Here's A Contract Offer From Universal Music


I would sign that in a heartbeat!

Scared money don't make no money. You basically have to boss up and quit being scared. You don't make money by running away from opportunities. You make money by successfully executing deals.

People are more afraid of record deals than they are to go to jail. LMFAO!

All it takes is hard work to be successful these days. Most artists flop because they are lazy and entitled. The only thing harder than getting a deal is maintaining a deal. It's time for urban musicians to close their mouthes, open their minds, roll up their sleeves, and get to work.

There is no secret formula to success. There are no handouts or shortcuts either. The game is easy when you have the brawn, brain, and balls to make it happen.
 
Desire Inspires said:

I would sign that in a heartbeat!

Scared money don't make no money. You basically have to boss up and quit being scared. You don't make money by running away from opportunities. You make money by successfully executing deals.

People are more afraid of record deals than they are to go to jail. LMFAO!

All it takes is hard work to be successful these days. Most artists flop because they are lazy and entitled. The only thing harder than getting a deal is maintaining a deal. It's time for urban musicians to close their mouthes, open their minds, roll up their sleeves, and get to work.

There is no secret formula to success. There are no handouts or shortcuts either. The game is easy when you have the brawn, brain, and balls to make it happen.
Click to expand...

Tell that to Master P who brillianty negotiated his infamous 76/24 Split. I do feel you in the fact that new artists have no leverage but I'm sure there are even a few new artists who were great negotiators who negotiated something nice. On a different subject Tanke Adre Ward the boxer. He hasn't boxed in his prime years because he got bad advice from J Prince and signed a shytty deal and now he wants that Mayweather money.
 
Last edited:
Desire Inspires said:

I would sign that in a heartbeat!

Scared money don't make no money. You basically have to boss up and quit being scared. You don't make money by running away from opportunities. You make money by successfully executing deals.

People are more afraid of record deals than they are to go to jail. LMFAO!

All it takes is hard work to be successful these days. Most artists flop because they are lazy and entitled. The only thing harder than getting a deal is maintaining a deal. It's time for urban musicians to close their mouthes, open their minds, roll up their sleeves, and get to work.

There is no secret formula to success. There are no handouts or shortcuts either. The game is easy when you have the brawn, brain, and balls to make it happen.
Click to expand...

So you want to get ****ed over? Success is more than hard work and if you think hard work alone equals success you have been lied to just as all Americans have been lied to.
 
Last edited:
boombapdame said:
So you want to get ****ed over? Success is more than hard work and if you think hard work alone equals success you have been lied to just as all Americans have been lied to.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't get f***ed over.

I would find a way to make money for my label so I can get paid. That is what employees do. I have no idea why people that sign record deals believe that they are independent contractors or CEOs. If you sign a deal, you are a contract employee for a company. You have to make money for the company in order to get paid.

People think getting a record deal is some la la land fantasy where a golden unicorn whisks you off to paradise and gives you a bucket of money. Just do the work. People cannot even do that and still complain. SMH.
 
Desire Inspires said:

I wouldn't get f***ed over.

I would find a way to make money for my label so I can get paid. That is what employees do. I have no idea why people that sign record deals believe that they are independent contractors or CEOs. If you sign a deal, you are a contract employee for a company. You have to make money for the company in order to get paid.

People think getting a record deal is some la la land fantasy where a golden unicorn whisks you off to paradise and gives you a bucket of money. Just do the work. People cannot even do that and still complain. SMH.
Click to expand...

You sound like the perfect candidate to be robbed blind. You're so eager to sign and make music the fine print is irrelevant(lol).
 
tReHoLLa said:
hmm.

what's that LP#1 part mean? what's that 75000 supposed to be for?
Click to expand...

LP #1 i.e. the first LP option is funded at a total of $75000 after you deliver and they accept the master

note that the artist is being gouged on every royalty up to and including a 50% loss of revenue stream to the label (remember though that the label is doing this to recoup the costs associated with making your recordings)

as deal it is not terrific but it is also a standard approach.

Remember that the label is essentially fronting you money to record and then recovers the money they lent you at a rate that advantages them (they are banks in disguise)

at the end of the 4th LP the artist would be in a much stronger position to negotiate all aspects of any future contract including retaining all of their revenue streams
 
Last edited:
Desire Inspires said:

That makes total sense.
Click to expand...


