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VOL 1
: Network, Network, Network
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VOL 2
: Getting The Most Out Of Your Release
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VOL 3 (p1)
: Sign On The Dotted Line
WORDS BY PAUL GRATTIDGE
When you get your band together and start to hone your sound, it almost seems inevitable that in time you’ll have a steady stream of groupies, drugs and cash coming your way. You can dream, right? All you need is good looks, a penchant for chemical highs and an astute ability to negotiate contracts. The first two are up to you, but the third is a lot more complicated. Navigating the complex world of contract law is no simple feat and without any formal legal training, you are basically walking blind through a minefield. Volume III in the DIY Management Series seeks to impart you with some basic information on the more common contracts you are likely to deal with, some things to look out for and advice to help you avoid costly mistakes.
In this edition:
- Band Agreement
- Publishing Edition
- Recording Contract
Band Agreement
Figuring out the terms of an internal band agreement may lead to more than a couple of arguments among members. You may all be best mates, but when it comes to figuring who owns the rights to the songs, who owns the band name and a whole bunch of other divisive shit, you might start to freak out a bit. That’s why it’s best to sort it all out while the band is still relatively small – it’s far, far better to have these debates before there’s too much money involved, because when it comes to disputes over cash it can get really messy! Like I said earlier, contracts are designed to protect all parties, so it is in the interest of everyone to have this stuff in writing before any of these issues arise.
Things to consider:
Individual members of the band and what their role is.
The ownership splits for each and every song you’ve written . You may just want to make it an even split between all members, or you could – as is the general convention – figure it out by each person’s contribution to the lyrics (or ‘literary work’) in each song and to the music and melody (or the ‘musical work’).
Division of income from different sources. Again, you might like to divide it all equally, or if someone is investing more of their money – say they are fronting most of the cash for CD pressings, promo etc. – you could divide it accordingly.
Ownership of the band name . Historically, this has been a big sticking-point for bands and so it is worth putting a great deal of thought as to what happens if the band breaks up and one or more members want to continue using the name.
Decision making process . There are many instances when, as a band, you will not be able to make a clear decision on a given issue. To avoid ceaseless arguments, it is good to have a process in place that will help you work through difficult decisions. Having democratic votes may be a good place to start but if you have an even number of members then there’s a good chance your vote could be deadlocked. Is there a key member in the band whose vote will have more weight? Will you give your manager the deciding vote? Will you settle it with an arm wrestling tournament? I have no idea. But you should take the time to figure it out because you can easily stop the arguing by pulling out your contract – in which everyone has signed and agreed on how to deal with this situation – and sort it out reasonably. Simple!
Protocols for departing members . If someone decides to leave the band, chances are they’ve contributed to the song-writing or helped with merch design or put in for a share of your rehearsal space or something, so it is worth figuring out if they’ll still be paid royalties for their contributions or if the band kitty will pay out their share or something along those lines.
Publishing Deal
Okay so first of all, what does a music publisher do? It is their job to ‘exploit’ your copyrights, that is, they help you make money from your music by licensing it to film and television producers, computer game developers ( Tony Hawk soundtrack anyone?), using it in different products or printing it as sheet music (where the term ‘publishing’ originally came from) and for their efforts they receive a share of the royalties. There are so many different things that go into a publishing contract and the terms vary quite a lot for each deal. For this reason, it is 100% worth getting a music lawyer to help you dissect your contract if you’re ever in this position. They will make a massive different to the outcome of your agreement with the publisher.
“A lot of indie bands will feel like ‘Oh well I definitely can’t afford a lawyer’”, says Julian, “but most lawyers worth their salt will tailor the amount of advice and the amount of work they do to your budget. So if you really don’t have much money they’ll give you a couple of pieces of solid advice that’ll make the difference between getting stitched and not getting stitched.”
Recording Contract
How good would it be putting your shitty-arse scribble on the bottom of one of these bad boys? Having a label behind you will generally take the pressure off the band when it comes to a lot of the costs associated with getting your music out there and building your career. Depending on the terms of your agreement and the size of the label, they might fund your recording, pay for CD pressing and distribution, organise publicity, assist with touring, help with any legal concerns, manage your accounting, order cocaine and strippers to your hotel room and a bunch of other shit that your band would not otherwise be able to do. Most, if not all of the things on that list will also be recoupable from your advance, so before you get too keen on tits and coke, you might want to hold off on any extravagant spending.
One important thing to note with a record deal is that labels are unlikely to sign a band unless they have reliable management. The label will generally only want to communicate through one key person whose responsibility it is to contact the rest of the band about decisions and who will also feed the responses back to the label. Many of the decisions a band makes over the terms of their recording contract will have a dramatic effect on their career and for this reason may incur fiery contention amongst members. This is where the decision-making processes outlined in your band agreement will come in handy. Many decisions will have to be made hastily and so for a good working relationship with the label, it is important that these big calls are agreed upon and concessions made between members when necessary.
Signing a record deal is often seen as the point where your band has ‘made it’. But there are also big risks associate with it. According to Julian, “Signing a bad deal can kill your career. Not just with the band you’re currently in, but across everything you want to do with your music. Most recording agreements are exclusive, meaning it doesn’t just cover this act and the recordings you’re making with the band X, it covers you as a recording artist and it means that you can’t record with anyone else. And if you’ve got a label that you don’t have a relationship with, who doesn’t like what you’re doing, then you’re kind of up shit creek.” This ‘exclusivity’ means that you’re locked in with a label that might not release any of the music you’ve recorded with them but who may also forbid you from releasing your music any other way during the contracted period. Pretty scary stuff!
As with the publishing contract, there is far too much variation within these contracts (concerning royalty shares, size of advances, ownership of copyrights etc.) that it is not worth going into too much detail about what to consider in the event that you are offered a deal. If the time is right and you score a deal, before you entertain even the tiniest inclination to sign, pick up a phone and call a good music lawyer to read over it with you. Srzly.
Outro
Fuck, I have probably bombarded you with way too much info. But you made it this far so pat yourself on the back! As you’ve seen there is sooo much that goes into music contracts – which is why these clever law types spend so many years of their life at uni. The main point I want you to take away from this article is that you need to be fully aware of everything that you are agreeing to in signing the contract. The music industry is just like any other industry full of professionals, and the people you sign a contract with are professionals. You are right to assume that they generally have the upper-hand when it comes to business deals, contracts and the like, so it is really important that you seek legal advice from a music industry lawyer (not your parents’ solicitor) before you sign anything. It’s unlikely that a booking agent or publisher or record label is trying to screw you over (hopefully) but they are going to weigh the deal in their favour, so it is definitely worth paying the extra cash for a lawyer to get yourself a good deal – it will pay for itself in the long run!
RESOURCES
Below are some resources that may help with any concerns.
- APRA – good for publishing advice
- – if you’re a member you can get free legal advice
- Australian Copyright Council – good for facts sheets to help you understand copyright law
- Media Arts Lawyers – boutique entertainment and commercial law practice
- (By Shane Simpson and Jules Munro) – a book covering all facets of music business as it relates to Australia
- – supporters of the Victorian music industry who have great legal resources
WORDS BY
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