Contracts and Royalties

[lilbigblue]

Here is the scenario: My friends have received a contract with a producer who will be producing/writing music for my friends to sing and will also act as a manager of sorts to help find the girls some gigs and live performances.

Here's my question: The producers are asking for 50% of everything the girls make. They also state that the girls will be paying for the recording studio time etc, which is standard and not the issue at hand. Is 50% a standard percentage cut for the producer/manager to be taking? Their previous manager was only taking 15%, but that was just a manager and not a producer as well.

Hypothetically speaking, if they had a manager that took 15%, what would the average producer take? Likewise, after the manager and producer, then comes the record label and other backup musicians...

If someone could reply with a standard breakdown of where all the money goes, i would greatly appreciate it. Also, if you have any websites that I could visit to get a better idea i'd appreciate it.

-Ray

 

[Evildick]

Little info to go on

I would recommend getting a cost breakdown of future expenses. For example:

1. He's producing the songs and writing them and your friends are pretty much just stand-in performers. Have an escape clause in the contract stating that after the first album and a max of 1 live show, your friends have the option to get out of the contract.

2.Where will the expenses be deducted from when promoting and advertising the band and who pays for the pressing of CD's, tapes? Are they shared mutually between the producer and the band?

3.Has the producer made a name for him/herself in terms of actually producing an album?

4.If the girls are going to perform the producers material, I would demand (with a large amount of professionalism) a discount on the studio time rate because not only are they advertising themselves, but also the producers songwriting/mixing/mastering competency.

5.Get a list of the producers equipment that he/she intends to use for producing the album and post it here. It would be interesting to see the studio setup.

6.Who will own the rights to the album after it is produced? This usually leads to promoting deals and higher steps on the ladder of recording and performing.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Playing music and working with business men are two entirely seperate beasts and treat them as such. It sounds like an alright deal as long as your friends don't get stuck in it. It's one of those you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. Good luck to you and your frinds in your endeavors.

Dick

 

[Blackburn]

From what I understand...If the Manager is acting as a Producer as well, then their situation is sort of like an Artist-Development deal. In an A-D deal, it is typical that the producer will take a 50% cut...but, it is also typical that the producer would be the one paying for the studio time. If the producer is not going to dish out the money for the studio, then he should not be entitled to 50% of the earnings.

Like Evil said, make sure your friends have an out-clause of some sort. Most Artist-Development deals are set up to last a certain duration of time (1-2 years) and, if no successful deals are made before that time is up, then the artist has the legal right to move on.

Also, make sure that your friends check the contract to see what the "all-in" recoupment rate is going to be and what % of that the producer is trying to take. If ithe all-in is less that 12% and the producer is trying to take more than a 3% cut, then tell your friends they might want to get some legal advise. Because it sounds like they might be about to get screwed.

Maybe that helped...