She advised Baby and P. My pops was a road manager back in the day who spoke highly of her contract knowledge:
Wendy Day (born 1962) is an American entrepreneur, writer, and founder of Rap Coalition, an organization which helps negotiate deals for hip-hop artists.[SUP][2][/SUP]
Having brokered deals for the likes of Master P's No Limit Records, [SUP][3][/SUP]Cash Money Records,[SUP][4][/SUP]Eminem, David Banner[SUP][5][/SUP] and more. Wendy Day's clients have totaled well over a billion sales of sound recordings. Known as the only advocate for hip hop artists during rap's "Golden Era", she started a not-for-profit organization Rap Coalition to get early rap superstars out of 'sharecropper' record deals. Deals that rarely got these rappers paid, and often left them in debt to the tunes of millions of dollars based on the 'major label math' that has kept America's biggest entertainment companies flush with cash, while leaving the scores of artists destitute, despite the fact that their music generated billions of dollars of income. Wendy Day's work with the above named artists and independent labels has helped to make multimillionaires of all of them.
In the past, Day has managed the careers of Twista, David Banner, C-Murder, Slick Rick, Ras Kass, Killah Priest, and Fiend.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP] However, she no longer manages rappers.Here's my Pops old group. He told me being a road manager was far from glorious and far different from managing rap acts.
 
Last edited:
i still don't quite fully understand what you mean by that first LP option.

assuming I was the artist, I would get 75,000 upon completion of the album, and sending in the "master" recording?

would they own the master fully? and is there any sort of buy back option? is there anyway to pass up some of the "front"/75000 money, to keep a portion of the original master?
 
tReHoLLa said:
i still don't quite fully understand what you mean by that first LP option.

assuming I was the artist, I would get 75,000 upon completion of the album, and sending in the "master" recording?

would they own the master fully? and is there any sort of buy back option? is there anyway to pass up some of the "front"/75000 money, to keep a portion of the original master?
Click to expand...

I'm no lawyer, so correct me if i'm wrong... but this is
what i got from it:

If you read inbetween the lines this doesn't mean
you're going to get $15,000 upfront and then $75,000
after album completion lol. It looks to me like 15k and
75k are master/album budgets.

Notice how there are no signs of how much they are
going to go in the red for you FIRST, lol... which is
interesting...

With what money are you going to deliver a master
and record an album?

None, they are the ones providing the money to
cover costs...

So basically that 15k you get after recording the first
master is quickly deducted from costs and the second
75k is deducted as well.

The key lines are:

- "if any remains after a deduction of recording
costs, if any" (the money they pay you is taken to
cover costs)

- "inclusive of any advances to the artists,
producers, recording costs etc" (the money the
pay you includes costs for artists, producers, and
recording - in other words, it's to cover costs)

The only signs of money for you is seen in the royalty
section where it states you get around 17%-18%

So basically you ain't getting jack shit until that money
they drop on you is recouped and let's not forget:

- It's a 4 album deal
- They want 20% of everything else you do

Which means you won't see album money BUT the good
news is if you are hot enough those brand extensions
and touring will come in handy.
 
the only money they guarantee is paid on delivery and acceptance of the master for the single project, i.e. there is no promise of money until they accept and they will only pay a maximum of $15k for that no matter what it cost you to get it to the point where they were ready to accept it.

The LP options are at their discretion not yours, i.e. there is no album deal, let alone a four album deal, only the promise of optioning an album from you if they think it is worth their credit line - so I would not be spending money until they have activated that option

And then they use a few weasel phrases like they will pay the remainder of the funds after they accept the master - before that they will only front you the first $20k on any album project - so you only have that $20k to spend on backings or other costs associated with recording if you need to spend more you can go as high as $75k as guaranteed payment to cover costs of recording only, but you will be doing it on credit either to the labels owned studios or to other studios willing to accept the label's credit marker

and remember the 20% they taking off your revenue streams is the same sort of interest you would be paying on a mortgage or business loan to achieve the same outcomes - only difference is the mortgage eventually gets paid off not so the cut they take - which is in perpetuity
 
Last edited:
boombapdame said:
Do you really want to spend your life in perpetual servitude to owners of multinational corplantations that aren't supposed to give a nor never gave a shit about music simply because those companies have their hands in other entities that may not be directly related to music.
Click to expand...

Yes I do.
 
benji2 said:
Here's a video I thought was relevant to the thread.
Click to expand...

So his beef is with Debra Antney. Not with Waka Flocka. He got royalties withheld from BMI because he sampled a song and did not get it cleared. He obviously has no one to beef with but himself.

He will be okay. He would be nothing without her help. He just needs to find a way to get more work. These deals come and go.

Plus, that video was horrible. Whoever was the narrator easily had one of the most annoying voices I have heard. He was too busy jocking DJ Mustard. Sad state of affairs for information out here.
 
Last edited:
djakademicks is a comedic commentator on the war in Chi-raq; i.e. he is meant to be funny and talking a mile a minute with a motor mouth sells the intensity of the situation whether it is intense or not

I have to take him in small doses or it does get annoying though (and I am much older than you, my court jester)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top