kriss Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 My band is currently recording a self-financed album in a brand new studio. The guy who owns the studio is a live-technician for a big Swedish band. Today we received a e-mail from him, where he said he liked our music so much, he will start a record label and release the album. He will pay for everything: the recording, mastering, duplication of cd:s, and so on. This guy have been a professional live-technician for many years, and he knows a lot of people in the music business in Sweden. I'm so happy right now my band: the flaming moes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Congratulations!!!!! I wish I could land something like that. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr M Pulsive Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Look into finding a reasonable entertainment lawyer. Read the fine print. Make the most of it. Congrats and good luck! -Mike ...simply stating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetgtree Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 talk about being in the right place at the right time. That is freakin' awesome! www.geocities.com/nk_bass/enter.html Still working on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pernax Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Talk indeed about the right place at the right time! Congratulations! I have to agree with what Mike said, make sure you know exactly what the contracts you sign mean. -Pernax (up to 200 characters) You may use UBBCode in your signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Good for you, but: Get a lawyer to read the agreement you're bound to sign. If you don't see any paperwork or he pushes a "gentleman's agreement" I would be skeptical. If you are signing a contract, how many albums are you comitting to? Will the profits be cross-collaterized? Don't expect miracles. You're getting a record that'll be financed by someone else. Great. You won't have to shell out any cash. That's always good. Who owns the tapes afterward? Make sure you guys get your publishing rights established with BMI, ASCAP or their european equivalent before you walk into the studio. What'll happen next will depend upon how much pull this guy really has in the industry. You won't get much airplay or name recognition unless this guy is spending money to get your name out there. I'm not saying you should scoff...but don't get too excited yet. Keep your head on straight and make sure you know what you want when you get to the negotiating table. More questions? There are many books about the music business. Read 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Phil Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 read the super-duper-extra-fine-really-small-print. Make sure it doesnt say "We sell our souls to you and Satan." http://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/blue.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/black.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/fuscia.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/grey.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/orange.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/purple.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/red.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/yellow.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkW Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Much like BenLoy said, it's exciting, but now's no time to kick back and relax. It's going to be even more work for you guys from here on out, and as the saying goes, "The devil is in the details." Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Kriss, fourst of, congratulations, it's great when someone else shows such enthusiasm in your music. Second, listen to all the cynics! A while back, after we had some interest from an American producer, the studio we recorded our first demo called us up, and offered us much the same as the deal now siting on your lap. The studio said they were starting a new "stable" of N. Irish talent. They offerred to record our record, push it, organise U.K tour (packaged with other "stable" bands) and a big pot at the end of the rainbow. All they wanted was 35% of all earnings. We refused, other bands took their chance, signed away....still haven't recorded jack, never toured, but are still under contract! Funny thing is, the studio guys thought nothing of our demo when we recorded it. It was only after the American producer phoned to congratulate them on their work on our demo that they offered us the chance of a lifetime. Of course not all people are rip off merchants, so best of luck! Just pay attention! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 BenLoy nailed a lot of it in his post. It sounds like a good opportunity, but you need to make sure that the business end of things are clearly defined. A lawyer becomes essential at this point. And truth be told, this is only the begining of your oddysey, not the end. One thing that you're going to want to look into is this: who has he secured to do distribution for this newborn label? Between distribution and promotion, those are major concerns. More to come....(a little busy at the moment) Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Okay, here's the more.... Get to know this term: Recoupable expenses. Recoupable expenses are expenditures that the label will make and those are payable back to the label as soon as possible. These will include recording expenses, promotional budgets and a litany of other expenses. With regard to the recording expenses, this means that the label will be paying for the sessions as well as the master tapes. This legally entitles the label to claim ownership of your master tapes, even after your disc may have sold enough to pay for your recording, mixing, duplication, etc. If you pay for these things yourself, you can claim ownership of the tapes and master materials. Another key thing: do not sell your publishing or copyrights. Many labels will want to buy the rights to your material. This is so they can license the material at some later date, and they get the money from that licensing. They will also have legal rights to some or possibly all of your mechanical fees. So once again, get a good entertainment lawyer and management. They'll be able to negotiate the best deal possible for you. This is what they do, and they will be able to guide you the best way possible. And the key thing to remember with regards to these lawyers and managers is that they work for you, not the other way around. One last thing to note: if one label is interested in you, there's a fair chance that others will be as well. Keeping that in mind is key, since it can keep you from jumping at the first deal, and possibly bad deals. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Originally posted by BenLoy: Good for you, but: Get a lawyer to read the agreement you're bound to sign. If you don't see any paperwork or he pushes a "gentleman's agreement" I would be skeptical. If you are signing a contract, how many albums are you comitting to? Will the profits be cross-collaterized? Don't expect miracles. You're getting a record that'll be financed by someone else. Great. You won't have to shell out any cash. That's always good. Who owns the tapes afterward? Make sure you guys get your publishing rights established with BMI, ASCAP or their european equivalent before you walk into the studio. What'll happen next will depend upon how much pull this guy really has in the industry. You won't get much airplay or name recognition unless this guy is spending money to get your name out there. I'm not saying you should scoff...but don't get too excited yet. Keep your head on straight and make sure you know what you want when you get to the negotiating table. More questions? There are many books about the music business. Read 'em.Yes. Always be super-suspect of "free" stuff... even if it's from one of your "best friends". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I'm really learning alot from this post. Being relatively new to the biz, and having all recordings done in the guitar player's home studio I haven't researched any of this. Thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pernax Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 This is an interesting topic, one that our band has been discussing recently as well. Our new CD is not even complete, and we've already had offers ranging from publishing to management. Luckily we're not in a hurry, and will not jump to any deals without giving it good thought as well as getting a professional opinion about any contracts. It's quite easy for a band without prior experience of all the legal mumbojumbo to jump on the first offer, and then regret it later on when they realize that they've been screwed in one way or the other. I cannot stress the importance of a professional lawyer, many times no deal is better than a crappy deal. It's actually quite easy to be independent these days, just as long as you have no need to be a mega star. But even despite all this cautiousness, I sincerely hope that Kriss will get the most out this new streak of luck, and hopefully we'll hear from his band soon enough! -Pernax (up to 200 characters) You may use UBBCode in your signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr M Pulsive Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I want to add that I in no way meant that you shouldn't be excited. Go nuts! There's a great chance that he's sincere (and you know this better than anyone here,) so make the most of it. ...Just get all the details (and interpretation for them via entertainment lawyer) before signing. And your buddy the divorce lawyer is NOT an entertainment lawyer. -Mike ...simply stating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daofktr Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 kriss: congratufrigginlations! one point, though...if you end up touring through norway, make sure yer contract has an anti-lutefisk rider... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.