for many indie artists and labels, the mere idea of delving into the world of licensing sends them running for the hills. How is Limelight changing that?

Limelight simplifies the process of clearing cover songs. There are artists out there who play these songs live and never knew they could record and distribute them, let alone sell them. We’ve created a site that is simple to use and allows artists to secure the necessary mechanical license for 100% of the publishing spectrum and also ensures that they are compliant with the law and pay the songwriter/publisher 100% of royalties due.

We believe that musicians desire to license properly; it’s a matter of providing some education and a utility that is easy to use. Designed by musicians for musicians, Limelight is both a resource (check out our FAQs here) and a service for helping to drive revenue for songwriters and grow the pie for the entire community. Read the rest of this entry »

Scott Sellwood is the Sr. VP and General Counsel of RightsFlow, Inc.  Prior to being at RightsFlow Scott was practicing law part time and playing in a band called “Saturday Looks Good to Me” who released albums on both Polyvinyl and K Records.  I wanted to speak to Scott because of his unique career and because of RightsFlow’s new product Limelight. Read the rest of this entry »