Proper way to sell albums?

[CriticalStringz]

What exactly does one need to properly keep track of and legally sell albums? Ive heard so many different answers for this Im very confused right now.

 

[Relic]

Register with BMI or ASCAP,

Additionally bar codes and whatnot keep track of sales. Then there are other companies that keep track of record sales. Your main thing would be knowing how much product you sent to a store then what the barcode sales say tell YOU how much was sold at that store.

 

[H&R]

Nielson Soundscan ... Barcodes

Google

 

[P_1]

Nielson Soundscan ... Barcodes

Google

theres even ways to track album sales when you're selling them during shows. a type of form (i dont remember what its called) that you fill out with each album you sell you jot down and turn it into nielson and they will count that as sales too.

 

[Haze47]

Your distributors track your sales, this includes people like CD baby etc...you need a barcode to be sold in places like amazon and itunes, but again all the shops collate the sales and send them to the distributors. TO actually even print a cd you need to submitt a request to your local mechanical copywrite agency (in the UK it is call MCPS) they check to see if the stuff you are selling is copywrite controlled - if it is notm you will gt a "certificate of no claim" which they forward on to your pressing company, meaning it is legal for you to sell it... You dont need to be registered as a company or ought to start with (these organisations are called IMPRINTS) you can just sell it and be happy....

Any more stuff you need to know, just ask, i have litwerally just been through all of this...

Safe Al