Music Contracts 101 Part One: The Basics
Posted by Cohen Ty in Music

Whether you have been using a contract for years or if it is brand new for you, it won’t kill you to examine and perk up your music contracts. Ideally, you are going to want fair-minded music business contracts that are designed for precision rather than their negotiating strength on either side. The most important thing is you want to have everyone in on the deal on the same page. You want a fair contract so everyone is happy.

Although it is suitable and believe it or not legal to use a handshake or verbal agreement, it is extremely difficult to enforce in court. Trust is a huge factor in this type of agreement so unless you have a stellar reputation or you have true confidence in the people you are working, music contracts should not be agreed upon this way.

Money is usually one of the chief factors involved in recording contracts and music business contracts in general. If you are new to the world of music contracts then requesting your clients sign one may be nerve-racking at first but believe me, musicians and bands alike with totally admire your professionalism in doing so. Think about it, the worst thing that can happen is that they will deny the signature and you may have to revise the terms.

If you are looking for a brief overview of what is involved in your standard recording contracts or music business contracts then I will give some important concepts to consider.

1. Sometimes all you need is a date, agreed upon time and a simple signature from you and the other party involved.

2. Next, you may want to define what is involved with their overall performance. Basically, what is expected of the artist? Is there a minimum length of time they need to perform? How many breaks will be allowed? What is the environment of the performance?

3. It is crucial that the you and the artist have in writing agreed upon location of performance, the correct date and the time the band or artist needs to show up in music contracts.

4. Money, money, money! Isn’t that what it all boils down to in the music industry? Will you have a set amount you will pay? What about a percentage of how many people pay at the door? Who will receive the payment? When will they receive the payment? How will they receive the payment? Will it be cash, check or paid in something such as free drinks or studio time?

5. When it comes to recording contracts, the artist must grant explicit permission. Involved in this may be recording, reproduction, transmission and photography of the artist. Is it ok for you to record the performance? Can you print promotional materials with their names included? These things are crucial to consider.
Article source: ContentLog.com

Author Description
Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author/creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & "How to" resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.musiccontracts101.com for more info on music contacts, recording contracts & music business contracts.

By now everybody not under a rock, knows that Weezy aka Lil' Wayne sold a million copies of his album Tha Carter III in his first week out.  The closest in recent memory was the 957,000 Kanye pulled in his infamous September battle with 50 Cent. (Aside: didn't 50 say he was going to quit rapping if he lost ?  Well he did, so when that's going to happen ? Hopefully the new G-Unit album tanks as karma.) 

Back to the topic at hand Weezy has sold almost 1.5 million to date, but the bigger question is what does this all mean ?  With CD sales on a consistent decline for a variety of reasons, major labels are putting more importance on the first week numbers.  Why is this case ?
I believe this is due to a number of factors: 1) First week numbers and the anticipation of these numbers has become a huge marketing tool, especially in urban music. 2) Album quality has gone down over the years, resulting in weak uneven albums with a few hit singles which drive radio spins and anticipation of the album. 3) Labels don't have as much faith in artists to have long steady careers, and want to recoup their costs as quickly as possible, before moving on to the next artist. 4) Less audience loyalty to particular artists. 5) More competition for audience dollars across a wider entertaintment spectrum. 6) More music available for free than at any other time in music history through peer to peer networking, file sharing and legal/illegal downloading.

I deliberately left the file sharing debate to the last point, because I believe much of the demise of CD sales has more to do with changing market trends, technological changes, audience expectations and a general rebellion against the Big Labels greed of the past 20 years.  While the Big Labels' slowness to adapt their business model to meet the new dynamics has been examined at length in other places, I charge that in the new marketplace the audience decides which artists to support and how to consume their art.  Many independent companies have changed their models, often incorporating mixtapes, free music and file sharing as marketing tools, and not something to fear.  (My man Rashod has a great article examining Lil Wayne's use of these tools. )  Daring independent artists have a wonderful opportunity to use the same tools to enhance their careers by connecting with new fans, in a manner that the audience chooses.  Using the internet and free music option as a "try before you buy" is a growing trend that will be used by more and more artists.  What this means for fans is that artists respect the power of the audience even more now, as the audience has so many more options.  Artist/band loyalty is even more valued, and so we as fans should see increased value added releases and opportunities to consume the music/art in the ways that we want it (MP3, Video downloads etc.)  This puts the power back into the hands of the consumer who can spend as much (or as little) as they feel a particular artist is worth.  This puts pressure on the artists to deliver higher quality albums/singles and to focus on mass or niche markets.  Artists can still be successful without producing mainstream music, by satisfying one or more of the wide variety of taste in the marketplace.  Therefore success can't be measured strictly by numbers of sales (first week or otherwise), but must be measured by the connections and demand created by an artist for the art that they produce. 

JJ Freddy

Welcome all to the newest blog on music and current music bizz trends !  I'll be here every month worldwide bringing you news from across the globe on music developments, pop culture and of course my take on it all. Contact me at theafrican@hotmail.com

I'm not sure if you saw the news reports from the last week.  Pigs were seen flying across North America from California to Prince Edward Island !  Seriously, and in related news Snoop Dog dropped a country tune with Willie Nelson.  "My Medicine" is a tune that either excites, infuriates, or suprises, but I can't say I was too impressed.  Unless it's supposed to be some sort of parody, this song is funny for all of the wrong reasons !  "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick..." are the opening lines to the song and then Snoop proceeds to tell a simple tale of a lady who buys his medicine.  Snoop seems to be having fun, but from all reports he was trying to make an authentic country song, even going so far as to unfreeze Willie Nelson and have him propped against the wall in the video for a cameo !  I mean, come on, is nothing sacred anymore ??  Let Willie rest please !!  Snoop I appreciate you pushing the musical boundaries, but this song is really silly.  What do you think ? See it here.

Welcome all to the newest blog on music and current music bizz trends !  I'll be here every Monday worldwide bringing you news from across the globe on music developments, pop culture and of course my take on it all. Contact me at theafrican@hotmail.com

I'm not sure if you saw the news reports from the last week.  Pigs were seen flying across North America from California to Prince Edward Island !  Seriously, and in related news Snoop Dog dropped a country tune with Willie Nelson.  "My Medicine" is a tune that either excites, infuriates, or suprises, but I can't say I was too impressed.  Unless it's supposed to be some sort of parody, this song is funny for all of the wrong reasons !  "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick..." are the opening lines to the song and then Snoop proceeds to tell a simple tale of a lady who buys his medicine.  Snoop seems to be having fun, but from all reports he was trying to make an authentic country song, even going so far as to unfreeze Willie Nelson and have him propped against the wall in the video for a cameo !  I mean, come on, is nothing sacred anymore ??  Let Willie rest please !!  Snoop I appreciate you pushing the musical boundaries, but this song is really silly.  What do you think ? See it here.