Creativity and Sense
Published: September 22, 2008
- (0) Comments
Have you ever wondered why the Gospel music business has so many horror stories? Could they result from the inefficiency on the part of creative individuals to know their business?
Don't Miss
The business of Gospel music has become big business. To know your business means more than waiting until you get a hit record and then scrambling to figure out how much money you should be making or how much you should be putting aside to pay your taxes. It also means a propensity to learn and absorb the details of a very complex business. Thus, acquiring a knowledgeable representative such as a manager or an attorney is essential.
The Gospel business has become very corporate, involving major label artist signings and releases, major label mergers, takeovers, downsizing, and changes in distribution channels to the consumer. I won’t even mention the Internet and its affect. In order to level out the playing field, today’s creative individuals must be “contract savvy”, since “contracts” aka “agreements” are the foundation of music business dealings. Admittedly, contracts do not make the most interesting reading. As a matter of fact, attempting to read a music contract can be downright boring. A recording contract can be lengthy and rather confusing, but reading your contract and understanding its terms and conditions are necessary evils to insure financial success.
Here listed from A to Z are some of the key words and terminology found in the majority of music industry contracts in which you should become familiar.They are as follows:
Advance, assignment, all-in royalty, budget breach, budget records, bankruptcy, controlled compositon clause, configuration, costs, coupling, delivery, distributor, default, device, escalation(s), exclusive, engage, fund gross sales, group member, indemnification, infringement, insolvency, licensee(s), master(s), multiple album, mutual approval, mid-priced records, non-negotiable, net receipts, normal retail channels, notice, option(s), ownership, phonograph records, period, packaging deductions, quality, recoupable, recording costs, reserve(s), returns, selection of material, sidemen, suspension, sample, termination, technically and commercially satisfactory, term, tour support, uniqueness of services, U.S. net slaes, union affiliation, video song, wholesale price and warranties.
You should also be aware that most music contracts generally contain an affirmation from the artist similar to the following:
“I have read and understand this agreement and have had the benefit of independent counsel…“etc.
It is the opinion of this writer that it takes both the artist and company to develop creative ways to make a record contract/deal work. In his book, Trump: The Art of The Deal, Donald Trump says under the Heading Maximize Your Options, “I protect myself by being flexible. Once I’ve made a deal, I always come up with at least a half dozen approaches to making it work, because anything can happen even to the best-laid plans.”
Remember, Knowledge is power, so know your business!
B.A. Spears is the President of Crystal Rose Records and has been an industry executive for over 20 years.
Copyright © 2012 you129 & B.A. Spears. All rights reserved.
