BEWARE OF THE CON BEFORE SIGNING A CONTRACT

Contracts are a very formal way of doing business. Contracts are sometimes necessary to complete a business transaction. In the recording industry a contract can make or break your career if not entered into advisedly. Anyone entering into a contract should have some knowledge of the music business. You have to understand that a contract is a written form of the terms agreed upon by two or more parties to be carried out and adhered unto according to the provisions articulated within it and the laws that govern the state for which it is written. Once you’ve signed a contract you’re locked into it until the terms are fulfilled. With respect to contracts, I can recall having a conversation with a good friend of mine who is also a writer and director in the film industry and he made a very true statement. He stated that a contract is only as good as the paper it’s written on, if you can confide in, trust, and have some type of proof or evidence that the person you are entering into contract with is legit. I believe that this is of equal importance as having and understanding of the terms of the actual contract itself. Beware of Cons before signing a contract! Having to sue someone and go to court over a breach of contract can be extremely costly and very time consuming. It can also detract you from the primary focus of the business at hand. So what’s extremely important when entering into a contract is to first make sure that the person or organization that you are going into a contract with is right? Take the time to get to know them and make sure that the relationship is a right fit for you to go into business with and form a contractual agreement. Do some research and ask for references if necessary. Second, make sure the contract is right in that it is articulated appropriately to satisfy your wants, needs and desires of the deal.

A few years ago l learned of a new type of contract being used by record companies called 360 Deals. Upon my first look at it, I will have say that I really didn’t think it was a good idea. Nor did I think it was more than a way to get more money from an artist who was very new and not really understanding of their rights. Well, after some careful thought and consideration as well as some research, I view these types of contracts a little differently now. First of all, What is a 360 Deal you may be asking? Well, simply put, a 360 deal is a deal that was introduced by record companies a few years ago, when record companies began to lose lots of money.  This lost was partially due to the influx of digital resources and the reduction of CD sales. This new concept would allow these companies to recoup costs and advances given to artists from more than just the sell of their music. Instead they would be able to get a percentage from any work an artist did i.e. concerts, merchandising, endorsements, licensing, etc. Now at the onset, this type of contract again looks and feels like a poor attempt for record companies to get over on an artist. However, upon further review of this concept it really gives a record company the opportunity to build a brand with the artist.  This actually allows the record company to become more involved with the overall career of the artist instead of just what they do musically.

I recently did some research on Live Nation. They have recently taken on this concept of the 360 Deal and surprisingly, they are not even a record label.  However, they are the largest concert promoter in America. They were able to use this concept to make deals with industry powerhouses like Madonna, Jay-Z, and Justin Timberlake. By using the 360 Deal concept, they have greater access to addition streams of income from these already known artist with proven brands from their concerts, merchandise, endorsements and licensing agreements. This has actually created some success for Live Nation and is expected to prove to be even more profitable over the next few years according to their President and CEO, Michael Rapino in an interview he did with the Wall Street Journal.

So in principle, if you can become more educated about the business side of the music industry, you will be better equipped at avoiding the con before signing a contract. You can then become a professional at weighing and benefiting from the pros of every contract you enter into.

-Mike Sears

Team Me

No man or woman is an island all to himself or herself. There is no way you can do it all alone and be successful in the music business as an artist. It may be true that you still have your own vision and dream, however, it's important to write it down and make it plain so that others may be included in the process of bringing it to pass. You also need to have a plan. If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. Well, where is there? If you don't know, no one else will know either. It's so important to know where you want to go. You have to at least think about it and then begin to start taking steps in that direction. Otherwise it will become really easy to find yourself going in circles and becoming frustrated with the process instead of enjoying the journey.

With that being said, there are two things that can aid you in your journey of success as an artist in the music industry and help make the process enjoyable:

1) The first thing is to write down your vision with an attainable goal in mind. Come up with a plan. Then it will be important to write down all of the steps that may be necessary in order for you to obtain the goal. This plan will help you maintain a specific focus and give you a tangible way to find out if your making progress. This may require you to do some studying and maybe even some research to find out what's all needed to make your plan work. There have been others who have already achieved the level of success you desire and there will be others who will come after you. There is no need in reinventing the wheel. As you discover the types of things that will lead to your success begin to incorporate those things that work for you into your plan. Within your discoveries you will also discover that you need some help.

