JACKED FROM
http://www.legalhustle.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14932
With nearly a decade of experience under his belt working in the A&R department for Bad Boy Records, Conrad Dimanche is no stranger to the inner workings of the professional music recording process and the financial structure built around the process. In our first installment of Real Talk we chop it up with Rad about producer contracts, up-front/back end fees, royalties, technology and everything else in between. This is Blue Magic, no cut!
Ok let's get right into it. Once the track is confirmed to be on the artist album what happens next?
Well first we have to go into negotiation and come to an agreement on how much the track or the song is going to cost. How much the label is going to pay for the track depends on who the producer is and what caliber of producer he/she is. When I say caliber I'm not referring to how dope they are but their track record as far as singles hitting the charts. You have some producers that have been in the game for over ten years but they've always had album cuts only. It doesn't mean too much, just because you've been in the game for 10 years and have been on 20 albums doesn't mean you automatically have the right to charge $40,000 a track. You have producers that have been in the game for 15 years and are still getting $12k-15k a track because they can always give you that dope album cut but it's the singles that really make your price rate jump up.
Understood, so after the price is agreed on what's the next step?
So lets say the cost is $5k and everybody is good with that, the producer then submits an invoice for $5,000 and before they get paid they have to sign what is called a 'producer declaration' which is also called a 'work for hire' or in some cases the producer will sign a deal memo. Before they get paid the producer is agreeing that they're not going to sell that particular track to anyone else. The whole point of the producer signing the producer declaration is to get the first half payment. The agreement is simple, usually one sheet and within 30 days of signing the producer should receive the front end which in this case would be $2,500.
At this point has the producer turned over the music files to the label?
Yes after you get your front end payment is when the producer delivers the files in most cases, which is called the 'multi-track', the Pro Tools session, the wave files with all the tracks separated so when its time to mix the label has it in their possession. You're basically turning over your masters that the company just paid you half of your bread for.
So when does the producer get the remaining back end?
The back end can get a little tricky. After the producer gets his first half there is a 'producer agreement' which covers the selling of the master recording for X amount of money, how much royalty points the producer should receive, how much of the song in terms of publishing rights does the producer own and other terms included. The agreement is usually at least 10 pages long and its common practice for the producer to have their attorney look it over to make sure there isn't any bullshit involved. After you sign the agreement the artist or the production company representing the artist also has to sign the agreement and that's where things can get tricky because the process can become lengthy.
Why is that?
For o
http://www.legalhustle.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14932
With nearly a decade of experience under his belt working in the A&R department for Bad Boy Records, Conrad Dimanche is no stranger to the inner workings of the professional music recording process and the financial structure built around the process. In our first installment of Real Talk we chop it up with Rad about producer contracts, up-front/back end fees, royalties, technology and everything else in between. This is Blue Magic, no cut!
Ok let's get right into it. Once the track is confirmed to be on the artist album what happens next?
Well first we have to go into negotiation and come to an agreement on how much the track or the song is going to cost. How much the label is going to pay for the track depends on who the producer is and what caliber of producer he/she is. When I say caliber I'm not referring to how dope they are but their track record as far as singles hitting the charts. You have some producers that have been in the game for over ten years but they've always had album cuts only. It doesn't mean too much, just because you've been in the game for 10 years and have been on 20 albums doesn't mean you automatically have the right to charge $40,000 a track. You have producers that have been in the game for 15 years and are still getting $12k-15k a track because they can always give you that dope album cut but it's the singles that really make your price rate jump up.
Understood, so after the price is agreed on what's the next step?
So lets say the cost is $5k and everybody is good with that, the producer then submits an invoice for $5,000 and before they get paid they have to sign what is called a 'producer declaration' which is also called a 'work for hire' or in some cases the producer will sign a deal memo. Before they get paid the producer is agreeing that they're not going to sell that particular track to anyone else. The whole point of the producer signing the producer declaration is to get the first half payment. The agreement is simple, usually one sheet and within 30 days of signing the producer should receive the front end which in this case would be $2,500.
At this point has the producer turned over the music files to the label?
Yes after you get your front end payment is when the producer delivers the files in most cases, which is called the 'multi-track', the Pro Tools session, the wave files with all the tracks separated so when its time to mix the label has it in their possession. You're basically turning over your masters that the company just paid you half of your bread for.
So when does the producer get the remaining back end?
The back end can get a little tricky. After the producer gets his first half there is a 'producer agreement' which covers the selling of the master recording for X amount of money, how much royalty points the producer should receive, how much of the song in terms of publishing rights does the producer own and other terms included. The agreement is usually at least 10 pages long and its common practice for the producer to have their attorney look it over to make sure there isn't any bullshit involved. After you sign the agreement the artist or the production company representing the artist also has to sign the agreement and that's where things can get tricky because the process can become lengthy.
Why is that?
For o
