SIGNING A CONTRACT FOR A RECORDING DEAL WITHOUT READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE FINE PRINT.

How many times have we heard these words “read the fine print before signing a document”? Yet many persons ignore this warning and sign documents without even perusing it much less reading it. Signing a document for a recording deal without reading the fine print can be very detrimental to a seasoned singer/entertainer much less a young, up-coming, inexperienced, still wet behind the ears singer. The biggest ‘lie’ that people tell in this world is that they have ‘agreed’ to the Terms and Agreement of a document, yet they have never even read the first line of the document. This happens a lot on the Internet. The document is often very long and complicated with legal jargons that we cannot be bothered to read. I am guilty of doing this all the time; I always laugh and believe that it is okay because everyone does this. In an article I found on the Internet there is this young man who discovered the hard way that it pays to read the fine print. It cost

him $770! Imagine that! Clearly he was not amused. I wondered, after reading this, what about artists who do not read the fine print of their recording contract or do not understand what they were really signing. In my research I have discovered that many entertainers, especially singers, found themselves at the mercy of record label executives who offered “studio time, tour support, promotional campaigns, packaging and money called an advance as LOANS.” Before the artist is paid anything he is supposed to repay this ‘loan’ out of his or her royalties. I believe that many artists who wanted to get ahead in the industry would sign just about anything that these Record Label Executives put in front of them. This was especially so with the black musicians back in the days, and according to Little Richard, this was the standard practice in the industry. What is remarkable is that artists not so long ago, for example, TLC, Lil Kim and Xscape were ‘victims’ to what is commonly referred to as the ‘slave contract’  aka bad record deals. Many artists end up broke even as their record sales are in the millions just because unscrupulous record executives ensure that contracts are worded in their favor, so that they are the ones who would make a profit. If you have been paying attention to my previous blogs you will note that I am always rooting for the Artist Manager to play a key role in the life of the artist. An artist needs a manager to look out for his welfare, especially when it comes to the signing of the recording contract. No way should it be left up to the artist to negotiate on his own or sign a contract, without the presence of his manager, which could leave him with nothing at the end of the day. If is unfortunate that being a great artist/musician does not mean that one is adept at taking charge of one’s life. I encourage everyone, whether or not you are an artist, read the fine print. 

SadaBlue.