2) The second thing that you should begin to do is start building a support team. This team of individuals should be people that you not only trust and have a good chemistry with when working together, but they should also be skilled and knowledgeable in their specific area of expertise. I won't go into the specific details of the duties of every member on your team at this time, but I will give you a list of some of those key players. This list may vary depending on ones individual abilities and needs. As an artist you need a good manager, producer, songwriter, publicist, agent, stylist, choreographer, and entertainment lawyer on your team. Now these are just a few key players that are important to have on your team to help you to establish a certain level of success. You can add to this list and even take away from it. The key is that you know that each one of these players carry out a specific duty and trying to master all of these roles as an individual can become quite in cumbersome.

These are just two things to help an artist who wants a successful career in the music industry. There are many things that can be applied and some things work for some and some things work better for others. The main thing is that you understand the value in preparation and planning as well as the power of having a good team. Teamwork makes the dream work!

-Mike Sears

TALENT vs. TIME

If you have talent, that’s great, however, talent is not a guarantee that you’ll make it in the music business. Making it in the music industry is like running a marathon not a sprint. A marathon is 26miles long and it literally takes hours to complete. A sprint is almost over just as quick as it starts. The 40-yard dash and the 100-yard dash are races that are done within only seconds. In comparison, the two types of races are very different. Also, “making it”, in the music business can mean different things to different people. So to make sure that we are all on the same page, let’s assume together what “making it" is.  Let’s define “making it” as your name, band or group has become a household name. You are traveling around the country and the world performing and doing interviews. Your music is being played in constant rotation on the radio and your CD’s sell in the hundreds of thousands of millions. If this is what we consider as “making it”, it’s really a process that requires you to grow into this level of success over time. Sure there are some who come in this business and seem to become an overnight sensation, however, that very rarely happens and when if does the chances of it happening again is very far and few in between. I bring up this point primarily for those who are new to the business, as well as those who may be still considering this as a career, but haven’t totally made the commitment. I want you to be fully aware that success can happen for you. Just know that when success happens for you, it may not happen as soon as you think or even on the same level that you initially hoped it would. I say this because, if you understand this coming into the industry, you won’t give up as easy and your purpose for staying and sticking it out has a greater depth than how you feel emotionally. You become more likely to accomplish whatever it is you set out to do in this industry.

 I remember very well when I first began pursuing my dream of trying to “make it” in this business and how soon I just knew success would happen. Well not only did the success not happen when and how I expected it to, I also encountered some oppositions and obstacles that slowed down the process. If “making it” in this business was not a true passion of mine there is no way I would still be pursuing my dream to be successful in this business. It’s literally taken me years to get to where I am now and I am finally closer than I have ever been and I expect to get there. I have listened to the stories of so many successful artist and entertainers and the one thing that is almost always consistent with all of them is that the level of success they were able to achieve happened over a significant amount of time. This success did not come without a significant amount of difficulty, but they persevered. Again there are many stories that I have heard over the years, but there are two that I would like to mention and encourage you to check out. R & B singers Ne-Yo and Usher, both have very successful careers that triumph over time and not only because they were talented. 

This reminds me of the story about the tortoise and the hare. Although the hare was the favored and the fastest and the one who should have won the race, his speed was not the determining factor. Instead the tortious who was much slower and considered the one in the race who didn’t even stand a chance ran at a steady pace. Because the hare was so talented and sure of himself, he believed his talent was enough for him to win the race so he decided to take a nap in the middle of the race. He perceived he could nap, get up and still win the race. To his demise, the hare over slept and lost the race. Instead the tortoise that was much slower, but ran at a steady pace, over time won the race. I want you to win in this race of “making it” in the music business. In order for that to happen, you have to know that you don’t pass this test with talent, but you pass it with time.

-The Mike Sears