#968618 - 06/30/00 12:25 AM
From finished album to licensing deal
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Jon Atack
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Registered: 04/22/00
Posts: 920
Loc: Paris, France
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Hi Chris and everyone,
Over here in Paris, I occasionally see young artists or bands coming to our studio to self-produce their first album. These folks often have some sponsor money or love money, they are self-financing a good month in the studio with a couple of able engineers, and a talented few of them are coming out with a good album ready to master and distribute.
Unfortunately, when the lyrics are in English, which they often are, the artists are in a severe dilemma and often ask me for advice in looking for a licencing deal. The reason is, the French majors only sign French-speaking music for reasons having to do with radio language quotas here and the French inability to export English-language product as well as, say, the Swedes do.
Also, certain styles of music like altrock or metal/rapcore that have potential if signed in the US, are practically unsignable in France, and in addition have a very limited global market if the lyrics are French.
Finally, almost no French label will license English-language product unless it has already had some success in the US or UK markets first.
So basically, these artists need to do a licencing deal in America or England for their English-language product.
In general, what steps should these people be taking and who should they be contacting with the objective of obtaining, from France, a licensing agreement in America or the UK? Should they actually pack up and move? Hire a lawyer stateside? Go to the annual MIDEM convention? Contact various management firms?
I don't know what to tell them.
Jon
Capitol Studios Paris
Paris, France
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#968619 - 06/30/00 10:10 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Registered: 05/18/00
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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That's a brilliant question Jon,
I know some people at the IFPI in London and a BMI executive over here in the States who I can ask about this.
I will try to get you a definitive answer by the end of next week (remember, we have the 4th of July holiday next Tuesday).
Chris
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#968620 - 07/08/00 01:03 AM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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Jon:
After speaking to the persons mentioned above plus a couple of others, the consenus of advice seems to be:
1. Go to MIDEM. It is a great place to pitch yourself one-on-one to licensing professionals.
2. Be prepared to perform in the U.K. and the U.S. Otherwise, no one will know who you are and will not be interested.
3. After the above, need to hire/find a U.K./ U.S. representative (producer/manager/lawyer) to represent you with the labels (major and independent).
4. Directly solicit independent labels (send your promo kit with demo tape). To get the good list, go to the Billboard Independent Buyers Guide and/or the Music Business International (MBI) annual directories. MBI is a Miller Freeman publication and can be reached in London through Pro Sound Europe, Studio Sound, etc. Billboard Hq is in New York City.
5. If you can afford to spend a little more money, there is a great U.S. record label directory with all the contact information, which is updated bimonthly, from Music Business Registry in L.A. Their phone number is: 800-377-7411. Nice people.
I hope this helps. If you need more specific information, please let me know.
Chris
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#968621 - 07/11/00 07:56 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Jon Atack
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Registered: 04/22/00
Posts: 920
Loc: Paris, France
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Hi Chris,
Thanks for taking the time to research and post your helpful answer. I emailed your post to a number of artists, and here are some questions they emailed back:
Given the above situation, in which country should they register/copyright their songs (ASCAP/BMI in the US, PRS in the UK, or SACEM in France) before sending out final-mixed demo CDs to independant labels?
For their own protection, should the artists send only cassette tapes rather than CDs to labels, considering that the material is suitable for pressing commercial CDs?
Where might they order an up-to-date directory of US/UK managers/lawyers/producers and what would be the best way to approach these folks (phone, mail, fax, email, etc)?
Thanks again, Chris, for your help.
Jon
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#968622 - 07/12/00 12:24 AM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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Hi Jon:
First, I am going to contact a lawyer friend of mine (one of the honest ones) in London who specializes in Music Publishing, copyrights, etc. It may take a week of so to get an answer, but I am fairly sure he will help us.
With respect to the directory question, I will check with my contacts at Miller Freeman and see what they have to say. That should be a slam dunk for those guys.
We appreciate your continued participation.
Chris
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#968623 - 07/14/00 10:09 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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Hi Jon:
I have spoken by email to my London lawyer friend. He has just returned from an international trip, but says he will get us an answer to your question within a week.
With respect to the directory question, the best one in Europe I know of is: Showcase International Music Book. I have used it for years for international contacts. They can be reached at: info@showcase-music.com or call them in London at: 0181-348-2332. They are good people.
