If you record company offers you an advance, advance is the the same as a loan. I know LOTS of bands who took advances, and then the record tanked. You owe the record company that money, and even if you are released from your contract you will end up working to pay them back, sometimes for a long time.
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To offset all this necessarily depressing input, go watch "That Thing You Do."
Keeping in mind that's a (fictional) story that turned out pretty well !
Anecdote from Band:Smart -- Everyone loves having a rider with lobster, Cristal, and Heineken by the case in the green room. What most bands don't realize is that THEY are paying for ALL THAT STUFF! Right off the top! It's ALL like that!
Keeping in mind that's a (fictional) story that turned out pretty well !
Anecdote from Band:Smart -- Everyone loves having a rider with lobster, Cristal, and Heineken by the case in the green room. What most bands don't realize is that THEY are paying for ALL THAT STUFF! Right off the top! It's ALL like that!
You can't afford to NOT have a lawyer. You're signing a legal contract; unless you, or someone in the band is an attorney, you could get screwed six ways to Sunday. If you have to flip burgers to get the money, do it.Thing is, we can't afford lawyer yet
Thank you! But we can't afford to hire lawyer and manager yet.
I played with a singer that was good friends with a guitar player in a national act. Not one of the big heavy hitters, but a couple of chart toppers. After about 10 years the record company calls them in for an accounting. They owed the record company $1,000,000 dollars. Of course none of them had any money, but life was pretty miserable for a while. In general, you don't make a penny until the record company has recovered all of their "expenses."
There is a lot of good advice here. The first salient piece is that entertainment lawyers understand your financial position. Contact some and see what they say, you might be surprised. Consultation is often free.
The next was to really check out this label, contact other bands on their roster, see what they could do for you. The right label capable of giving you a real big push might make a deal that looks bad actually worthwhile. A label that can’t really get you places you could not get yourself is worthless.
The last great advice was to figure out if and how you can get out of the contract, and the specifics of the publishing. Selling recordings and streaming music are not money-makers. Getting your songs licensed for use in film, tv, and advertising is a possible good source of money.
Now in the time of Covid-19 it is worth it understanding the live performance part really well, too. Do your band mates even feel comfortable performing live? In the US we have to worry about health insurance - what happens in your contract if someone gets sick and you can’t play a live show the label set up for you?
The advice to get a lawyer before signing a contract is solid, but you still need to get your heads in the game just so you can ask the lawyer the right questions.
Good luck, if you do this right it could be the best thing to ever happen to you. If you let yourselves get signed to a bad deal, it could wind up being the worst thing that ever happened to you. Also trust that if your band and/or songs are really good then time is on your side, no need to rush into a deal, especially not now.
The next was to really check out this label, contact other bands on their roster, see what they could do for you. The right label capable of giving you a real big push might make a deal that looks bad actually worthwhile. A label that can’t really get you places you could not get yourself is worthless.
The last great advice was to figure out if and how you can get out of the contract, and the specifics of the publishing. Selling recordings and streaming music are not money-makers. Getting your songs licensed for use in film, tv, and advertising is a possible good source of money.
Now in the time of Covid-19 it is worth it understanding the live performance part really well, too. Do your band mates even feel comfortable performing live? In the US we have to worry about health insurance - what happens in your contract if someone gets sick and you can’t play a live show the label set up for you?
The advice to get a lawyer before signing a contract is solid, but you still need to get your heads in the game just so you can ask the lawyer the right questions.
Good luck, if you do this right it could be the best thing to ever happen to you. If you let yourselves get signed to a bad deal, it could wind up being the worst thing that ever happened to you. Also trust that if your band and/or songs are really good then time is on your side, no need to rush into a deal, especially not now.
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lawyer, lawyer, lawyer. It can literally ruin your life. The lawyer will pay for itself.
I was lucky, didn't need a lawyer. The contract was four pages of what the band had to do and not a word about what the label would do. Ran away screaming.
Good luck, make good choices.
I was lucky, didn't need a lawyer. The contract was four pages of what the band had to do and not a word about what the label would do. Ran away screaming.
Good luck, make good choices.
Another consideration you should take seriously- if your band is any good, I mean really good...enough to write very good songs that receive lots of positive attention...you, as a bass player, will always...always...be subject to being discarded...and rapidly. That is, unless you are a very good looking, sexy, popular musician that fronts the band, writes the songs, and has long term future potential. Being friends with others in the band will provide you with exactly zero leverage in negotiations.
thank you for your input. They're a small and new label. But they pay for recording and have a booking agents. They used to work for major label but now creating their own. Tbh, we're not paying anything for recording and producing. And I will try to get a help from my wife's friend that is a lawyer, but not entertainment lawyer. What do you think about this? We're no name band with just 130-ish followers that mostly friends of band member on Instagram and already rejected by many before this. They're the one that give us chance, but with their offers, I'm a little bit uneasy. Basically, they'll got nothing if we don't have any progress. I even ask if I have to pay their expenses if we're stuck on our stage now and they say no. So, what do you think? Is it a good pr bad deal?
JeezyMcNuggles
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It completely depends on what the label provides. Sometimes the label also manages the band, not just produce the music. Booking, transportation, promotion, etc. But, that'd all be in the contract. If that's the case, then Id say it's a pretty good deal. But, the terms would be the big breaker. Depending on release quotas and such, it could be a very stressful gig, and very un enjoyable. A lawyer is a must, but make sure you guys all read through the contract thoroughly yourselves as well.
