Hey guys, so I was reached out by a record label and its my first time being contacted by one so I am not that knowledgable about how most of them work

They provide:

*Album publication;
*Mastering the tracks;
*Promopool packages;
*Creation of the UPC codes;
*Topple Track Piracy (anti-piracy protection);
*Creation of the covers arts;
*Promotion of EP / Single;
 
And has access to 300 shops including beatport, itunes, spotify, etc.

However, they claim that there is a fee of 68 euros for promotional purposes and I must pay 34 euros (so 50%). Also 50% of the income goes to them for my music (I also access to my account so can see how much I am making and on what)

Is this a good idea? Please leave your thoughts.

Thanks,

NO LUC

Tell them no af. You would basically be paying them to have copyright of your track. If the label isn't big enough to eat that cost then you probably don't want to give them your music.

Real record labels don't ask you to pay for the publication of your music, they just deduct it out of any earnings you would receive from the profits.

They'll bill you later if it doesn't sell.

Practically everyone, to be quite frank. This is standard operating procedure in the music industry. Every single part of the release that you cannot personally provide, from the songwriting to the mixing/mastering to the cover art, is money that the record label will have to spend on you.

That record label doesn't care about you, or even your music. They just care about your profitability and their own bottom line. Now, they can't just demand the money from you, cause you get situations like this thread. Instead, they tell you that you'll be receiving #% of royalties earned, minus packaging deductions (used to be CDs and packaging, and some asshole labels will charge you for "packaging" a digital download) and other fees.

The money you earn as an artist goes towards those deductions before they go to you. If you were given a cash advance, that counts as well. If your album tanks, or performed worse than expected, you could wind up with almost no earnings or even a negative balance - and you signed a legally binding contract saying that's on your own head. This can explain a lot of the stuff I'd go into, and probably much better than I would.

If you think your personal experience is indicative of the music industry as a whole, you're welcome to that belief.

In my opinion, it's better to be aware of the possible pitfalls and never have to avoid them than it is to just assume everything will be hunky dory and sign away all your rights and earnings.

Quote from: Mussar on May 27, 2016, 07:31:33 pm

If you think your personal experience is indicative of the music industry as a whole, you're welcome to that belief.

You are the one who stated that practically everybody does this, and when I say that I have never seen this on my own behalf you come off like a know-it-all.  Well lucky me who have not encountered "practically everybody".
My experience is that the labels gamble the release cost against a percentage of rights and royalties, not lending the artist the basic cost for reimbursement later.

I'll defend mussar's perspective in sharing the knowledge that comes with understanding.

He's not a know it all, other wise his attitude might be a little different (plus you have the consider the body language context that's taken out during text)

Mussar is also studying music(and probably the business of it to some degree; either on his own in depth and at the very least in his classes), so what was given was a time and monetary investment on his part, for free.

Besides, what you're saying is true, as you may not have experienced it, but what mussar is saying is also also true (in the sense of the majority of people practicing/being in the music business).

Just trying to pass on the info, nothing persnickety about that.

Quote from: ion on May 27, 2016, 07:49:47 pm

Quote from: Mussar on May 27, 2016, 07:31:33 pm

If you think your personal experience is indicative of the music industry as a whole, you're welcome to that belief.

You are the one who stated that practically everybody does this, and when I say that I have never seen this on my own behalf you come off like a know-it-all.  Well lucky me who have not encountered "practically everybody".
My experience is that the labels gamble the release cost against a percentage of rights and royalties, not lending the artist the basic cost for reimbursement later.

I'll defend mussar's perspective in sharing the knowledge that comes with understanding.

He's not a know it all, other wise his attitude might be a little different (plus you have the consider the body language context that's taken out during text)

Mussar is also studying music(and probably the business of it to some degree; either on his own in depth and at the very least in his classes), so what was given was a time and monetary investment on his part, for free.

The fact that he's studying music (and the business of it) don't prove that he's right.

i'll defend ion here. Why would a label ask for reimbursement ? I mean, it's the same a paying up-front. If you do good, everything is ok, and if you don't, it still cost you money...

i'm just sayin'. that's stupid, and it's the same. Don't signed contracts involving paying and having to pay for reimbursement. Read the small details of the contracts.

I never said reimbursement - I said debt. Thre are plenty of articles about this, as well as documentaries.

If you assume a record label is NOT trying to take advantage of you at every opportunity, you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes other artists have made.

Alright, I can't disagree with what you're saying. i'll watch the documentary about the music industry. It seems interesting.

Although, that documentary is quite out of context here. If I understand what the video was saying, it's talking about actual recording of music. Which in the case of EDM (Few artists does records pianos, guitars, etc... but mostly in private environnement and not in expensive studios. Just look at how Sizzlebird records his violin), does not apply anymore. The only thing that cost money could be paying the distributor. (Distrokids, etc...)

But I totally understand. We just need to be carefull. We have the internet on our side. read every details of the contracts, be aware of what it says, etc...