More later,
Chris
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#968624 - 07/16/00 01:42 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Jon Atack
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Registered: 04/22/00
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Loc: Paris, France
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Thanks for the directory info, Chris. I hope you're not getting worn out by all the questions, and look forward to hearing what your publishing lawyer advises. This is a great thread.
Jon
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#968625 - 07/17/00 11:17 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Thanks Jon,
I love the questions, that's what I'm here for.
I should have the lawyer's answer this week.
Chris
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#968626 - 07/19/00 01:02 AM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Registered: 05/18/00
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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Hi Jon:
My lawyer friend, Mr. Tony Morris, in London, came through for us. What follows is his response to your question. If you or your clients want to reach him, please give me the contact information and I will pass it on to him.
Chris
"Dear Chris,
I have had the opportunity of looking at the question posed by Jon from
Capitol Studios in Paris. My off-the-cuff comments are as follows:-
1. Ultimately if the music/recording has quality it is sellable.
2. In the UK, at least, having good level contact in the A n R
departments or at managing director level in the relevant major companies
and their labels is almost a pre requisite. Without this it is extremely
difficult in the current market to get a deal.
3. The alternative would be to endeavour to build up some form of
following on the club circuit in the UK - which in effect means the 8 or 10
clubs which principally operate as A n R hunting grounds in London i.e.
those primarily situated in the Camden area.
4. There are a few lawyers around in London who shop tapes (I am not
one of them). Generally, if the artists are young they may get further
with one of the younger music lawyers in London; alternatively they need
lawyers who are totally convinced and sold on the music and who are prepared
to stick their necks out at probably managing director level.
5. Clearly, if a management company is interested in the band, that
would help. However, of the many hundreds of managers who are around,
there are not that many who are really professional, dedicated and who have
the resources and connections to make things happen in the face of a
disinterested recording exec. In many cases, it is not a question of the
band selecting a manager but a manager being sufficiently convinced of the
worth of a band to wish to take a band on.
6. Whilst all of this may sound terribly negative, the point is that
even a casual glance at the listings mags in London will reveal that in any
given calendar year there is something like 2000/3000 bands looking for
deals in London alone. The number of majors is shrinking, the number of
labels operated by the majors is shrinking and so are the number of acts
being signed by the majors. There are relatively few independent companies
who can compete and so in a shrinking market, perhaps a vibrant band may
look to alternative ways of getting interest for its output. Many young
bands are turning to online facilities and methods of distribution to
attract initial attention. At that point, of course, it therefore becomes
a question of creating traffic to the site in question - that is another
question altogether.
I hope this is of some use.
Kind regards,
Tony Morris"
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#968627 - 07/22/00 03:39 AM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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O.K., so what's the next question?
Chris
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#968628 - 07/22/00 11:07 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Jon Atack
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Posts: 920
Loc: Paris, France
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Hi Chris,
And here I was thinking I was overloading you...
I have forwarded Tony Morris' comments to the people concerned and would like to thank him on behalf of everyone for taking the time to respond.
However, before the artists send any music out to managers/lawyers/etc., it seems to me that their music should be registered/copyrighted/protected in some way.
That leads back to the tricky question I asked above: In which country should they register/copyright their songs (ASCAP/BMI in the US, PRS in the UK, or SACEM in France) before mailing out final-mixed demo CDs to independant labels? It seems to me furthermore that the major copyright organisations in each country usually ask for an exclusive worldwide mandate, but I may be wrong here.
For their own protection, should the artists send only cassette tapes rather than CDs to labels, considering that the material is suitable for pressing commercial CDs?
Back to you again, Chris. Thanks,
Jon
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#968629 - 07/25/00 06:25 PM
Re: From finished album to licensing deal
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Chris Stone
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Registered: 05/18/00
Posts: 894
Loc: Los Angeles,CA,UNITED STATES
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Hi Jon:
After speaking with the legal advisors, the consensus is that each individual case needs pondering by that artists' lawyer.
They say:
1. publishing deals are not necessarily worldwide, although most of the big guys will ask for it.
2. The country in which the artist lives should be considered depending upon who of the big guys have offices there and in what language the artist is writing.
3. Major record companies don't like potential law suits. Some of them don't even accept unsolicited music from unknown artists.
The bottom line is, "get a lawyer who knows what he is talking about" (which in itself to some people is an oxymoron).
Chris
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