E.O.A.A WEEKLY: Friday, September 19, 2015, Re-posted July 31, 2016
Written by Tiwanda ‘Ne Ne’ Lovelace Bio | Email | Website | Twitter | YouTube | Online Store
What’s in Your Contract?
“There should be nothing ‘Standard’ About your Contract!”
Although, no contract should be allowed to take away your rights as a U.S. Citizen, your contract should be tailor-made to fit your needs.
Never listen to an attorney that tells you that your music/publishing contract containing low figures is
standard. If you hear those words, run as fast as your little legs can carry
you because that attorney works for the system. These are not just words and I can prove it.
Due to personal experience, I would have to warn you that this is the
same ‘system’ that will probably sell you down the river, rather than help you
recover.
If you have attended and/or graduated from a School of the Arts
program, then you will be familiar with most of the aspects of signing the
contract so half the battle is over but don’t think that you are exempt from
being victimized.
The company holds all the cards and most of the time they usually have
your career planned out before the contract is on the table. Just remember that
if it was easy then everyone would have contracts.
As with any company, most contracts are first introduced solely for
the benefit of the company.
As an artist you have probably already been on the ‘grind’ for years
and you really want to be signed.
You should recognize that the standard contract can be all that is
needed to ‘shelf’ you and if you are at the point of signing you already know
what it means to be put on the ‘shelf.’
Just to have a contract doesn’t mean that all of your dreams are
coming true. You have to consider everything from the signing bonus, to the
time-frame that the contract in intended to cover, how much creative control you
will maintain and much more.
That signing bonus or advance is not free money and will have to be
repaid to the record company. These figures will be taken right off the top of
your portion so take an active part in negotiations and know exactly what it is
that you are getting into.
When addressing the contract’s advances, you will want to pay close
attention to that amount because this will tell you whether or not this company is really serious
about you and your talents or whether they will betray your trust.
It is important to think past the present and try to think about the
future with regards to how much it will cost to retain an attorney if this
deal goes bad.
If you are offered a very small amount, then you may want to decline
this deal completely because that is a good sign that they don’t want you to be
able to defend yourself financially.
They know that later on down the line and once you are signed there
will be nothing that you can do to prevent them from victimizing you. Remember in the title, Music Business: It’s a Dirty Game, ‘they will
be all smiles, pretending to have genuine interest, introducing you to other
producers - when all the while they will be ‘gutting’ all of your materials.’
The budget that is mentioned in the contract is not your money that
you can use to satisfy all your whims but it is the amount of money that will
be used to further the project.
This money is usually dedicated to cover the cost of studio time,
manager, expenses, promotion and marketing.
These companies are not in the business of just giving money away and
you should know that there are people working at many levels that share in your
budget so you might want to hold off on ‘making it rain’ right away.
Considering the contract and all of the details involved, you would
definitely want to read every line and seek counsel. I would encourage you to
seek counsel from an attorney who is within the entertainment industry and also
obtain a consultation with an attorney who is outside of the industry.
Most entertainment lawyers have their own clients and artist that they
represent.
Keep in mind that most attorneys will not fight tooth and nail on
behalf of the artist because they don’t want to make waves with the record
company. They would want to assure that he/she does not risk losing potential
future business.
Remember that most of the attorney’s in the music industry are
familiar with each other and have had business dealings with each other at some
point.
Find the answers to the many questions
regarding how the music industry and this ‘system’ continues to operate with
impunity in E.O.A.A. Educating Our Aspiring Artist Weekly Articles Sponsored
by SWP, LLC...
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For more detailed information regarding the
many groups and what it means to be properly aligned, I encourage you to read Music Business: It’s a Dirty Game!
Learn, don’t get burned!
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