As you begin getting more serious about your music career (either as a performer or as an executive/entrepreneur), you will want to take the appropriate legal steps to make certain you protect both yourself and your business. You have likely heard terms like "corporation," "llc," "sole proprietorship," etc. And while these terms may be intimidating at first, they're really not that complex. For example, if you're selling CDs at your show, and depositing the money in your personal bank account, you are acting as a sole proprietor. Perhaps you would like to sell CDs from your website, but would rather have people be able to pay you with a check, and you'd like this check to be made out to the band's name (or your label's name) rather than your own name...well, one easy way to do this is to create what's called a "d/b/a." This stands for "doing business as," and while it is easy to create, there are issues you should be aware of. In this section, we'll cover some important legal issues surrounding the business of music.