The Independent Artist's Bookshelf
Every title written by Feady Crocka, founder of Done Deal Digital — from doing, not theorizing.
Every guide we've built, in one place - plain English, source-checked, and instant download. The game, the money, the rollout, and the moat. Learn it for less than a pro charges for ten minutes.
Music Law
Educational guides — Done Deal Digital is not a law firm and doesn’t give legal advice or legal services. For advice on your situation, talk to a licensed attorney.
Know the game before you sign — contracts, copyright, trademark, royalties, and disputes in plain English.
The Independent Artist's Music Law Handbook
All 13 topics, 81 services, ~31,000 words - every contract term, copyright move, trademark, royalty stream, and dispute decoded in plain English,…
What's Legal & What's Not — The Artist's Guide to Music-Business Law
The plain-English guide to the music-business law that protects your money and your masters. 11 chapters, researched and source-checked against the…
Music Law: Contract Review & Negotiation
Learn how a lawyer reads, redlines, and negotiates any agreement an artist is asked to sign, so they don't give away rights, money, or control by accident.
Music Law: Custom Contract Drafting
Learn how a lawyer builds the agreements you need from scratch, written for your specific situation rather than a generic online template.
Music Law: Copyright Protection & Enforcement
Learn how a lawyer secures legal ownership of your songs and recordings and goes after people who use them without permission.
Music Law: Trademark & Brand Protection
Learn how a lawyer locks down your artist or band name and logo so no one else can use it and you don't get sued for using it.
Music Law: Publishing & Royalty Administration
Learn how a lawyer makes sure every stream of money your songs generate is registered, collected, and actually paid to you in full.
Music Law: Licensing & Sync Clearance
Learn how a lawyer gets your music placed in media for money, and clears other people's music and samples you want to use legally.
Music Law: Business Formation & Label Structure
Learn how a lawyer sets up the legal entities and internal agreements that turn your music activity into a real, protected business.
Music Law: Rights Recovery & Recapture
Learn how a lawyer gets back rights and money you signed away years ago, using laws specifically designed to give creators a second chance.
Music Law: Disputes, Demands & Litigation
Learn how a lawyer steps in when something has gone wrong, with letters, negotiation, or court when needed.
Music Law: Name, Image, Likeness & Publicity Rights
Learn how a lawyer helps you control and monetize the commercial use of your identity, face, voice, and persona.
Music Law: Live Performance, Touring & Booking
Learn how a lawyer papers the deals and protects you around shows, tours, and live appearances.
Music Law: Estate, Legacy & Catalog Succession
Learn how a lawyer protects an artist's catalog and income for the people who come after them, before and after they pass.
Music Law: General Counsel & Ongoing Advisory
Learn how a lawyer is your on-call legal partner for the everyday questions and decisions that don't fit a single project.
Taxes & Money
How independent artists actually get taxed — every fact sourced from IRS.gov.
The Independent Artist's Complete Tax & Money Guide
All seven guides in one: how you're taxed, the deductions, quarterly taxes, business structure, royalties, touring, and audits. 56 pages, 126…
Your Music Is a Business — How Independent Artists Get Taxed
The plain-English guide to how independent artists actually get taxed — self-employment tax, the forms you get, hobby vs. business, and what to do…
Write It Off — The Deductions Independent Artists Miss
The deductions independent artists miss — gear, studio, travel, home studio — and the records that make them stick. Plain English, every fact sourced…
Don't Get the Surprise Bill — Quarterly Taxes for Artists
Why artists get the surprise tax bill — and how to never get one. Quarterly taxes, the safe harbor, the due dates. Sourced from IRS.gov.
LLC, S-Corp, or Loan-Out? — Structuring Your Music Business
Sole prop, LLC, S-Corp, or loan-out? How to structure your music business and what each does to your taxes. Sourced from IRS.gov + the California FTB.
How Your Royalties Get Taxed
How streaming, publishing, PRO, SoundExchange, sync, and foreign royalties are taxed — and how not to get double-taxed. Sourced from IRS.gov.
On the Road — State & Touring Taxes for Artists
Every state you tour can tax you. Nexus, performer withholding, merch sales tax, and not getting taxed twice. Official state + IRS sources.
If the IRS Comes Knocking — Audits, Penalties & How to Stay Clean
What triggers an audit, the penalties that hurt, and how to stay clean — your records are your defense. Sourced from IRS.gov.
Release & Promotion
The exact rollout systems Done Deal Digital runs — single, EP, album, mix & master.
The Rollout Vault (Complete Bundle)
All 4 playbooks (Single, EP, Album, Mix & Master) plus all 4 fill-in 12-step workbooks. The complete release system in one download.
The Album Rollout Playbook
The complete album campaign — rollout timeline, single strategy, press, and release-week execution for a full body of work.
The College Radio Playbook
Complete guide to pitching college radio stations — station lists, email templates, follow-up cadence, and what gets you spins.
The EP Rollout Playbook
The full EP rollout playbook — sequencing, multi-single strategy, and the 12-step campaign to launch a project that lands.
The Mixing & Mastering Guide
Get radio-ready, streaming-loud records — gain staging, the mix chain, loudness targets, and the final master checklist.
The Single Rollout Playbook
The complete 12-step system for rolling out a single — pre-save campaign through post-release momentum. The exact plays Done Deal Digital runs.
The Come Up — Grow Your Fanbase
The plain-English marketing playbooks Done Deal Digital runs to turn strangers into real fans — free downloads, paid ads, and search.
The Come Up — Complete Series (Vol. 1–3)
All three volumes in one — free downloads, paid reach, and Google. The full independent-artist growth toolkit at a bundle price.
The Come Up, Vol. 1 — Free Downloads, Real Fans
Turn a free giveaway into real Spotify followers. Download gates, smart links, and pre-saves — the full playbook, step by step.
The Come Up, Vol. 2 — Paid Reach: Instagram & Facebook Ads
Instagram and Facebook ads as your reach engine — targeting, budgets, and the steps to put your music in front of brand-new fans.
The Come Up, Vol. 3 — Google: Catch ’Em Searching
Catch the people already searching. Google Search + YouTube ads for the music business, including the wide-open prison-music space.
Prison Distribution
Get your music onto the prison networks — the paying audience nobody else reaches.
Sell Your Music in Prisons — The Guide
The $97 step-by-step guide to getting your music on JPay, GTL/ViaPath & the federal prison kiosks. Edition 2.0, lifetime updates.
Your Craft & Business
The do-it-yourself guides behind our services — write the hook, script the video, tell your story, lock your metadata, and run the business. Each has a done-for-you version if you’d rather we handle it.
The Independent Artist’s Business Playbook
Treat your music like a business — the money map, structure basics, the release as a campaign, reading a deal, and a 90-day plan. Plain English.
Metadata Done Right — Clean Credits, Splits & ISRCs
Lock your credits, splits, and ISRCs so your royalties actually find you — the four IDs decoded, the pre-release checklist, and copy-paste templates.
Write the Hook — Songwriting, Co-Writes & Splits
Structure, toplines, and hooks that stick — plus how a co-write runs and how to get splits on paper before anyone forgets.
Script It — Music-Video & Short-Form Scripts
The one-page treatment, short-form hooks for TikTok & Reels, and shot direction — write visuals that get watched. Fill-in template included.
Write Your Own Bio & Press Kit
Write your bio, one-sheet, EPK, and press pitch in your own voice — the mistakes that read amateur, and templates to finish today.