Let's talk about LABELS. I'm researching for my own bands and need advice!

Skinny Viking said:
You should see the offer we got from LMP (Rhapsody's former label) several years back...

you think AVISPA was abusive? :D

LMP basically wanted us (me) to not only sign an exclusivity contract (which could have been negotiated) but they also wanted something like 80% of our publishing rights, get this, for fucking PERPETUITY. Essentially, copyright time period.... something like my lifetime + 50 years or something.:lol: Thats just the tip of the iceberg with those guys though

Oh yeah, don't ever sign over your publishing rights unless its for an exact specified period of time that you can deal with.
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Yes, they fucking suck! Rights usually are 100 years, that is the maximum.
Anyway it's nice to be in the target of labels like LMP. Congrats!
No wonder you got an offer from them your music is very good... I dig that kind of metal.
 
slashvanyoung said:
That's prog-rock entourage right there! No bodyguards, no hoes, no dealers... but lawyers. ;)
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Exactly my thought when I heard this, hr hr......

BTW, maybe it helps to know that founding a label is really no big deal (at least here in Germany).
This might not bring big sales (without professional promotion and everything) but it might get you in a better starting position (as bigger labels often deal with smaller ones rather than just a band........at least this was my impression).
 
Do entertainment lawyers actually shop material around? I thought they'd just be legal solicitors that you could throw contracts at and get things proofed. If they take on a more active 'managerial' role then I guess that's something quite worth investing in.
 
My band was in talks with an indie label a few months ago. Nice guys, and I'm sure they meant well, but their contract was greedy to the point of actually violating U.S. law. Not to mention wanting rights to our likeness and merchandise -- which is the only way we'd make any money in the first place.

More recently, we got an offer from a label that not only offered no advance and no recording budget, but wanted US to pay THEM $500. Huh?

Entertainment lawyers are important. They saved our asses and will save yours too. It's worth it.
 
Ermz said:
Do entertainment lawyers actually shop material around? I thought they'd just be legal solicitors that you could throw contracts at and get things proofed. If they take on a more active 'managerial' role then I guess that's something quite worth investing in.
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There's a couple that will shop it. Not all of them though, And alot of the ones that do shop it, end up just building labels,I know thats how fearless started it was 2 lawyers that were doing this sort of thing out of there garage or some shit and then just went and started the label.
 
If you can afford to make a really good record without getting label funding up front, then don't worry about getting a label.
Instead try to get hooked up with a good reputable management company, they'll do everything a label would, minus give you $15k to make a record.
 
Plenty of lawyer will shop stuff for you. This is far more common for big labels than small though.
In my band we've always gotten to the "table" on our own and hired a lawyer to help negotiate and explain what the hell we were signing. There are a lot of negative things that can be said about labels but they have given me opportunities I can't imagine I would have gotten on my own.
 
I've always felt a fair amount of revulsion for the music industry, even before I had any experience with it. Just the idea of it seemed at odds with what music is about to me. Of course I also understood it was a necessary evil so that my communication was heard.

Later I found in practice the music business was in a lot of ways a match for what I had thought of it, and my disdain remained and perhaps grew. Yet still I am part of it all.

My advice would be to research, talk to people, and learn as much as you can just as you are doing. Actual practical things you can do depend on what you want to get out of it.

If you have any specific questions feel free to get in touch. Best of luck with the CD!
 
i signed 3 record deals in my life and the one i got now is the best ever.
can´t get too much into detail here but it´s really fair. we still have all our rights but didn´t get any production money.
i also signed 2 other contracts with my old band (r.i.p.) including a big german label (afm records). when you get money from record companies you have to offer something (which in most cases are copyrights).
i also tried the hard way of founding my own label but i would never do this again as it is very much hard work and you need to have money for promo and stuff.
if you don´t do any promo campaigns you will not sell any cds. in fact we sold 2 copies via our distributor in germany....
 
I have yet to get a single penny from my previous bands album :bah:

MetalSound: I hear ya, I tried founding one as well. It really is hard work and I think it's also an eye opener for why bands with labels don't have it as bad as they say they do. (at least in some cases)

For the OP: the book "All You Need to Know About The Music Business" is often recommended. I've read over 3/4 ths of it. It can help shed light on areas you may be confused about and will also help you gain a better general understanding of the business as a whole. It's even pretty funny at times :)
I'd recommend picking it up.
 
Unless you are Iron Maiden you are going to make zero cd sales. The only thing a label has to offer you nowadays is to put you in the bill of a tour. The new (post 2000) record contracts are all about that, and the label takes a cut off the ticket sales. If you're not interested in touring, getting signed won't get you far these days.
 
preampdude said:
Unless you are Iron Maiden you are going to make zero cd sales. The only thing a label has to offer you nowadays is to put you in the bill of a tour. The new (post 2000) record contracts are all about that, and the label takes a cut off the ticket sales. If you're not interested in touring, getting signed won't get you far these days.
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This is misleading to say the least. I've negotiated 5 record contracts and signed 3 since 2000 and not one of them involved a 360 deal or any sort of cut of touring or merchandise. We've gotten advances for records and videos as well as some serious tour support over the years. It's true royalties generally go towards recouping those things, but we have certainly received mechanicals and made a decent profit selling discs directly.
Anyway, the music business is scummy for sure but lets not pretend like it's a totally pointless, one sided thing. It isn't that simple. I've certainly had my fair share of frustration with labels over the years but as I've said they've given me some tremendous opportunities.
You are right to the extent that labels expect you to tour but that's been true since labels began. We've been asked to do some terrible tours but we've also gotten to do some amazing ones. It's a yin and a yang I suppose.
 
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