Record Deal Questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter sjaguar13
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thats one way.....or deftone puts up 100% and the band loses alot more in the payoff. i guess if the band is doing ok on their own i would play a little hard ball when it comes to deciding where the recording and production are made.....i dont know the band's situation but at this point with my band i wouldnt take it. but dont just listen to my solution....who else has something to say about that
 
In the contract, it says the get the final say in everything. The also talked them down to putting up $750 instead of $1,000.
 
The website is pretty vague and the fact that they want you to send them money to buy a CD is kind of old school with all the new services available ..... at the very least CD Baby.
This could be a great way to make some quick money ....they want to sign 20 - 30 acts each one throws a thousand dollars in.
Bang......30K and at the end of the day all they have to say is .....hey man sorry no one sent us any checks for CD's.

I would head down to the office and check the place out.
I would get the contacts for the other groups and talk to them.
I would find out who is doing radio promo and talk to them.
I would find out who is doing distribution and talk to them.
I would get a breakdown of this $10,000.00.
I would get a copy of the contract ....spend a couple of bucks and have him/her lawyer give it a once over.
I would not be pressured by a two week deadline. .
 
sjaguar13 said:
My brother's band just got offered a deal from Deftone Records, http://www.deftonerecords.com. They have to pay for 10% of cost, so they have to put up $1,000 within two weeks. Is that normal?
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No. Any "record deal" where the artist has to come out of pocket before a track sheet is even laid out is not normal. Any legitimate record label is going to front all recording costs, which they will then recoup from sales.

I didn't check out the site, and I'm not saying they shouldn't do it, but it's not at all normal, and I'd be very suspect.

Despite popular myth, getting signed to a recording contract is rarely a money-maker for an artist (only 1 out of 5 signed to a MAJOR label even get released, and of those, only about 16% ever sell more than 100,000 albums). For indie artists, the sales figures are a lot more grim, although more of them actually get albums released. So statistically, it's a long-shot that any artist signed is ever gonna' sell enough units to pay the label back its recording costs. This is not a huge loss so long as the label eats it and they both walk away, but there's no way I'd advise somebody to put up money as part of a recording contract.

Think about it, lol...that's like paying to go to work.

Anyway...to answer the simple question: No, not normal. Normal is:

Label - Fronts money for recording costs, distribution, and promotion.
Artist - Records material, promotes album, prays a lot.

A big part of the reason I'd be suspect has to do with publishing. The thought of somebody PAYING to record a record for somebody else, and signing away 50% of the publishing rights in the process just makes my skin crawl.

BTW - When a musician pays to record, it's called "booking studio time," lol. THAT's normal.

Best of luck,
Chris
 
ok ...hold on here a second...didnt you OWN a label???...

ok this next part was you in another thread.

I tried it once...it sucked. My friend and I started a label for bands in high school, and bands that were too stupid to figure out how to get a deal. There were a couple problems. My friend was in high school, and he didn't have a clue what he was doing. He ended up taking 80% of the money and refused to pay for anything. He also didn't do any work. He felt obligated to have his girlfriend help, who really didn't do anything either. I was getting money from my brother, but it turned out, we were too far gone.

Last week, I ended up selling what was left of the label on eBay. http://www.LameRekords.com went for $305. I am currently looking into a retail property and starting a music store. I will also be doing web design, lighting, live sound, and promotion for bands, but for a price. The prices are dirt cheap. I'm willing to help bands, but I don't want to loose money.
...:D um whatthefuck?? over?!?
 
Jamal Bucket said:
ok ...hold on here a second...didnt you OWN a label???...

ok this next part was you in another thread.

I tried it once...it sucked. My friend and I started a label for bands in high school, and bands that were too stupid to figure out how to get a deal. There were a couple problems. My friend was in high school, and he didn't have a clue what he was doing. He ended up taking 80% of the money and refused to pay for anything. He also didn't do any work. He felt obligated to have his girlfriend help, who really didn't do anything either. I was getting money from my brother, but it turned out, we were too far gone.

Last week, I ended up selling what was left of the label on eBay. http://www.LameRekords.com went for $305. I am currently looking into a retail property and starting a music store. I will also be doing web design, lighting, live sound, and promotion for bands, but for a price. The prices are dirt cheap. I'm willing to help bands, but I don't want to loose money.
...:D um whatthefuck?? over?!?
Click to expand...

Yeah, but what the hell does that have to do with anything? We didn't charge anybody...but we really didn't sign anyone either. I quit and sold it before the first band was officially signed (I didn't want a label). This is my brother's band. They asked me what I thought of it, and I said screw the label, record yourself. I think they kinda suck anyway. I highly doubt they sell 500 CDs.
 
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