Being a music artist can be tough. Between writing and recording songs, touring, and managing record deals, there’s a lot to juggle.
It’s especially hard when you’re just starting out. At first, you’re just playing music and then all of the sudden you have to deal with booking forms, invoices, contracts, licensing agreements, and more!
Managing all these documents is the last thing any musician wants to do. You’re in it for the art, not the paperwork.
Fortunately, there’s an easier way. By using e-signatures, you can streamline many of the boring aspects of being a professional musician.
What is an e-signature?
E-signatures (aka electronic signatures) are a legally-binding way to sign digital documents. You can send them securely over the internet from remote locations, which means you don’t need to wait for handwritten signatures to be passed back and forth.
As for how to create an electronic signature, most are made with cloud-based e-signature softwares. They make it easy to adopt e-signatures into your existing workflow by integrating with standard document types like PDF and Microsoft Word files.
Benefits of e-signatures for music artists
E-signatures are becoming widespread across many industries, including the music industry.
Whether you’re a musician just breaking into the music scene or you’ve been in it your whole life, here are 9 reasons you should consider using e-signatures:
1. Less hassle
As a music artist, you’re often traveling between cities to play shows. And even when you’re not touring, you’re probably writing songs or recording them in the studio. That means you don’t have a lot of time to spend on administrative tasks.
Plus, mailing contracts back and forth can be a pain. And fax machines aren’t convenient when you’re on the go.
But with e-signatures, you can complete paperwork with a few clicks or taps. All you need is a laptop, tablet, or phone, and you can take care of business hassle-free.
2. More mobility
E-signatures let you manage your music business remotely. As long as you have an internet connection, you can be anywhere and still get things signed. This is a huge advantage for musicians who are on the road a lot.
3. Faster turnaround time
One of the challenges with traditional signatures is the time it takes to send a document back and forth between parties.
With e-signatures, you get much faster turnaround times because there’s no need to wait for a physical document or to meet in person. This way, you can activate contracts immediatley and not experience any delays in communication.
4. More cost-effective
Signing documents the traditional way costs money. It takes paper and ink, not to mention shipping costs like stamps and envelopes or a fax machine.
Though this may not seem like a lot, it can add up quickly. Think of all the booking forms and invoices you create. Many music artists struggle to make ends meet anyway, so adding on another expense just isn’t practical.
Once you have the right software, e-signatures cost nothing—no matter how many things you sign.
5. No paper waste
By using e-signatures, you also help the environment. This is because you’re not using paper, ink, or anything else material. It’s all digital!
6. Less space needed
E-signatures also help conserve space. If you’re doing everything by hand, you’re going to collect a sizable amount of paper within no time. You’ll eventually need filing cabinets and manila folders to keep everything organized—and organization is not most artists’ forte.
One of the beauties of e-signatures is that they don’t take up any space at all. It doesn’t matter how many documents you have to sign, you can store them all in the same place on the cloud.
7. More secure
E-signatures are more secure than regular signatures. This is because they:
- Are easy to verify and difficult to forge
- Can’t get lost, stolen, or damaged
- Ensure no signatures are missing from either party
- Ensure only authorized users have access to documents
- Tag the signers’ identities, locations, and times of signing
- Offer a host of other protections against cyber threats
In other words, you’ll worry less about fraud or errors when signing things with e-singatures.
8. Better tracking
Another perk of using e-signatures is the ability to verify when the other party receives, signs, and approves a document. That way, you can stay more up to date and not be left in the dark.
9. Ensured compliance
Lastly, e-signature softwares are built with legal compliance in mind. That means you can trust your e-signature will be recognized by state and federal law. And you can avoid lawsuits and fines over this matter. The software provider guarantees it.
Adding it all up
The bottom line is this: using e-signatures is better than signing paper all-around. And it’s better for music artists, labels, venues, and studios alike. So choose an e-signature platform that suits your needs and see the difference it makes. You won’t look back.