If the OP actually listens to the lawyer, then it's money well spent.
I'd also add that even if the OP was offered the most amazing deal ever offered to a musician, he should still get a lawyer to review the contract.
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I'd also add that even if the OP was offered the most amazing deal ever offered to a musician, he should still get a lawyer to review the contract.
This thread is proving that old saying; everybody hates lawyers, until they need one.
As a lawyer I will also add, do NOT go to a lawyer that is not a specialist in entertainment law. Too many lawyers think they can work in many areas of law, however, the days of being a generalist are over. That can also lead you to a lawyer who can get seduced by the thought of fame, fortune and glamor.
Well…we all want to be the captain of a Federation starship too. But sometimes you need to have a little self awareness tempering your ambitions.
I don’t really see how a new two person label is going to knock the industry on it’s ear without some brilliant and radically different (or incredibly retro) band in its stable that lucks out and catches an unpredictable rising rogue wave. That almost makes the odds at a roulette wheel seem like at sure thing in comparison.
Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar.
You're gonna go far,
You're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die,
You're gonna make it if you try;
They're gonna love you.
Well I've always had a deep respect,
And I mean that most sincerely.
The band is just fantastic,
that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy,
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.
We're just knocked out.
We heard about the sell out.
You gotta get an album out.
You owe it to the people.
We're so happy we can hardly count.
Everybody else is just green,
Have you seen the chart?
It's a helluva start,
It could be made into a monster
If we all pull together as a team.
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy,
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.
Roger Waters/Pink Floyd
You're gonna go far,
You're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die,
You're gonna make it if you try;
They're gonna love you.
Well I've always had a deep respect,
And I mean that most sincerely.
The band is just fantastic,
that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy,
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.
We're just knocked out.
We heard about the sell out.
You gotta get an album out.
You owe it to the people.
We're so happy we can hardly count.
Everybody else is just green,
Have you seen the chart?
It's a helluva start,
It could be made into a monster
If we all pull together as a team.
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy,
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.
Roger Waters/Pink Floyd
It's worth nothing - OP is not in the United States, laws in his country are likely different than here.
...making a lawyer that much more critical
...making a lawyer that much more critical
tyohars , i won't take up thread space by talking about my record deals, but you can see from the posts that there is one recurring message about getting a qualified attorney involved.
as you describe the deal you're being offered = it's a goofy one...and it's possible that the 'record company' doesn't know any better than to offer what they have.
these days: you might be better off by producing your own stuff with borrowed/donated money (family, friends, fans) and hiring a publicist (and a trusted accountant/bookkeeper). if you do the hiring = you can do the firing!
in any event, you seem to have 'stars in your eyes', but also a fair amount of ambition. your youtube videos are well crafted and your music is topical and engaging. i would recommend that you do your best to "up your game" while you build a reputation in your area's music business --- so that you can take advantage of a better deal...if you even need to do that!
good luck with your music!
as you describe the deal you're being offered = it's a goofy one...and it's possible that the 'record company' doesn't know any better than to offer what they have.
these days: you might be better off by producing your own stuff with borrowed/donated money (family, friends, fans) and hiring a publicist (and a trusted accountant/bookkeeper). if you do the hiring = you can do the firing!
in any event, you seem to have 'stars in your eyes', but also a fair amount of ambition. your youtube videos are well crafted and your music is topical and engaging. i would recommend that you do your best to "up your game" while you build a reputation in your area's music business --- so that you can take advantage of a better deal...if you even need to do that!
good luck with your music!
tyohars , i won't take up thread space by talking about my record deals, but you can see from the posts that there is one recurring message about getting a qualified attorney involved.
as you describe the deal you're being offered = it's a goofy one...and it's possible that the 'record company' doesn't know any better than to offer what they have.
these days: you might be better off by producing your own stuff with borrowed/donated money (family, friends, fans) and hiring a publicist (and a trusted accountant/bookkeeper). if you do the hiring = you can do the firing!
in any event, you seem to have 'stars in your eyes', but also a fair amount of ambition. your youtube videos are well crafted and your music is topical and engaging. i would recommend that you do your best to "up your game" while you build a reputation in your area's music business --- so that you can take advantage of a better deal...if you even need to do that!
good luck with your music!
