Getting yourself a label...

dabedoo · Post by **dabedoo** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:01 am

Hi,

Some labels are contacting me these these days in order
to get me to sign but the fact is I never did and
dont realy know what a realy good deal is...

So my questions are the following:

1/ What parts of the contract should I be carefull about?
2/ Some labels are offering me 0.30€ for each song I sell! Is this enough?
3/ Who's paying the mastering part ?
Etc...

If you're already on a label and you could give me some advise
about important things to know before I sign a label, tell me now please
because I should realy make a choice now.... 2 labels are waiting for
my decision

Thanks for useful info on this

kaffein · Post by **kaffein** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:15 am

Suggested reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Busines ... 347&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Need-Record- ... 188&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087930 ... 0823079481

p.s. Get a lawyer before signing anything, if you choose to go with another label.

noisetonepause · Post by **noisetonepause** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:38 am

Slightly related:

http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2 ... index.html

Classic...

dabedoo · Post by **dabedoo** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:12 am

Thx but I was looking for simple advise, not realy
a 500 pages book on how to sign a deal like the rolling
stones did

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:26 am

new (unestablished) digi labels tend to go for 50/50 stuff bigger labels will get a bigger cut etc..

i rekon whore urself until u get ur name out there then work on making enough to be eating.

Winterpark · Post by **Winterpark** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:45 am

my advice... sign short term, non-exclusive, region specific, licensing deals.

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:00 am

signing contracts is way to much effort the kid here

I try to only deal with friends

when you have a massive enough jam to get seriously paid for you'll know it

until then - just play it by ear

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:18 am

If you have the tracks, maybe sell one or two just to see what happens, quick and dirty education in the biz. Maybe a track or two that wouldn't fit along with the others on a potential album/EP you might put together in the future.

my uneducated $0.02.

ShaneFontane · Post by **ShaneFontane** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:59 am

contact a business manager in your genre...

djgroovy · Post by **djgroovy** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:17 am

dabedoo wrote:Hi,

Some labels are contacting me these these days in order
to get me to sign but the fact is I never did and
dont realy know what a realy good deal is...

So my questions are the following:

1/ What parts of the contract should I be carefull about?
2/ Some labels are offering me 0.30€ for each song I sell! Is this enough?
3/ Who's paying the mastering part ?
Etc...

If you're already on a label and you could give me some advise
about important things to know before I sign a label, tell me now please
because I should realy make a choice now.... 2 labels are waiting for
my decision

Thanks for useful info on this

1. Read it all carefully!
2. Most small labels offer 50/50, some will give 30, or 25. If you're new, go with it and don't expect to get much out of it, It's about geting exposure. Unless you have the track of your life, it's not going to sell much, there is loads of music available today.
3. Try to send a really well balanced mix, and then do the mastering yourself. Send both versions. Most small labels will sell your track as is (if well mixed), others will use the unmastered track and master it themselves. You don't have to pay.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:01 am

ShaneFontane wrote:contact a business manager in your genre...

any ideas where to find one?

dodgyedgy · Post by **dodgyedgy** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:53 am

am wrote:my advice... sign short term, non-exclusive, region specific, licensing deals.

if its a digital license the region is always...

worldwide.

very few digi labels will offer region specific.

30c a tune is about right.

Come see me if you want, we have licensing deals with IODA and 100% of royalties after IODA and itunes take their cut, im not making anything out of this and im a fair guy

.. non-exclusive as well. and the contract is 1yr

quality music only. BTW.

kaffein · Post by **kaffein** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:55 am

dodgyedgy wrote:
am wrote:30c a tune is about right.

If it gets you needed exposure, it's more than worth it.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:03 pm

cash from records is not calculated like this

1000 records x 30c per record = $300 for the band

it is calculated like this

1000 records = $2000 - $5000 'company costs' = $3000 debt for the band !

your 30c comes from net profit, not gross.

I have sold around 20,000 records with my old band in the UK alone, the rec. co. sold the whole run of two albums. I still owe that record company around £1,500. strange that.

Advice = do deals on one record, license, get a quick rights reversion if you assign rights at all, don't sign a multi album deal, don't sign over publishing. Don't trust hippies.

Getting yourself a label...

Getting yourself a label...

Re: Getting yourself a label...