19 Replies to “September 26”

  1. Wow! This link is full of definitions that are vital for most up and coming artists. I did not know a lot of these requirements/processes and they seem pretty straight forward. I think that the big name record labels are pretty brutal and extremely powerful in the business of music (they won’t give some demos the time of day). “The Big Three” are the most influential labels today and makes up over half of the music market. More information on these labels: https://www.thebalance.com/big-three-record-labels-2460743

  2. I also think the definitions on these pages are essential. I like that it also is artist-focused, meaning that it puts things into a perspective that the artist can understand in full. This is important because the recording process involves multiple parties and each party should know what they’re getting into and what rights they have.

    Below is a link to an article I found about master rights. I found it a good read because it is also artist-focused and helpful.
    http://blog.discmakers.com/2013/04/retaining-your-master-rights-smart-business/

  3. I think its very interesting that there are specific unheard ways for your demos to be listened to! Many people try but don’t even know the back roads that must be taken in order to even be considered, these links are super insightful and essential and I think that’s why I like them so much.

    below is a step by step guide that goes more in depth on how to get a demo heard by record labels: https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-send-a-music-demo-to-record-labels-2460402

  4. 360 deals (multiple rights deals) seem to be a very resourceful business plan for growing artists, but for some piece of the pie. Instead of concentrating focus to only record sales, labels provide tremendous support to all aspects of income-earned methods for the artists. For more information and opinions of 360 deals, click the links below:

    https://www.thebalance.com/how-360-deals-in-the-music-industry-work-2460343

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z295yc-T044

  5. This article does a great job of outlining all of the important details involved within an artist agreement. It displays several detailed descriptions in regards to, what seems like, a lot of FAQs. If I were an artist looking to sign with a label, I would love to review something like this before making any type of move. It is easy to fall into a rut because one was not careful when reviewing a career-binding document.

    To tag along to the previous, the tab that says “How long will I be bound to a contract?” really makes me wonder whether or not the artist enjoys their time making music when bound to a specific. I’ve always heard stories about how contracts can ruin a person’s life with just a signature. When anyone signs a contract and they don’t revise the document, a person is potentially signing their life away. It’s such a scary thought.

    I found this article that states, recording legend, Prince, warns young artist that Record contracts are “slavery”. It makes me wonder if these labels are really interested in the creativity aspect or solely making money off of these artist.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/prince-warns-young-artists-record-contracts-are-slavery-20150809

  6. The Q &A format of this article really helps simplify the ins and outs of dealing with a record label. With things such as advancements and cross collateralization, there does seem to be a lot of interest in making money for the label rather than the artist as Juliana mentioned. I was also surprised at how much is cut out of royalties of albums sold and how that might affect an up and coming artist with a smaller audience starting out.

  7. This article is really interesting as it gives a lot of information about the recording process and how the artist deal works. Just reading it makes its complex and makes it mind blown to understand the entire process. There is also the Artist Recording agreement with explains the terms and how the artist and the record label deals with many things like royalties, the master, and etc.

  8. Wow, contracts are complicated. Who would’ve thought? This reading also made it more clear to me how much of the contract can be used to get the record company as much money as possible. It’s easy to see how a person who doesn’t know what they’re getting into could be easily taken advantage of. That’s why it’s best to learn as much as you can about stuff like this to better prepare yourself and not get screwed later on. There are plenty of real-life examples to pull from, but the first instance that came to my head is the several lawsuits Victory Records had with some of their bands over unpaid royalties. To read more, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Records#Bands_on_label

  9. It is important for new artists to have knowledge about record deals and demo deals. The 360 deal is a good way for both the artist and record label to make revenue. However, it seems that only big artists can make tons of revenues from it versus a new artist who does not have a following yet. This link talks about the criticism of the 360 deal and what to be aware of:

    http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1209534/buyer-beware-why-artists-should-do-a-180-on-360-deals

  10. The life of an artist is romanticized a lot of times but this really kind of rationalized and outlines the steps that go into singing with labels. It should be helpful for artist who have talent but are unable to put it all together in a way that gets them attention. However it should be noted as seen by an artist like Chance the rapper, that there are always different ways to find success without a label or even unconventional ways to find yourself on a label like The Weeknd.
    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/sex-drugs-and-r-b-inside-the-weeknds-dark-twisted-fantasy-20151021

  11. I liked the format of this article and how it was set up almost like an FAQ. It was easy to go straight to what you really wanted to know. It was insane to see how much of a cut the labels get from everything from merchandise to tour sales. These 360 deals seem like they would only work with popular artists with big followings. The labels keep so much of the royalties from artists that they end up only making 88 cents from their album sales. And then they make no money from promotional records because they technically weren’t sold. And then in the “Grants of Rights” clause the label owns everything and are free to do whatever they want with it. It’s easy for someone to get taken advantage of in the music industry when they’re an up and coming artist.

    https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=5596

  13. This article was so helpful. I have always been interested in the recording industry and reading this answers mostly all of my questions. I really like all the resources that it gives you if you are an aspiring artist. it was crazy to see how much power the industry has. It is almost scary because it seems like you giver your entire life away. I also really liked how it is not a huge reading article but rather an FAQ style.

    http://mashable.com/2013/06/30/break-into-music-industry/#k7NEp_9S3sqW

  16. While reading all about demo deals, and all it takes just to be heard, but not even just that, but how to put yourself out there, their major advice was to look to their music label for support. All I could think about was what if you don’t have a music label? Cause now and days there’s a lot of artists who don’t want to sign to labels, and are fine running their own music which honestly sounds like a lot of work, I mean I’m sure they have their own form of help but that doesn’t belittle the work they do on their own. Just look at Chance the Rapper he went from streaming his “mixtapes”, to being featured in songs by Kanye West and Childish Gambino, to making Grammy history. I mean I knew about all his accomplishments but reading this article about all the hard work that goes into demo deals just makes me appreciate the artists so much more who get the job done without one.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/chance-the-rapper-grammys-record-deal-a7578031.html

    1. The 360 deal information is very intriguing to me. I only hear bad things about it. But, the info here makes a lot more sense. It almost makes me think the major label deals of the past were worse because they focused on selling records, if you didn’t sell, then it was over. Now, it seems they are bringing artist development back and greater representation and support because the label makes money through all of the avenues now, not just records. So, the support needs to be comprehensive.
      Check out the link below:
      http://www.johnson-moo.com/360-music-deals-360-contract/

  17. These descriptive definitions set a platform for someone wanting to enter the music industry. There seems to be so much information that it’s hard to keep up with. I believe most artist in the music industry should have a lawyer to help defend them from unwanted problems . An artist main want is to make a musical product , but knowing all of this information is pertinent to be successful . Below is a link talking about the importance of having a lawyer in the music industry .

    http://www.thebigmusicproject.co.uk/8-reasons-every-artist-needs-good-lawyer/

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