Fantastic post!
I want to expand on this a bit because it’s very important.
First, with all due respect, I would actually say do not go to a lawyer that is not a specialist in the music business (or at least very familiar with it). And I say “business” because it’s really that expertise which is critical and separate from other areas of the entertainment business. I have had many opportunities over the years to represent actors, screenwriters, and other talent outside of music, but have turned most of them down because the business and union aspects of film and tv are very different from music. Book deals are beasts unto themselves. And so on.
This is very, very true. It’s extremely difficult to make a living as a lawyer in the music business. There just aren’t that many artists making a lot of money to pay legal fees and the ones who do are usually repped by a small number of firms and individuals. Therefore, in order to break in, I’ve seen lawyers who make themselves “easy to work with” or who are "light with the pen" (i.e., they don't make a lot of comments) and they become part of a referral pipeline that labels, publishers, and others use because the deal is easy to get done. Paraphrasing an old saying by a music attorney: “Artists come and go, but Sony Music is forever.”
To be clear, there are times when artists and lawyers just have to do the best they can. For example, I have a country pop band that doesn’t have 2 nickels to rub together and they’ve had trucks repossessed and other financial un-pleasantries so when it came time to put together the LLC and operating agreement, there simply wasn’t anyone else to do the corporate work other than me. The good news for them is that I’ve seen and been a part of many of these documents for other clients so it’s not likely I’m going to miss anything big, but, to the OP's point, it’s really something I prefer to avoid doing (i.e., working outside what I really know and understand).
Best,
MA
Ummmm....NO. A signed contract is a legal binding document. ALL negotiation MUST take place to FINALIZE the legal binding document BEFORE signing on the dotted line. A certain political figure tried to tell us a few years ago that a 3000 page "bill" needed to be signed so that we could "see whats in it". No need to read and examine it to see what it actually says and agrees to. Just sign here. After finding out what was actually in it I thank God for those that refused to sign until the document was examined. If I ran my businesses by signing contracts before reading or negotiating them, I would have been bankrupt decades ago and STILL owing money. Whats "usual and customary" in B2B contracts is no different than signing a record deal. There's a reason why these practices have been in place for thousands of years.
OP, don't sign a damn thing without proper legal representation to read the documents and explain to you in plain language what you're agreeing to. If you don't like whats in it...negotiate it BEFORE signing it. Go watch that Paul Quin video that someone posted earlier. You will gain a ton of insight and YT will automatically pull up some similar vids to watch. Get yourself armed with education and representation before sitting down at the table with this record label.
there is very little money to be made on recording contracts these days. you may never even recoup the money you have to pay a lawyer to scrutinize this contract, which I'm certain is filled with little landmines that will actually leave you in debt to the company - I would be very careful
Well then, one inevitably wonders, "If so, so what if they do?"
If you don't allow someone to burgle your house, or to cheat you at cards, then they'll find someone else to burgle or cheat. And then you'll have missed out on all those potentially great opportunities associated with being burgled or cheated! (Whatever they might actually be.) /s
First I ever heard of somebody rooting for a record label to rip bands off. Do you work for a label?
Cliff appears to be lobbing grenades out of sarcasm and ill will. Not really caring who gets hurt so long as he gets to watch. I don't think there's another explanation for the barrage of posts he's made
FWIW, there's another way to interpret Cliff's post.
I.e. -- Don't feel bad for the record company in passing up this deal - they'll find someone else. They always do.
(They need you more than you need them...)
I.e. -- Don't feel bad for the record company in passing up this deal - they'll find someone else. They always do.
(They need you more than you need them...)
