Advice needed (from you experienced muso types)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kevin Deschwazi
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Kevin Deschwazi

Kevin Deschwazi

Well-known member
I put some MP3's up on soundclick (mainly so's I could post them on the mixing clinic here).

I've recieved the following email:

"Regarding the materials on your web site.
I am interested in the materials on your site. Statue is a major
independent record company and would like to discuss the possibility of
releasing this material and doing some radio promotion on it.
If your record is available for licensing and distribution please contact
me at your earliest opportunity by sending me an email to
wr@statuerecords.com

Best Regards,

Warren Ryan
Manager A&R
Statue Records Group Los Angeles"

It's kind of nce to be approached but at the same time we'e wary. What does "available for licensing and distribution" exactly mean. Do we need to seek some legal advice? Get a manager? or am I getting ahead of myself?

I'd appreciate some advice.
 
you should be flattered.....

I mean, even if they want to put you in a slave-contract and just use you to make money for them, yoiu should be flattered they are interested.

try to do a ilttle research. I'm sure THEY think theyre major indie label, but can you find anything with their name on it at your local indie record store?

ps...dont necessarily be fooled by a fancy schmancy web site...a 13 year old kid thats good at html code can make one look like a big name.

i say contact them...but tell them you want a phone call, then possibly a meet face to face. i guess if the phone cal goes well, youd have to fly there or drive? be kinda exciting. Make sure youre music/lyrics is copyrighted properly.

iwould definitely get a lawyer to go over everything they want you to sign. Dont fall for the "its a standard contract...our guy here will explain this mumbo jumbo to you..." scam

never sign anything w/o a contract lawyer looks it over first and explains it to you. Thats what they are for. Their lawyers are under no obligation to tell you the truth. YOUR lawyer has to be righteous to you, or they could get disbarred. If they put a "time limit" on it, like sign today or we go with someone else, we got 50 of you lined up...its a sure sign of a scam. You should get a copy of any contract proffered to you and have reasonable time to think it over and get a legal opinion on what your signing.
 
Whenever something is generically worded like "Regarding the materials on your web site. I am interested in the materials on your site," it's probably some automated mailer program that "harvests" contact addresses off of music posting sites and blasts 'em all in the hopes of finding a few saps out of the thousands of hopeful musicians that will put up some money to have their promising materials marketed....
 
Kevin I hope this is the real deal for you, I really do. I've never heard of these guys. That doesn't mean anything either, but it looks like if anything their a small indie label. If thats the case they have a huge stable of artists that would compete with Sony, which I think would be unlikely for such a small label. If you never heard of anybody in their roster I would be suspect. Where are they getting the resources to fund all these artists. There should be a winner or two in there to offset their losses on the rest. Even if they put a paltry 200,000 into each one of these people that would be a huge sum of money given the large number of artists on their roster. If they want a dime from you. Run don't walk to the nearest exit. Be cautious and all the best. Keep us informed about the progress with these guys.


Just a note: Typically labels are looking for proven bands with a fan base and sales record of at least 10,000. They don't want to find some decent sounding music and do that much development. Just a little thing usually AR guys don't refer to themselves as managers. They're all VPs.
 
Ownership

....They want to know if you have contracted any rights to anyone else. [recording (mechanical);distribution (label);publishing etc] It's worth a listen....don't sign anything without REAL advice. Beware of fine print and what is expected of you. GOOD LUCK !!
 
I counted them they have about 130 artists in their roster. Thats pretty good for a indie label thats been around since 1997. Thats about the size of Epic mabey bigger. Has anybody here heard of one of these people? Do your research carefully.
 
AlChuck said:
Whenever something is generically worded like "Regarding the materials on your web site. I am interested in the materials on your site," it's probably some automated mailer program that "harvests" contact addresses off of music posting sites and blasts 'em all in the hopes of finding a few saps out of the thousands of hopeful musicians that will put up some money to have their promising materials marketed....
Click to expand...

This sounds like the most likely :rolleyes:

I'll get back to them, ask a little bit about them and see what kind of a strategy they have in mind. I'm pretty cynical about the whole thing but I can't not look into it.

Thanks for all the advice, it's much appreciated.
 
Sadly, enough, it's good to be cynical these days. Cynicism and realism seem to be blurring together.
Check everything out, but trust no one.
 
Yeah, just be careful. By all means, be excited, but keep your eyes open, get a lawyer AND DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAY. I've tried to negotiate a dodgy contract once before. I put my foot down and wound up not signing, but that in itself was a pretty crushing experience.
 
Surprise, surprise they want $100 up front.

Thanks for the link Mr Hooper, seems like people don't have a lot good things to say about Statue Records. The words 'berth' and 'wide' spring to mind (although not necessarily in that order).

Thanks for talking sense people.
 
I'd contact some of the bands... Not the "featured" bands - The other ones.

See what they have to say. There are a lot of indie labels (I use the term loosely) that require a little "investment" from the artists.

Does it suck? Certainly. Depends on the "investment" or "co-op" money. Some of these labels are just plain scam artists. Some others you can consider a nice "stepping stone" to something else.

At the very least, check to see if these guys are listed somewhere on AllMusic. Other than that, legal representation is a must.

Again - I'm not saying to go with them, I'm not saying not to. But with some bands, a little "co-op" deal to get the name out might be just the trick. But by all means - READ THE FINE PRINT.
 
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