JeezyMcNuggles
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Congrats though! For real. What's your band name? I'll check you guys out.
Let us know whenever your playing in Southern Cali
If something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Something is up. Get a lawyer!
You may think you can't afford a layer, but you really can't afford not to get a lawyer.
- John
You may think you can't afford a layer, but you really can't afford not to get a lawyer.
- John
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OP, congratulations. Great problem to face.
I don't think this forum is a great place to seek advice on this. Half the people here haven't taken their instrument out of their bedroom in their parents' house since they brought it home from Guitar Center. You're going to get a lot of self-righteous 'heck-no' advice from people with no experience in this matter who are pulling their opinions directly out of their asses. Just being transparent.
Find an entertainment attorney.
I don't think this forum is a great place to seek advice on this. Half the people here haven't taken their instrument out of their bedroom in their parents' house since they brought it home from Guitar Center. You're going to get a lot of self-righteous 'heck-no' advice from people with no experience in this matter who are pulling their opinions directly out of their asses. Just being transparent.
Find an entertainment attorney.
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Find that in writing. Make sure it's not phrased as an advance - in which case you're paying them back. And you may (as in - will probably) have no control over expenses, including the infamous "phone calls" and the $5 latte the engineer is sipping on his cigarette breaks.
if it's not in writing, it's not real
So you must ask yourself - what's in it for them? There's no money in streaming. They split off from an established label and are acting like that label isn't burning up the phone lines getting their mutineers blacklisted all throughout your region. There's money in live shows and merch - or there used to be when there were live shows. These days, that's at least 2021 on any kind of national scale. Who fronts the money for the merch and CD's? Who's in charge of inventory management and distribution? How often do you get to check the books and take inventory?
Maybe... If they're paying for production and recording, I guarantee they'll own the masters. Just make sure they don't own rights to the songs too. How long until you guys have enough material for an EP? A full album? Who pays for the studio photoshoots?
I don't know what you're asking here...
Lawyer bassist here - get a lawyer. The main thing to ask yourself throughout this process is "what is the label DOING for its money, and is that likely to make ME more money in the immediate future?" The next group of questions relate to "what happens when one or all of us don't want to do this anymore?"
Work out your copyrights, trademarks, credits, royalty splits, incorporation, intra-band agreements, taxes, etc. with YOUR LAWYER first. The labels lawyers are NOT your lawyers and never have your best interest in mind.
Work out your copyrights, trademarks, credits, royalty splits, incorporation, intra-band agreements, taxes, etc. with YOUR LAWYER first. The labels lawyers are NOT your lawyers and never have your best interest in mind.
I used to do this professionally back in the day, ending in 2002. I've had 3 major label deals (Capital, Atlantic and Interscope). Both bands had very solid, airtight contracts by "big name" music attornies. While the advice of getting an attorney is paramount, there is unfortunately an immutable yet little known truth. With few exceptions (repeat, few exceptions) all things being equal (music, image, label, etc), a band with a better recording contract will attain less success than a band with a bad one. Why? Because the record company will work harder for what has a greater potential profit, period. The younger A/R guys (from my day) may or may not not agree, but the OG cigar chomping moguls got rich off it. If all the artists that we know from rock 'n roll history had great contracts, the landscape would look different. Maybe not wildly different, but different.
When I got back into music a few years ago, I was in disbelief with these 360 deals, but it is what it is. And Napster and [you
] younger guys are to blame, believing art has not value. And who are our icons now? American Idol winners? No, thanks.
I believe we'll probably never see again the type of giants that were created with the advent of radio, films, TV and MTV. IMO we'll go back to music being a "folk" thing where everybody plays something, a little, like 100 years ago. When I was a kid, a kid who had a Fender without taking music serious was a spoiled brat. Now, my generation of parents spoil our kids with tiny instruments, medium instruments, decent instruments all through their upbringing and for the most part they were just used and abused as toys. A lot more guitars yet a lot less guitar heroes now. There's a lot less yearning and a lot more satiating.
That's all I got for today. I gotta take a nap and tell the neighborhood kids to get off my damned lawn.
When I got back into music a few years ago, I was in disbelief with these 360 deals, but it is what it is. And Napster and [you
] younger guys are to blame, believing art has not value. And who are our icons now? American Idol winners? No, thanks.I believe we'll probably never see again the type of giants that were created with the advent of radio, films, TV and MTV. IMO we'll go back to music being a "folk" thing where everybody plays something, a little, like 100 years ago. When I was a kid, a kid who had a Fender without taking music serious was a spoiled brat. Now, my generation of parents spoil our kids with tiny instruments, medium instruments, decent instruments all through their upbringing and for the most part they were just used and abused as toys. A lot more guitars yet a lot less guitar heroes now. There's a lot less yearning and a lot more satiating.
That's all I got for today. I gotta take a nap and tell the neighborhood kids to get off my damned lawn.
Totally get a lawyer With music business experience to read over the contract and aNd advise you. If you can’t do that then don’t sign. To many bands signed bad contracts and then never get anywhere.
Also are they signing the band or the members individually? Doesn’t seem like a big difference but it is. If you sign as a band then they can only come after the band as a business entity. If you sign individually then you are personally on the hook for their money..... be careful and congrats.
Also are they signing the band or the members individually? Doesn’t seem like a big difference but it is. If you sign as a band then they can only come after the band as a business entity. If you sign individually then you are personally on the hook for their money..... be careful and congrats.
