CHOOSING THE RIGHT LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE

by Dr William C. Small

There are hundreds of thousands of recordings that are made every year but we only get to hear very few of them. There are thousands of artists who attempt to make their way into the recording industry every year but very few of them succeed. What is the difference between recordings that make it to the market and artists who succeed in the business and those that don’t? One word: knowledge.

Those who know how to get a recording heard in the market and know how to be successful in the business are the ones who actually succeed. The main reason the average artist does not succeed is because they lack knowledge about show business. They know show. That is, how to make recordings and perform on stage. But they don’t know show business. An artist who does not know the business of show business must find an experienced legal representative in the business to protect their interests. The key is recognizing that you don’t know, then, finding the right person who is qualified to handle your business.

Contract negotiation skill is acquired through training and experience. Your cousin, uncle, or mother who happens to be smart and have given you good advice in the past are not the ones you want to negotiate a record deal for you. It is hard enough to ink a good deal with an experienced contract negotiator than to have an inexperienced person trying to work for you. There are so many details in a contract that must be checked and cross checked to make sure that one clause does not either cancel or supersede another that it is too much for a rookie to handle. Plus you don’t want to chance ruining a relationship with a loved one because you ended up getting dogged in the deal. An experienced legal representative is a must when negotiating a record deal.

Every experienced contract negotiator is not necessarily a good one for you. You will have a business relationship with this person, so make sure you find someone whom you wouldn’t also mind having a personal relationship with. If you can’t see yourself having dinner or a drink with this person after the deal is done, don’t do business with them.

Now, most artists do not make any money on their first deal. What they mainly get is exposure and name recognition in the market that will, hopefully, be sufficient enough to produce future CD sales. That is where the money will be. The reason why there is very little money in the first deal is because the artist, not the record company, pays for everything. And I mean everything. It costs big money to build a name in the record industry. Once you have spent a small fortune producing the CD, it costs another small fortune to bankroll the dress and the press. That is, to make you look good and to get the media to take notice. And oh, the hot models that they get to date, dance, and pose with you, they cost money too! All of the money to pay for that comes from sales of the first and often the second CD.

If a record company banks your project, the money they put up front for you is a loan. You will have to pay them back, with interest, from whatever first money the project makes, by percentage, or through royalty points, depending on the deal that your lawyer works out for you. But be aware that you will have to pay so you will be prepared. Therefore, be sure to find an experienced contract negotiator who knows the business of show business and who knows how to keep you from paying through the nose.